This week, Apple’s latest Mac Studio is making its debut, with early reviews now surfacing. The consensus? This machine is a true powerhouse, easily outpacing any previous Mac model—but selecting the right chip depends on your specific needs.
Comparative Analysis of M4 Max and M3 Ultra Models
The latest Mac Studio retains the same form factor as its M2 predecessor. However, there are some notable hardware distinctions between the M4 Max and M3 Ultra models beyond just performance.
As Andrew Cunningham states in Ars Technica:
While the Max and Ultra models appear identical externally, there are a few critical differences. The Ultra variant is approximately two pounds heavier (8 pounds instead of 6.1) due to its heatsink, which utilizes denser yet more thermally conductive copper in place of aluminum. Furthermore, the two front ports on the Ultra model support the full 120Gbps Thunderbolt 5 speeds, whereas those on the Max model only offer 10Gbps USB-C.
Reviewers consistently celebrate the immense power of the new Mac Studio. However, given that the two chip options are a generation apart, differing computing tasks may lead one chip to excel over the other.
Even though the M3 Ultra comes at a significantly higher price point, it has its advantages and drawbacks, as explained by Ars Technica:
The most significant downside is that the M3 Ultra exhibits M3-class single-core performance, which remains crucial for tasks like gaming and workloads that cannot be divided among multiple cores. Although the M3 Ultra GPU performs better than the M4 Max in GFXBench graphics benchmarks at 4K and 1440p, the M4 Max proves to be much quicker at 1080p. This disparity arises because the M3 Ultra’s CPU is a bottleneck for the GPU, whereas the M4 Max’s CPU performs without restrictions.
While the M3 Ultra lags in single-core performance, it ultimately surpasses the M4 Max in multi-threaded CPU tasks and in GPU benchmarks where the GPU acts as the limiting factor.
The high-end M3 Ultra offers several undeniable advantages, particularly in AI workflows.
Max Weinbach mentions in Creative Strategies:
The Mac Studio equipped with the M3 Ultra is crowned as the most potent AI workstation available, designed specifically for the demanding needs of AI developers. With exceptional unified memory (up to 512GB) and impressive GPU capabilities, the M3 Ultra Mac Studio excels in managing large language models (LLMs) efficiently, even outperforming high-end PCs in real-world AI tasks. Its synergy with Apple’s MLX framework ensures optimized and user-friendly performance, positioning the Mac Studio as an exceptionally proficient machine for both contemporary and future AI development.
Jeremy Gray writes for PetaPixel:
The Mac Studio featuring the M3 Ultra is a compelling machine in terms of performance. In many respects, it undeniably stands as the most powerful Mac created thus far, fulfilling Apple’s ambitious claims.
However, not every scenario fully utilizes the available power. While applications like Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve undeniably benefit, Photoshop does not. This complicates the recommendation process since Apple’s most powerful Mac may not be the best choice for you.
The Mac Studio stands out, yet for many users, the Mac mini may be a more suitable choice
A recurring insight across reviews is that the Mac Studio is tailored for a limited user base that fully recognizes how to harness its power.
For the average user? The M4 Mac mini remains a robust option, particularly with the availability of the M4 Pro configuration.
For those needing a desktop Mac, the new Mac Studio remains unmatched in power and versatility.
However, if the mini doesn’t meet your requirements, opting for the enhanced Mac Studio—assuming you choose the chip that suits your needs best—could be a wise decision.
