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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) offers longer battery life, higher screen resolution, and is lighter, making it a good fit for those needing portability and screen quality for tasks like photo editing. However, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has a higher refresh rate display suited for gaming and powerful hardware that excels in 3D rendering and intensive gaming. Both are premium-priced and comparably equipped for general use, but the MacBook excels in battery life and portability, whereas the Alienware is tailored more towards high-performance gaming and engineering applications with some tradeoff in battery life and weight. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
- Very good for general use
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Excellent overall display quality
- Best in class overall build quality
- Good portability
- Best in class battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m15 R7
- The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8
7.5
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Engineering and Design
8.9
8.2
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Dell Alienware m15 R7 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 boasts an Apple M3 Pro CPU and GPU, 18 GB of RAM, a high-resolution Mini LED screen, and exceptional screen color accuracy, making it ideal for tasks that require strong computational power and visual precision such as engineering and design. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware m15 R7, with its AMD Ryzen 9 CPU, Nvidia RTX GPU, and 16 GB of RAM, along with a good IPS display, also offers high performance suited for similar tasks but favors users looking for gaming-capable hardware.
Content Creation
8.9
7.5
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.9
7.3
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
9.3
8.2
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware m15 R7 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The MacBook Pro 16 with its high-resolution display excels in clarity and detail for general use and offers wide color gamuts crucial for engineering and design work, ensuring accurate color representation; however, its standard refresh rate constrains 3D application fluidity. The Dell Alienware m15 R7's high-quality display also performs well under general use and in engineering and design contexts, but its gaming and 3D performance suffer from poor refresh rates. For both laptops, while screen quality is robust across various use cases, the lack of high refresh rates limits their effectiveness for fast-paced 3D rendering or gaming environments.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has 5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0
8.5
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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Key similarities
Gaming and AI
7.5
7.8
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) are both good for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) with its high GPU performance, and 120Hz refresh rate Mini LED display is well-suited for 3D work; however, the limited availability of popular games on macOS is a downside for gaming. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m15 R7, featuring a powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and a higher 240Hz refresh rate screen, is optimized for gaming and can also handle 3D tasks well, plus it runs Windows which supports a broader range of popular games.
Cost
$2,199
$2,200
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,199 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 costs $2,200.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) | Dell Alienware m15 R7 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,199 | $2,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | November 1, 2023 | May 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66'' | 14'' x 10.7'' x 0.94'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.7 lbs | 5.93 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.01" | 14.02" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.77" | 10.73" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M3 Pro (12C) | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 18 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 17.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 99.6 Wh | 86 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16.2" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | Mini LED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 487 nits | 300 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8.8/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 3 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
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NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
Dell Alienware m15 R7
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Dig into reviews and images
Tom's Hardware
Brandon Hill | October 2022
"The Alienware M15 offers solid gaming and leading endurance. It makes the most of its CPU and GPU while delivering stellar battery life for a gaming laptop. Opening the lid presents a full-size keyboard with honeycomb cutouts above it on the deck. An oblong RBG lightning element surrounds the entire rear panel and can be color-synced with the other lights on the laptop. There’s not a lot to dislike about the M15 Its productivity performance lagged in some areas, particularly in the storage benchmark, and it’s a bit heavy. Alienware has a clear winner here with the M15 based on its strong overall performance and endurance."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Dell Alienware m15 R7
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
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Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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