The MacBook Pro, particularly the 16-inch M1 Pro or M1 Max option, presents a real challenge to comparable Windows laptops. It’s incredibly powerful, especially considering how remarkable the battery life is and how quiet the system stays under load.
While no Windows laptop can currently accurately emulate this profile of a system, that doesn’t mean there aren’t solid alternatives to the MacBook Pro. Their battery life can be weaker and they can get pretty hot and noisy – but in some cases they offer stronger overall performance. If you want a premium, relatively portable powerhouse but want to stay on the Windows side of the aisle, these are your best options.
Table of Contents
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
The large format laptop to beat
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Razer Blade 17
A powerful machine for gamers first, developers second
Read our detailed test report
advantages
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Great design and build quality
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Powerful for gaming
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Extensive ports
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Excellent colorful screen
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Surface stays relatively cool
Disadvantages
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CPU performance throttling
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Bad battery life
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Very expensive
The Razer Blade 17 is as slim a laptop as you’ll find outside of the MacBook Pro 16. Its all-black exterior and chiseled aesthetic rivals Apple’s best in terms of industrial design. It’s just as solid, too, with the same feel of being chiseled from a solid piece of metal (which it is). If you’re looking for a laptop that feels like a MacBook Pro 16, then the Razer Blade 17 is your best bet.
At the same time, the Razer Blade 17 can offer performance that rivals – and in many cases eclipses – the MacBook Pro 16 with its M1 Max CPU. We tested the Razer with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12800H, a fast CPU with 14 cores (six Performance and 8 Efficient) and 20 threads, but not Intel’s fastest. When configured with the Nvidia GeForce 3080 Ti GPU, the Razer Blade 17 scored 969 on the Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark, run in a live version of Adobe Premiere Pro. That’s a great test of how well a laptop can handle demanding creative tasks. The MacBook Pro 16 with the M1 Max scored 1,167, a higher score but not so much higher that it puts the MacBook in a completely different class. You can also configure the Razer Blade 17 with a Core i9-12900H, which offers the same number of cores and threads but a higher clock speed.
And then this RTX 3080 Ti will bring you better gaming performance than Apple’s machine could ever dream of. You also get a display that, although in an old-school 16:9 aspect ratio, has solid color and contrast, and a super-fast 240Hz refresh rate (with a Full HD 360Hz option available). All of this makes the Razer Blade 17 a gamer’s dream laptop as much as it is a developer’s, something the MacBook Pro 16 can’t match.
Razer Blade 17
A powerful machine for gamers first, developers second
Dell XPS 17 (9710)
A slimmer alternative
Read our detailed test report
advantages
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Bright beautiful screen
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Fantastic build quality and design
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performance is impressive
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Ultra-thin bezels
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Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
Disadvantages
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Battery life mediocre
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Bad webcam
Dell’s XPS 17 has the most outstanding design of any laptop on this list. It’s made from CNC-machined aluminum in the top and bottom case, with black carbon fiber lining the keyboard deck, offering both a striking visual contrast and a more comfortable typing surface. The XPS 17 is just as solidly built as the MacBook Pro 16 while also being a slimmer and more attractive machine.
The XPS 17 has just been refreshed and doesn’t yet list all the configurations that we suspect will eventually come. Right now, Dell’s website lists the Core i7-12700H and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 as the highest performing components available. We suspect the XPS 17 will at least get a Core i9 option and the same RTX 3060 that graced the previous model. If so, then it’ll be a fast machine, but not as fast as the most powerful MacBook Pro 16.
However, the XPS 17 is also cheaper, and when configuring a more similarly priced MacBook Pro 16, the difference in performance isn’t that great. And you have a Windows laptop that’s still faster in its gaming performance while still offering solid support for creative applications. You also get a display that developers will like and an overall design that’s every bit as excellent as the best from Apple.
Dell XPS 17 (9710)
A slimmer alternative
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4
An upgradeable powerhouse
Read our detailed test report
advantages
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Excellent build quality
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Superior entry-level display
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Solid performance
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Good keyboard and touchpad
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Very powerful configuration options
Disadvantages
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The performance was inconsistent
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The battery life was mediocre
Think of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 as a placeholder in anticipation of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5, which will make for an even more robust MacBook Pro 16 competitor. For now, Lenovo’s most powerful ThinkPad stays with 11th Gen Intel CPUs and is limited to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, while the 5th Gen machine is upgraded to 12th Gen CPUs, including the Core i9 vPro and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti .
As it is, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 offers the usual excellent ThinkPad build quality and keyboard, as well as solid performance to rival the MacBook Pro 16 M1 Pro version. It’s also upgradeable, with easily accessible RAM and a second PCIe SSD slot that can be used to expand storage and performance or create a redundant drive.
The laptop is built around an excellent 16-inch display and offers excellent connectivity with any of the laptops on this list. If you want performance that rivals the MacBook Pro 16, you should wait for the next generation. But for an all-around laptop that’s at the top of the ThinkPad lineup, even the fourth generation is competitive.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4
An upgradeable powerhouse
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
MSI Creator Z17
Highly optimized creative performance
Read our detailed test report
advantages
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Outstanding productivity and creative output
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Good gaming performance
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Great keyboard and touchpad
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Active pen support
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Solid build quality
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Attractive aesthetics
Disadvantages
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Expensive
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Display is a step behind the best
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Bad battery life
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Difficult
Best known for its gaming laptops, MSI knows a thing or two about squeezing every ounce of performance out of a laptop’s components. The Creator Z17 is a prime example, using a sophisticated thermal design that allows its modest Core i7-12700H and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to rival the MacBook Pro 16 with the M1 Pro in creative performance. Upgrade to the Core i9-12900H and RTX 3080 Ti and you have a Windows laptop that rivals the M1 Max version of the MacBook.
You also get excellent gaming performance, a great keyboard and touchpad, active pen support (a first for a 17-inch laptop), and solid build quality. The 17.3-inch IPS display isn’t quite up to par in terms of color width and accuracy, but it runs at 165Hz, making it great for gamers.
The MSI Creator Z17 aims to match the performance of the MacBook Pro 16, and it succeeds. It’s not the lightest or prettiest laptop on this list, but it’s a powerful addition.
MSI Creator Z17
Highly optimized creative performance
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