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The Best Windows Laptop Alternative to MacBook Pro M4 Max?

Maxis

Maxis

macrumors Pomeranian
Original poster
Oct 24, 2018
95
49
I'm in real need of a Windows laptop that’s a true powerhouse. I've been searching for the best possible alternative to the MacBook Pro M4 Max, but it feels like mission impossible.

Here are some interesting Windows laptops I've come across:
  • Dell XPS 16 OLED
    • RAM is limited to 32GB in the EU (except the UK)... seriously, why?
  • ThinkPad P16 Gen 2
    • Supports up to 198GB RAM, 8TB SSD (RAID), and an Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada Mobile GPU, Oled.
    • However, it suffers from overheating, crashes, and a keyboard that heats up uncomfortably.
  • HP ZBook Fury
    • 128 GB RAM, 16TB SSD
    • Powerful but plagued by fan noise and overheating issues.
I’m looking for a silent powerhouse with plenty of memory and an OLED display. Any suggestions?
 
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Doesn’t exist. Apple has pretty much cornered the market on powerful+quiet machines. Anything running Intel/AMD might match or exceed performance of the M4 Max but it’s gonna run hot and be loud. Laptops running Snapdragon will be cooler and quieter but are not near the level of performance. Gonna have to prioritize.
 
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I am coming to the very same conclusion. Maybe I just need to use Parallels.. and wait for M6 oled version from Apple.. that isn't the same because then there is kind of two system hassle on..
 
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Maxis said:
I am coming to the very same conclusion. Maybe I just need to use Parallels.. and wait for M6 oled version from Apple.. that isn't the same because then there is kind of two system hassle on..
Click to expand...

I do this.

Windows 11 ARM version runs pretty amazingly well in Parallels on Apple Silicon.

As in, outside of a few apps that won't run because they are not available (some Windows on-prem server management tools - basically the RSAT - doesn't exist for ARM Win11) Windows 11 in a VM is superior in performance to Windows 11 NATIVE on a lot of consumer grade PC laptops.

Ditto for some apps (like LLMs inside of Windows) that would require direct access to the GPU.

Not joking, it flies. Apple silicon virtualisation performance under Parallels is witchcraft.
 
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All I use parallels for is Windows network administration, I give the VM 16 GB and it is plenty for what I do. I'm on a machine with 64 GB.

In a pinch 8GB is "enough" it depends on what you need to do inside of windows.

If you need to do 3d work inside the Windows VM - probably not suitable.

What's your use case?
 
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Dell and HP have announced their respective 2025 mobile workstation line-ups. Both have 16" and 18" laptops. Release date probably in the summer. There is a preview of the HP 18" Fury here:

PC MAG
 
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SnoFlo said:
Dell and HP have announced their respective 2025 mobile workstation line-ups. Both have 16" and 18" laptops. Release date probably in the summer. There is a preview of the HP 18" Fury here:

PC MAG
Click to expand...
While they will be powerful, they will also get pretty loud under load, the regular h variants in current laptops with Vapor chamber cooling are definitely not quiet, the hx series will only run hotter lol.
 
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throAU said:
All I use parallels for is Windows network administration, I give the VM 16 GB and it is plenty for what I do. I'm on a machine with 64 GB.

In a pinch 8GB is "enough" it depends on what you need to do inside of windows.

If you need to do 3d work inside the Windows VM - probably not suitable.

What's your use case?
Click to expand...
I am running Excel 😁

The datasets are not massive. I tested with some thousand rows and mem was used 85% from 8gb.

I took the lifetime license and it’s limited to that. Might be the case I need to make a subscription if I am hitting the mem wall.

I am running on MBP M1 Max, 64gb. The weak part is low space on SSD (0,4/2TB).
 
I owned and use an Asus Zenbook that put my macbook air 2020 to shame!
the battery, speed, display and use of 3rd party programs out performed the MBA


Therefore i would highly recommend that brand!
 
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Maxis said:
I am running Excel 😁

The datasets are not massive. I tested with some thousand rows and mem was used 85% from 8gb.

I took the lifetime license and it’s limited to that. Might be the case I need to make a subscription if I am hitting the mem wall.

I am running on MBP M1 Max, 64gb. The weak part is low space on SSD (0,4/2TB).
Click to expand...
Is Excel in MacOS not suitable?
 
Maxis said:
I am running Excel 😁

The datasets are not massive. I tested with some thousand rows and mem was used 85% from 8gb.

I took the lifetime license and it’s limited to that. Might be the case I need to make a subscription if I am hitting the mem wall.

I am running on MBP M1 Max, 64gb. The weak part is low space on SSD (0,4/2TB).
Click to expand...
So why not consider something like the ThinkPad P16s Gen 2 AMD? It'll do 64GB RAM, has an OLED display option and judging from the Notebookcheck review is quiet and cool. It uses standard a M.2 slot for storage, so while Lenovo has it configurable only for 2TB, you could bump it 4 or 8 on your own.

You don't need a good GPU or an insane CPU for Excel.
 
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salamanderjuice said:
So why not consider something like the ThinkPad P16s Gen 2 AMD? It'll do 64GB RAM, has an OLED display option and judging from the Notebookcheck review is quiet and cool. It uses standard a M.2 slot for storage, so while Lenovo has it configurable only for 2TB, you could bump it 4 or 8 on your own.

You don't need a good GPU or an insane CPU for Excel.
Click to expand...
Crap trackpad, crap battery life and fan noise
 
throAU said:
Crap trackpad, crap battery life and fan noise
Click to expand...
If you think the ThinkPad P16s Gen 2 AMD is loud then you probably think the MBP M4 Max is loud. Notebookcheck says it's 40.5 Db at max load. They measured the MBP M4 Max at 42.2 Db.

It gets like 10 hours web browsing. How much you really need?

I'll give you crap trackpad.

Note the P16s Gen 2 AMD is not the same as the Intel, non-s models.
 
salamanderjuice said:
If you think the ThinkPad P16s Gen 2 AMD is loud then you probably think the MBP M4 Max is loud. Notebookcheck says it's 40.5 Db at max load. They measured the MBP M4 Max at 42.2 Db.
Click to expand...
Sure, and during normal use it is 100% silent.

The only time I ever hear mine make noise is running 3d workloads or 100% CPU stress. And if I want it to be silent doing that, I can select low power mode and it goes back to basically silent while still being performant as opposed to dropping to HALF the performance (or less) like most PC notebooks on the market when on battery or in low power mode.
 
The OLED screen is tempting me. 25 years ago (ehh...), I always used AMD—it was much cheaper and performed well.
 
throAU said:
Sure, and during normal use it is 100% silent.

The only time I ever hear mine make noise is running 3d workloads or 100% CPU stress. And if I want it to be silent doing that, I can select low power mode and it goes back to basically silent while still being performant as opposed to dropping to HALF the performance (or less) like most PC notebooks on the market when on battery or in low power mode.
Click to expand...
Yes, I have had the same experience with the AMD Thinkpad I've used, silent unless multiple cores are being used at 100%.

Reviews suggest the P16s is similar.
 
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