Dell Pro Max Slim CTP9K

A shockingly small workstation with a monster CPU and ports for days. Skip it if you want to game, but for certified pro apps, this thing is a desk-space miracle.

The Core Ultra 9 285 is the star here. With 24 cores and a 5.7 GHz boost, it chews through multi-threaded workloads like a champ, landing in the 93rd percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's one of the best on the market for a business desktop. The RTX 2000 Ada with 16GB of VRAM is a smart pairing. It's not going to set gaming records, sitting around the 61st percentile for GPUs, but for certified drivers and ISV applications like SolidWorks or Revit, it's a reliable workhorse. What surprised us was the port selection. Eight USB-A ports, three DisplayPort connections, and Wi-Fi 7 in a machine this small is just showing off. It's in the 95th percentile for connectivity, which is the absolute best right now.

The Lenovo Legion 34IAS10 and HP Omen GT22 are gaming-focused competitors that will smoke this Dell in raw frame rates but lack ISV certifications and the compact, office-friendly design. The ASUS Republic of Gamers GM700TZ is in the same boat, a flashy tower with more GPU power but none of the professional restraint. If you need a small, quiet, certified workstation for CAD or data science, the Dell is the clear pick. If you want to game after hours or need more GPU compute for rendering, one of those gaming rigs with a GeForce card is a better, and likely cheaper, path.

Pricing is all over the map, with a spread from $3,927 to $5,618 across vendors. At the low end, this is a compelling deal for a compact, ISV-certified workstation. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. Shop around and don't pay a cent over four grand. The sweet spot is finding it closer to that $3,900 mark, where the CPU and connectivity alone justify the cost for a business that needs this specific form factor.

The Dell Pro Max Slim is a quiet overachiever. It stuffs a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 and a pro-grade NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada into an 8.5-liter chassis that won't eat your desk. This isn't a gaming rig, and it doesn't pretend to be. It's a compact workstation built for data crunching, CAD, and AI-assisted business apps, and it nails that mission. The one thing to know? It delivers legitimate workstation muscle in a package smaller than most gaming consoles, with connectivity that puts full-size towers to shame.

If you're looking for a gaming PC or a machine for GPU-based 3D rendering, this isn't it. The RTX 2000 Ada is a professional card, not a gaming one, and the 360W power supply means you can't just drop in a faster GPU later. Go get a mid-tower with a GeForce RTX 4070 or better instead.

The Dell Pro Max Slim is a purpose-built tool that knows its audience. It's not for everyone, but for engineers, architects, and data analysts who need certified performance in a space-constrained office, it's a fantastic choice. The CPU is a beast, the connectivity is future-proof, and the compact design is a genuine feat. Just make sure you're paying the right price for it.