Apple Unveils the new M4 Max Mac Studio and M3 Ultra Mac Studio
Today Apple unveiled two new Mac Studio models, one with the M4 Max and another with the M3 Ultra. This comes with some big changes. Before we dive into those, let us look at the similarities between the previous models. This is the first time there have been two different-generation chips in the Mac Studio.
Common Features
The two variants have many things in common. The port configurations are the same as the previous model. There is an HDMI port, 10Gbps Ethernet, and four Thunderbolt ports on the back. The M4 Max comes with two USB-C ports on the front, while the M3 Ultra comes with two Thunderbolt ports on the front. This is the same configuration as the M2 Max/M2 Ultra configurations. There is still the SDXC card slot on the front, a 10Gbps connection, and a headphone jack.
The Thunderbolt on the M4 Max and M3 Ultra has gone from Thunderbolt 4 to Thunderbolt 5. Thunderbolt 5 can deliver speeds at 120Gbps, which is 3x faster than Thunderbolt 4.
M4 Max
The M4 Max comes in two variants: a 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU model, and a 16-core CPU with a 40-core GPU. The difference between these two is that the lower-end model is only capable of 36GB of unified memory, while the 16-core CPU model can be configured with 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB of memory.
According to Apple, the M4 Max is 1.6x faster with Adobe Photoshop, up to 2.1x faster building with Xcode, 1.2x faster ProRes transcode in Compressor, and 1.6x faster in Topaz Video AI, when compared to the M1 Max.
The M3 Ultra can support up to six Pro Display XDRs at 6K resolution, eight 4K displays, and three 8K displays.
The M4 Max continues to start at $1999 for the 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 36GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. It can be configured up to $5899 for the 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory, and 8TB of storage.
M3 Ultra
The M3 Ultra is a brand-new chip. The M3 Ultra is similar to the previous "Ultra" chips, in that it is two M3 Max chips with an interconnect. According to Apple, there are over 10,000 interconnects between the two M3 Max chips. Since there are two M3 Max chips interconnected, the memory configurations are different. You have the option of 96GB, 256GB, or 512GB of memory. The 512GB of memory is only available with the 80-core GPU version.
Similarly, there are slightly different storage options. You have the same, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB options as are on the M4 Max. However, there is a new 16TB option. This is available on both M3 Ultra variants. However, it will cost you an additional $4600 to be exact.
According to Apple, the M3 Ultra is 16.9x faster generating tokens using an LLM in LM Studio, 2.6x faster scene rendering in Maxon Redshift, 1.1x faster base calling for DNSA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW, and 1.4x faster 8K video rendering with Final Cut Pro, when compared to the M1 Max. Of course, there is an even larger performance improvement when compared to an Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.
The M3 Ultra can support up to 8 Pro Display XDRs at 6K resolution, eight 4K displays, and four 8K displays. This is great for those who need it.
The M3 Ultra starts at $3999 for the 28-core CPU, 60-core GPU with 96GB and 1TB storage. It can be configured up to $14,099 for the M3 Ultra with 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU with 512GB of unified memory, and 16TB of storage.
Different Generations
As mentioned above, this is the first time that Apple has offered two different Apple Silicon generations for the Mac Studio. The reason for the difference is that the "Ultra" series of chips does take additional time to produce. In order to be able to get a work chip, all connections between the interposer need to be functional in order to meet the specifications. It takes time to get that done.
It is not known whether or not Apple will introduce an M4 Ultra chip or not. According to ArsTechnica:
When asked why the high-end Mac Studio was getting an M3 Ultra chip instead of an M4 Ultra, Apple told us that not every chip generation will get an “Ultra” tier.
Closing Thoughts
The addition of an M4 Max and M3 Ultra in the Mac Studio is a significant upgrade over the M2 Max/M2 Ultra versions. If you are in the market, then it might be a good time to upgrade. You can pre-order the Mac Studio today and it will begin arriving March 12th, although some model are already later in March.
Source: Apple Newsroom