Dell Alienware m16 vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
55
out of 100
VS
68
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m16
- Higher screen refresh rate: 480 versus 120 Hz
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Around 41% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- User-upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and an SSD
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 850 grams less (around 1.87 lbs)
- MacBook with the Apple M2 Pro chip maintains its performance even when running on battery power.
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Thinner bezels and 24% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Features a bigger (~16%) battery – 100 against 86 watt-hours
- 79% sharper screen – 254 versus 142 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Provides 67% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 300 nits
- Much smaller footprint: 17% more compact case (136.7 vs 165.7 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 3 kg (6.62 lbs) | 2.15 kg (4.74 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 368.9 x 289.9 x 23-25.4 mm 14.52 x 11.41 x 0.91-1 inches |
355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
| Area | 1069 cm2 (165.7 inches2) | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~69.4% | ~86.2% |
| Side bezels | 12.1 mm | 3.4 mm |
| Colors | Gray | Silver, Gray |
| Material | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 135° | 135° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | Yes | No |
| Liquid metal | Yes | No |
| Number of fans | 4 | 2 |
| Max. fan speed (RPM) | - | 6000 RPM |
| Noise level (max. load) | 54.7 dB | 43.2 dB |
Display
| Size | 16 inches | 16.2 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | Mini LED |
| Refresh rate | 480 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | - | Yes (24-120 Hz) |
| PPI | 142 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | G-Sync | No |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | No | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
Alienware m16
16″ (16:10 ratio) = 115.1 in2
~2% more screen space
| Contrast | 1000:1 | 504000:1 |
| sRGB color space | - | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 88.5% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | 99% |
| Response time | 3 ms | 63 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Voltage | 11.4 V | - |
| Full charging time | 2:00 hr | 1:25 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes | Yes, 100 W |
| Charging port position | Bottom | Left, Right |
| Charge power | 300 / 330 W | 140 W |
| Cable length | - | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | 1487 grams | 353 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.6 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 4.9 GHz | - |
| Cores | 14 (6P + 8E) | 12 (8P + 4E) |
| Threads | 20 | 12 |
| L3 Cache | 24 MB | - |
| Integrated GPU | Intel UHD Graphics (16EU) | Apple M2 Pro GPU (19-core) |
| Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 115 W | 35 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | MUX | - |
| Type | Dedicated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 2070 MHz | 450 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 2370 MHz | 1398 MHz |
| FLOPS | 12.1 TFLOPS | 6.8 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 6 GB | System Shared |
| Memory type | GDDR6 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory bus | 96 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory speed | ~16 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2560 | 2432 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 80 | 152 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 32 | 76 |
| GPU performance | 12.1 TFLOPS | 6.8 TFLOPS |
GPU Benchmarks
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Blender GPU | 3073 | 901 |
| Solar Bay | 38591 | 15563 |
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 1x8 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 4800 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 2 | - |
| Max. ram size | 64 GB | - |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x256 GB | 2x256 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 2 | - |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Audio chip | Realtek ALC3254 | - |
| Speakers | 2.0 | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W | - |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | ~82.1 dB | ~86.1 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v6E |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5.3 |
| Fingerprint | No | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | Optional | No |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 2x USB 3.2 | No |
| USB Type-C | 2x USB 4.0 | 3x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.1 |
| DisplayPort | 1x v1.4 | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | Yes | No |
| SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1.8 mm | 1 mm |
| Size | 11.2 x 6.5 cm | 15.5 x 9.9 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | No |
Further details
Notes on Alienware m16:
- Optional CherryMX low-profile mechanical switches.
- Supports a maximum of 9 TB of storage (2x4 TB + 2x512 TB).
- The face scanner is available only in two configs: QHD with 240Hz and FHD with 480Hz.
- Due to XMP profiles, RAM can operate at up to 5800 MHz.
Notes on MacBook Pro 16 (2023):
- Entry-level configuration includes a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, contrasting the 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU we tested, resulting in roughly a 15% multi-core performance reduction.
- Entry-level configuration featuring 512 GB storage uses slower single-channel SSD, whereas 1 TB or larger versions incorporate dual-channel SSDs.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 16