I’ve been working on the wording of my Mac Studio review for several weeks, and I’ve finally been able to spend enough time with the machine to share my thoughts on Apple’s most powerful desktop offering.
I had the opportunity to test both the high-end Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra system-on-a-chip and the entry-level M1 Max base model. Is Mac Studio a good buy for those looking for a desktop solution? Is the M1 Ultra worth spending money on? Check out my how-to video tutorial where I share my observations and findings, and don’t forget to subscribe to YouTube for more Mac Studio related videos.
Form factor and design
Design-wise, Mac Studio is the definition of overcorrection. Its powerful chassis, almost the size of three Mac minis stacked on top of each other, looks neither pretty nor elegant.
Contrary to past approaches, Apple designed this computer by first identifying what users needed in terms of performance and features, and sculpting the machine with those parameters in mind. The Mac Studio isn’t an ugly machine, but it’s a clear departure from Jony Ive’s vision of what a desktop computer should look like, and to be honest, it’s a breath of fresh air.
That’s not to say that Mac Studio doesn’t have thoughtful areas. For example, the device is short enough to safely fit under Apple’s recently released 27-inch studio display. It also has a beautifully designed intake and exhaust system. Mac Studio isn’t silent, but it’s quiet enough to be heard even when under significant load, you’ll have to put in some effort.
Video: Mac Studio Review
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input Output
Other than Mac Pro, Mac Studio is the only Apple computer with more than four USB-C ports. In the M1 Ultra version of the machine, all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 4 ports, which proves to be extremely convenient for those like me who are knee-deep in the Thunderbolt ecosystem.
Cheaper M1 Max-enabled Mac Studios lack the bandwidth needed for six Thunderbolt ports, instead using USB 3.1 Gen 2 “10 Gbps” ports instead of the two front ports. It’s disappointing to me, but for most people, four Thunderbolt 4 ports + two USB 3.1 ports provide more than enough USB-C I/O.
Next to the two USB-C ports on the front is a UHS-II-enabled SDXC card slot. This is the perfect addition for those who regularly upload photos and videos from their digital cameras. Although SD cards are not as fast as CFExpress, the storage medium that many modern cameras use, SD cards remain much more common. Even some of the latest cameras that can shoot 8K video support recording directly to an SD card.
I recently tested the Canon R5c hybrid mirrorless camera and it features an updated HEVC codec with a very reasonable 540Mbps bit rate. This transfer rate is ideal for V90 SD cards. In fact, card maker Wise has just announced a V90 offering with a maximum capacity of 512GB, the largest such V90 card capable of storing up to two hours of 8K video shot with the R5c. Stay tuned because in the next post and video, I will explain why the R5c is such an amazing camera and the perfect companion for Mac Studio.
The stunning Canon R5c records 8K HEVC to SD cards at usable bit rates right out of the box.
You wouldn’t be crazy if you thought you were looking at the back of an Intel Mac mini when you were looking at the back of a Mac Studio. Except for the port layout, the I/O type is very similar. The Mac Studio features four rear Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports, a 10GbE port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone output.
Like the old Intel Mac mini, Mac Studio has plenty of I/O.
Unlike the Mac mini, 10GbE comes standard on all Mac Studio computers, which is great for connecting to NAS boxes or even something like Blackmagic Design’s newly introduced cloud store. Although 10GbE is not as fast as Thunderbolt, it can travel much longer distances and entire networks can be designed around it.
Take advantage of 10GbE with a 10GbE-enabled switch, Synology NAS, and 5GB AT&T fiber
In my case, my Mac Studio is connected to a TP-Link 10G unmanaged Ethernet switch, a Synology NAS with a 10GbE card, and an AT&T 5Gbps fiber internet connection. What’s great is that all of these network components are in a different part of the house away from my office, which means I don’t have to worry about the noise coming from the Synology NAS when I decide to run a Time Machine backup.
Of course, I can’t help but mention one of the biggest I/O advantages of Mac Studio over M1 based machines. Mac mini M1 only supports one Thunderbolt display up to 6K, while Mac Studio supports four 6K Pro Display XDR or 5K Studio displays at the same time. In total, Mac Studio supports up to five displays at the same time when you factor in its ability to also connect to a 4K display via HDMI.
Spectacle
I tested both the base Mac Studio model and the much more powerful M1 Ultra with a 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, 128GB of combined memory, and a 1TB SSD. I have a lot on my mind about both machines, but one of the things you’re likely to hear in the tech world is that the M1 Ultra is a bad value.
This thesis sounds something like this in some areas. For example, Miles Somerville of tested both video editing machines and found that while the M1 Ultra delivers slightly better export and render times in Final Cut Pro, the differences in its workflows are out of proportion to the $2,000+ price difference. .
Build to order options
But this is where it gets interesting. As with anything, different needs and different workflows will determine whether or not you should update any of the build-to-order parts when setting up Mac Studio.
Here are my main observations after testing the two machines, mostly from a video editor’s point of view, but also in other areas. First of all, I’m glad Apple decided to give users 32GB of combined storage as a starting point. 16 GB is not enough memory for a desktop computer and you will quickly start running out of memory and switch to a much slower SSD with just a few applications open. If you’re editing video, especially higher-resolution 6K or 8K workflows, you’ll start uploading to disk as soon as you open some Final Cut projects.
Swapping to disk can be fast if you only have 16GB of RAM.
With that said, I think 64GB of combined storage is the best place if you can a). afford the extra charge, and b). may wait weeks or possibly months due to backordered build-to-order configurations.
I’ve always noted that storage is really the only thing that can be “upgraded” on modern Apple computers due to the presence of the Thunderbolt connection. I’ve been quick to turn down internal storage upgrades in the past due to how expensive they are compared to external media.
But depending on the type of work you do, updating internal storage is an area that shouldn’t be overlooked at Apple Silicon. If you regularly work with large files – 3D rendering, video editing, etc. – you should consider upgrading the internal memory if you can afford it.
I don’t think most people really appreciate how fast Apple’s internal memory is and how much of an impact it has on overall system performance when dealing with large amounts of data. A larger SSD helps not only in terms of being able to store more files, but as the size increases, the drives get faster. In any case, the speed of Apple’s internal SSD will be several times higher than that of external media. Even most Thunderbolt SSDs can’t compete unless you dig into some of the really expensive NVMe-based RAID setups, and by comparison, Apple’s $2,400 asking price for an 8TB SSD is pretty competitive.
see also
In case you haven’t noticed, the machines Apple uses to evaluate Mac Studio’s ability to handle multiple streams of 8K Pro Res video have 8TB of dedicated storage. I don’t think this is a coincidence, because extremely fast storage is essential when you start streaming a dozen and a half 8K video streams at the same time. Apple notes that a Mac Studio configured with the M1 Ultra can play an insane 18 streams of 8K Pro Res 422 video simultaneously, and while my Mac Studio has the required CPU and GPU credentials, the 1TB of storage seemed to be serving as the bottleneck, due to for which the last four streams of 8K video dropped frames when played below the real-time level in my testing.
18 streams 8K ProRes
While basic video workflows won’t benefit greatly when upgraded to the higher-spec version of Mac Studio, doing more complex work such as full-length movie editing with multiple 8K video streams will definitely benefit from more powerful build-to-order configurations. There is also a machine learning issue that applications like Final Cut Pro are becoming increasingly dependent on. With a 32-core Neural Engine, the M1 Ultra will be able to perform operations like motion tracking and the new voice isolation features in Final Cut Pro 10.6.2 even faster.
TensorFlow on M1 Ultra Mac Studio
But obviously Mac Studio wasn’t just made for video. Application developers will benefit from the reduction in compilation time made possible by the 20-core M1 Ultra processor, while training machine learning models using platforms such as TensorFlow will benefit from additional GPU cores. Although this is far from my area of expertise, I was able to see tangible benefits when taking tests in both disciplines.
Sight
The following people should consider purchasing Mac Studio:
Mac mini users who need additional I/O devices and more powerful Mac Pro users whose work involves Apple Silicon. Other Apple users who need an always-on desktop solution.
Even the base Mac Studio is a great overall computer and a huge step up in usability over any M1 Mac Apple sells. It has far more I/O than any other Apple Silicon-based desktop, is quieter than any of the company’s laptops, and has relatively high specs for a $1999 base model.
One of the biggest advantages of the Mac Studio over the M1 Mac mini: multiple Thunderbolt displays.
One of the main disadvantages of Mac Studio is that, like with Mac mini, you need to already have a display or purchase one. Sure, this device pairs perfectly with Apple’s new 27-inch studio display, but that adds another $1,599 to the purchase price. If that’s not a starter scenario, you might want to consider the 14-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro, which is a very powerful laptop with a screen that, in addition to size, is better than the Studio Display in several tangible ways. Either that, or wait for a cheaper M2-based Mac mini later this year.
While the Mac mini serves as more of a niche product, the Mac Studio is extremely handy in just about every area. Just add a display, keyboard and mouse and you’re done. I just want it to be black because it will look a lot less ridiculous that way.
What do you think of Mac Studio? Have you already bought or plan to buy? Voice your thoughts below in the comments.
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