Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250 2026, Core Ultra 5 236V, 16GB, 256GB SSD, Silver

The Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250 has a 90th percentile port selection and an 81st percentile compact build, but a 25th percentile 256GB SSD drags the whole package down. The Core Ultra 5 236V and 16GB of RAM are solid mid-pack performers, but the 18.5 gaming score and 55th percentile display mean this is strictly a business machine. At CAD 1,276 open box, it's a decent deal for portability-focused office work, but the storage situation will frustrate you within months.

The Core Ultra 5 236V is an 8-core, 8-thread chip that boosts up to 4.7GHz, and in our database it lands at the 62nd percentile for CPU performance. That's about average for a modern thin-and-light, which means it'll chew through spreadsheets, browser tabs, and video calls without breaking a sweat. The 16GB of LPDDR5X at the 67th percentile gives you enough headroom for multitasking, though heavy virtualization or massive datasets will make it sweat. The integrated Intel Arc Graphics with 16GB of shared VRAM sits at the 66th percentile, which is surprisingly decent for integrated silicon, but the gaming score of 18.5 out of 100 tells the real story. This is not a gaming machine.

The 256GB NVMe SSD is the bottleneck. At the 25th percentile for storage, you're getting less room than most phones these days. Windows 11 Pro alone eats a chunk of that, and after a few months of documents, downloads, and app installs, you'll be playing the storage shuffle. The 55Wh battery paired with a 1080p 60Hz panel should deliver reasonable runtime, but we don't have benchmark data to back that up. The port situation is where this thing shines, Thunderbolt 4, dual USB-C, dual USB-A, HDMI 2.1, and Ethernet put it in the top 10% of laptops we track. That's genuinely impressive for a 1.40kg machine.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, this Dell gets absolutely smoked on CPU, GPU, screen, and storage. The MacBook is in a different league entirely, but it also costs significantly more. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion 5i are gaming machines that crush the Dell's 18.5 gaming score, but they're heavier and less focused on portability. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is probably the closest competitor in spirit, similar portability and business focus, but with better build quality and a sharper display. The MSI Raider is a desktop replacement that makes the Dell look like a netbook in terms of performance, but it's also twice the weight. For pure portability and port selection, the Dell holds its own. For everything else, the competition is ahead.

At CAD 1,276 for an open box unit with full warranty, the value proposition is tricky. You're getting a 90th percentile port selection and a genuinely compact build, but you're also getting a 25th percentile storage drive and a 55th percentile screen. For a business laptop, the port situation and Windows 11 Pro are the selling points. But when you look at what else is out there at this price point, the 256GB SSD feels like a cost-cutting move that will annoy you within months. The open box discount helps, but you're still paying Pro money for a machine with entry-level storage.

The Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250 lands in a weird spot. It's got a 90th percentile port selection and a compact build that ranks in the 81st percentile, but then you hit that 256GB SSD sitting at the 25th percentile and the whole thing feels lopsided. The Intel Core Ultra 5 236V with 16GB of LPDDR5X is a solid mid-pack performer at the 62nd percentile for CPU, and the integrated Arc Graphics actually outranks the CPU at the 66th percentile. But this is a business laptop pretending it can do more than it should.

At 1.40kg with a 55Wh battery and a 14" 1080p IPS panel, this thing is built for portability and office work. The display is fine but nothing special, 300 nits and 45% NTSC puts it right at the 55th percentile for screens. You're getting Windows 11 Pro, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, and even an Ethernet port, which is rare in a laptop this thin. The open box condition means full warranty and unused hardware, so the value story hinges entirely on what you actually need this machine to do.

Skip this if you need local storage, the 256GB SSD at the 25th percentile will drive you crazy within months. Skip it if you want any gaming capability, the 18.5 gaming score is one of the weakest we've seen. Skip it if you care about display quality, the 55th percentile screen with 300 nits and 45% NTSC is mediocre for a Pro-branded laptop. And if reliability is a priority, the 33rd percentile ranking should give you pause. This is a machine for people who prioritize portability and ports above everything else, and even then, the storage compromise is hard to swallow.

The Dell Pro 14 Plus PB14250 is a frustrating mix of great and mediocre. The port selection is genuinely best-in-class, the build is compact and light, and the Core Ultra 5 236V with 16GB of RAM will handle everyday business tasks without complaint. But the 256GB SSD at the 25th percentile is a dealbreaker for anyone who stores files locally, and the 55th percentile display with 45% NTSC color coverage is underwhelming for a Pro-branded machine. If you need a portable work laptop with every port imaginable and you're okay living in the cloud, this open box unit at CAD 1,276 is a reasonable buy. If you need local storage, a better screen, or any gaming capability at all, look elsewhere.