MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. Dell Precision 5540: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between MacBook Pro 15” (2016) and Dell Precision 5540 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) Pros

We couldn't find any advantages of MacBook Pro 15” (2016) over Dell Precision 5540.

Dell Precision 5540 Pros

Reasons that Dell Precision 5540 is better than MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

Significantly newer manufacturing

2019 vs. 2016

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i9-9980HK inside Dell Precision 5540 has a 95% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-6920HQ inside MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i9-9980HK
6,504
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i9-9880H
6,100
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Xeon E-2276M
5,165
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i7-9850H
4,914
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i5-9400H
3,690
MacBook Pro 15” (2016) - Intel Core i7-6920HQ
3,321
MacBook Pro 15” (2016) - Intel Core i7-6820HQ
3,142
MacBook Pro 15” (2016) - Intel Core i7-6700HQ
3,073
Supports larger memory

Dell Precision 5540 supports a larger memory capacity than the MacBook Pro 15” (2016). It supports up to 64GB versus 16GB of system memory on the MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

Max system memory size
Dell Precision 5540
64 GB
MacBook Pro 15” (2016)
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Dell Precision 5540 supports a faster memory speed than the MacBook Pro 15” (2016). It supports up to 3200MHz versus 2133MHz of system memory on the MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

Memory type and speed
Dell Precision 5540 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
MacBook Pro 15” (2016) - LPDDR3
2,133 MHz
Upgradable memory

Dell Precision 5540 comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) since it has onboard memory.

MemoryMacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR3DDR4
Upgradable storage

Dell Precision 5540 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future. On top of that, it also has a single SATA slot that users can use to install a 2.5-inch SATA SSD, SSHD, or a hard disk drive to add even more storage.

SlotsMacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
M.2
Onboard
Yes x1
Has three more ports and slots

Dell Precision 5540 has more ports and slots count than the MacBook Pro 15” (2016). It has eight versus five amount of ports and slots on the MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

PortsMacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
full-size SD card slotNoYes
HDMINoYes
headphone jackYesYes
lock slotNoYes
power portNoYes
Thunderbolt 3Yes x4Yes
USB-ANoYes x2
Total58
More versatile connectivity

Dell Precision 5540 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the MacBook Pro 15” (2016). It has six versus two commonly used ports and slots on the MacBook Pro 15” (2016).

PortsMacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
headphone jackYesYes
Thunderbolt 3YesYes
full-size SD card slotNoYes
HDMINoYes
power portNoYes
USB-ANoYes

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) Price
2016 Apple MacBook Pro with 2.7GHz quad-core with Intel Core i7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(QWERTZ English) Space Gray (Renewed)
2016 Apple MacBook Pro with 2.7GHz quad-core with Intel Core i7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)(QWERTZ English) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$411.64
$455.27 10% OFF
Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina Core i7 2.6GHz MLH32LL/A with Touch Bar, 16GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Drive (Renewed)
Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina Core i7 2.6GHz MLH32LL/A with Touch Bar, 16GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Drive (Renewed)
By Apple
$459.95
Apple 2016 MacBook Pro with 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 (15 inch, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
Apple 2016 MacBook Pro with 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 (15 inch, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$454.97
$517.89 12% OFF
Dell Precision 5540 Price
DELL Precision 5540 Workstation Intel Core i7-9850H 15.6-inch Full HD IPS Display 32GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA Quadro 4GB Win 11 Pro (Renewed)
DELL Precision 5540 Workstation Intel Core i7-9850H 15.6-inch Full HD IPS Display 32GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA Quadro 4GB Win 11 Pro (Renewed)
By DELL
$502.29
Dell Precision 5540 Workstation Laptop PC 15.6" FHD Intel Core i7-9850H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD Drive, Web Camera HDMI NVIDIA Quadro T1000 4GB GDDR5 Windows 10 (Renewed)
Dell Precision 5540 Workstation Laptop PC 15.6" FHD Intel Core i7-9850H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD Drive, Web Camera HDMI NVIDIA Quadro T1000 4GB GDDR5 Windows 10 (Renewed)
By Dell
$700.00
Dell Precision M5540 15.6 UHD Touchscreen Intel Core i7-9750H 2.60Ghz 32GB 1TB SSDR Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
Dell Precision M5540 15.6 UHD Touchscreen Intel Core i7-9750H 2.60Ghz 32GB 1TB SSDR Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
By Dell
$639.00

Availability

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Released20162019
Release Date
  • Announced on October 27, 2016
  • Available on November 15, 2016
  • Announced at Computex 2019.
  • Available from early July 2019.
Pricing
  • $2,399
    Intel Core i7 6700HQ | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD | Radeon Pro 450
  • $2,799
    Intel Core i7 6820HQ | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | Radeon Pro 455
Starting at $1,339
Generations

Exterior

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Dimensions13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61” (349.3 mm x 240.7 mm x 155 mm)14.06 x 9.26 x 0.44 in (357 x 235 x 11.2 mm)
Width: 14.06” (357 mm)
Depth: 9.26” (235 mm)
Height: 0.44” (11.2 mm)
WeightStarting at 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg)3.93 lbs (1.78 kg)
Colors
Space Gray Silver
  • Aluminum Platinum Silver LCD Cover
  • Aluminum Titan Gray LCD Cover
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys
  • Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
  • Full-size backlit keyboard.
  • 4.03 x 2.45 in (102.40 mm x 62.40 mm) touchpad with 5 multi-touch gesture support.

Display

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Size15.4 Inches15.6 Inches
InfoRetina display
  • 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1920 by 1200
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1280 by 800
    • 1024 by 640
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Wide color gamut (P3)
  • 15.6" UltraSharp FHD IGZO4
    • 1920x1080, AG, NT, w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% sRGB.
  • 15.6" Ultrasharp UHD IGZO4
    • 3840x2160, Touch, w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% Adobe,
  • 15.6" Ultrasharp OLED UHD
    • 3840x2160, Non-Touch,w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% DCI-P3

Ports

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Charging, Displayport
Right (3)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Charging, Displayport
Dell Precision 5540 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (5)
  • 1 x power port
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (3)
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x lock slot

Internal Specs

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Processor
  1. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.70 → 3.60 GHz, 8 MB Smart Cache, 45W
  3. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.90 → 3.80 GHz, 8 MB Smart Cache, 45W
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 4.30 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.60 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  4. Intel Xeon E-2276M
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.80 → 4.70 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  5. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
  6. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 530
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  2. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 530
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  3. 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 530
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  2. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  4. Intel Xeon E-2276M
    Intel® UHD Graphics P630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  5. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  6. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Memory
16GB
of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
  • Memory Slots
    • 2 x DDR4 SoDIMM
  • Memory Configurations
    • Minimum Memory: 8GB
    • Maximum Memory: 64GB
Discrete Graphics
  • AMD Radeon Pro 450 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro 455 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
  • NVIDIA Quadro T1000 (Optional)
    Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1395 → 1455 MHz, 768 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA Quadro T2000 (Optional)
    Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1575 → 1785 MHz, 1,024 CUDA Cores.
Storage
256GB 512GB
configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD
  • Hard Drive Slots
    • 1 x M.2 PCIe SSD slot
    • 1 x 2.5 inches hard drive slot
      Available only on a 3-cell 56Wh battery model.
  • Hard Drive Configurations
    • Up to 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
    • Up to 2TB SATA Hard Drive

Connectivity

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
  • Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2x2 802.11ax 160MHz
  • Intel Wireless-AC 9260 2x2 802.11ac
  • Qualcomm QCA6174A 2x2 802.11ac
BluetoothBluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
  • Bluetooth 5.0

Battery

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Size76 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
  • 56 Wh (3-cell lithium-ion)
  • 97 Wh (6-cell lithium-ion)
Battery Life
  • Up to 10 hours wireless web
  • Up to 10 hours Apple TV app movie playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
-
Power Supply87W USB‑C Power Adapter130 W power adapter
Power rated at 19.5VDC/6.67A.

Software

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
OSShipped with macOS Sierra
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Ubuntu 18.04 LTS RedHat 7.5
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee® Small Business Security 30 Day Free Trial

Camera & Audio

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Camera720p FaceTime HD camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Top-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
Audio
  • Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Waves MaxxAudio Pro
  • Two speakers
  •  dual-array microphones

Misc

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
Sensors
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button (optional)
Security
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T1 Chip
  • Intel® vPro™ Technology (iAMT 12) (optional, requires Intel WiFi® Link WLAN and a vPro compatible processor), Dell Client Command Suite available (dell.com/command), Factory Installed Dell Client Command | Update, Dell Command | Power Manager
  • Intel® Platform Trust Technology
  • Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0
  • Chassis wedge-shaped security lock
  • Support for Computrace and SmartCard Reader
  • Touch Fingerprint Reader with Control Vault 3.0 (Advanced Authentication with FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Certification)
In the box
  • 15‑inch MacBook Pro
  • 87W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
-
WarrantyYour MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one‑year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
More
Video Support
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
  • Up to two displays with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
  • Up to four displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
  • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
  • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
-

Key Features

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540
At Glance
Released in Late
2016
16:10 Retina
15.4”
1800p 60Hz
Weight
4.02 lb
1.82 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-6920HQ
4C/8T, 2.90 → 3.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
836
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,321
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 530
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
16GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3
AMD
Radeon Pro 460
4GB GDDR5
Released in
2019
16:9 4K UHD
15.6”
2160p OLED
Weight
3.93 lb
1.78 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-9980HK
8C/16T, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,114
Single Core
Geekbench 5
6,504
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Upgradable up to
64GB
3200 MHz DDR4
Dell Precision 5540 Ports
Nvidia Quadro
T2000
4GB GDDR5

Comparison Summary

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. Dell Precision 5540

Apple has released the MacBook Pro 15” , a 15.4-inch machine, in late-2016. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-6920HQ with a boost clock speed up to 3.80 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to AMD Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB GDDR5.

On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch Precision 5540 was introduced by Dell about three years later in 2019. It comes with up to an octa-core Intel Core i9-9980HK with a boost clock speed up to 5.00 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia Quadro T2000 with 4GB GDDR5.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)1
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ79871.25%
2
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ82673.75%
3
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ83674.64%
Dell Precision 55401
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H98487.86%
2
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H1,04493.21%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H1,08096.43%
4
Intel Xeon E-2276M1,120100.00%
5
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H1,06695.18%
6
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK1,11499.46%
01,120

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)1
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ3,07347.25%
2
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ3,14248.31%
3
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ3,32151.06%
Dell Precision 55401
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H3,69056.73%
2
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H4,88075.03%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H4,91475.55%
4
Intel Xeon E-2276M5,16579.41%
5
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H6,10093.79%
6
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK6,504100.00%
06,504

The MacBook Pro 15” (2016) has a 15.4-inch display which is quite similar size to the 15.6-inch Dell Precision 5540. In addition, the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) weighs 4.02 lbs. about 2% heavier than the 3.93 lbs. Dell Precision 5540. Moreover, measured at 13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61”, the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) is much bulkier than the Dell Precision 5540 at 14.06” x 9.26” x 0.44”.

MacBook Pro 15” (2016)Dell Precision 5540

There are only three Thunderbolt 3 ports, a headphone jack available on MacBook Pro 15” (2016). With that said, it has three ports and slots fewer than the Dell Precision 5540 that has a power port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a headphone jack, a full-size SD card slot, and a lock slot.

Moving over to upgradability, Apple claims that the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) supports 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. It also has soldered storage, and there are no M.2 slots for expansion.

For Dell Precision 5540, it supports up to 64GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with two memory module slots on the motherboard. It also has a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace or upgrade when needed. Besides that, it also comes with a SATA slot where you can install an additional 2.5-inch SATA-based SSD, SSHD, or a hard disk drive.

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