The Mac Studio is Apple’s mid-range desktop Mac computer, between the entry-level Mac Mini and the high-power Mac Pro. Now, Apple has revealed new Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips, paired with Thunderbolt 5.
Apple updated the Mac Studio last year with M2 Max and M2 Ultra hardware, alongside an updated Mac Pro with the same hardware. This time, Apple is going in a slightly different direction: the base model now has the same M4 Max chip already found in some MacBook Pro models, while the high-end Mac Studio has the brand new M3 Ultra. If all these names are confusing to you too, keep in mind that the performance levels go like M
Design and Hardware
The new Mac Studio has the same design and dimensions as the previous model: it’s an aluminum cube measuring 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) across the width and depth, and 3.7 inches (9.5 cm) in height. It used to have the same horizontal dimensions as the Mac Mini, just with a taller design, but now the Mac Mini has shrunk considerably.
You still get an HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3, two USB Type-A ports, and an SDXC card slot for connectivity across all models. The M4 Max model has four Thunderbolt 5 ports, while the M3 Ultra model bumps that up to six ports. There are also two more USB-C ports without Thunderbolt on the M4 Max model.
The base model is equipped with an M4 Max with a 32-core GPU, 36GB of unified memory, and 512GB storage. It can be configured with up to an M3 Ultra with an 80-core GPU, 16TB of storage, and 512GB of unified memory.
The M4 Mac Mini is still the best desktop Mac for most people, but if you need a lot of monitors (the Mini only goes up to three displays) or more CPU or GPU power for intensive tasks, the Mac Studio might be worth a look.
M4 Max and M3 Ultra
The base model of the Mac Studio is equipped with an M4 Max chip, while the higher-end models have an M3 Ultra. They’re built for demanding workflows like 3D modeling, AI and machine learning, and 4K media production. All that graphical power also means more displays: the M3 Ultra can handle up to eight 6K Pro Display monitors at once.
Apple said in a press release, “Mac Studio with M4 Max starts at 36GB of unified memory, with support for up to 128GB, so users can do everything from sorting through thousands of images with speed and precision, to producing complex compositions with hundreds of tracks, plug-ins, and virtual instruments, all played in real time. And with the powerful Media Engine in M4 Max, which features two ProRes accelerators, Mac Studio performance is outstanding for videographers who can effortlessly work with multiple streams of 4K ProRes.”
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The M3 Ultra option is intended for people that need as many CPU and GPU cores as possible. That’s especially helpful for video rendering and local AI models. This is the first, and currently only, Mac with an M3 Ultra chip. The Mac Pro is still on the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, and it’s not clear when that machine will get an upgrade.
Apple said the M3 Ultra model has “Up to 16.9x faster token generation using an LLM with hundreds of billions of parameters in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, thanks to its massive amounts of unified memory.” There’s also “Up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.”
The mix of M3 and M4 chips is a bit weird. Presumably, Apple does not have an M4 Ultra ready to put in any computers, so instead we are getting an Ultra chip built on the slightly older M3 architecture.
Pricing & Availability
The Mac Studio still has a starting price of $1,999, which now gets you 32GB of unified memory, a 512GB SSD, and an M4 Max with a 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. You can pre-order the Mac Studio starting today, and full availability starts on March 12.
Again, for most people, the M4 Mac Mini is still the best desktop Mac. The Mac Studio is still a higher-end model for anyone in need of more cores and memory.
Source: Apple
