Today's Apple event brought a ton of exciting new devices for photographers and filmmakers, but perhaps the most notable was the new M1 Ultra chip, the most powerful the company has ever made. Apple wasted no time putting it in a brand new computer, the Mac Studio, so let's take a look at this powerful new desktop, tailor-made for photographers and filmmakers.
Mac Studio
The Mac Studio offers the performance of the M1 Max or the new M1 Ultra chip in a small package akin to a tall Mac mini, offering top-shelf performance for tackling intensive creative projects in an impressively compact footprint. Here's what comes with it:
- M1 Ultra, which uses two M1 Max chips married together, features 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip:
- Can be paired with up to 128 GB of unified memory
- 20-core CPU
- 64-core GPU
- 32-core Neural Engine
- Transcords video to ProRex up to 5.6x faster than a 28-core Mac Pro with Afterburner
- Still features high levels of power efficiency compared to comparable PC chips
- Can play back up to 18 simultaneous streams of 8K ProRes 422 video
- Double-sided blowers and over 4,000 perforations help to keep internal components cool and running at top speed without creating significant noise
- Ultra-fast SSD offering up to 7.4 GBps and 8 TB of capacity
- Four Thunderbolt 4 ports
- 10 Gb Ethernet port
- Two USB-A ports
- HDMI port
- Pro audio jack
- Front SD reader
- Two front USB-C ports
- Wi-Fi 6
- Bluetooth 5
- Ability to drive up to four Pro Display XDRs and a 4K TV for a total of almost 90 million pixels
- Also available with M1 Max chip
Altogether, the Mac Studio looks like a powerful computer that sits nicely above the popular mini. It does not replace the Mac Pro, as Apple noted during the presentation that that line will be due for conversion to their own silicon eventually.
The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 for the M1 Max configuration and $3,999 for the M1 Ultra configuration, with preorders beginning today and availability beginning March 18.
Are there any 3rd party monitors that will work with the Mac Studio and save on a $1,599 Mac model?
I don't see why you couldn't use a 3rd party monitor. They sell a couple of LGs on their site. The least expensive is s 4K for $700.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUA2VC/A/lg-ultrafine-4k-display
thank you
Nah, when you plug them in you get a message on screen saying ‘pffft peasant, this won’t work’
At least that’s what I heard.
I use a Dell U2720QM with my MacBook Pro, and it is an excellent monitor, with specific Mac support (USB-C input is all you need for full Mac support). Costs less than $600 too....
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/ultrasharp-27-4k-usb-c-monitor-u272...
thank you
Yes, any monitor that uses USB-C or HDMI connections.
You should be able to just get a Thunderbolt to DisplayPort or HDMI cable. I use a ViewSonic 4K display with my iMac, it works with both the TB -> DP as well as TB -> HDMI cables.
Pretty nifty... but starting at $3600 isn't going to happen. I was hoping for an upgrade to my 27" iMac but since Apple discontinued those today with no plans for a M1 powered 27" iMac I'll have to figure out something else... and a Mac Mini or laptop isn't happening.
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Can you add your own internal hard drives or add your own ram?
Should it be called the mac min max?
I will be buying this new Mac Studio for sure. I just have to figure which chip and upgrades will work for me. I will have to do some more reseach. I have a 27 inch NEC Pro MultiSync Photoshop monitor I love. The color on my monitor matches my Epson printer prints perfectly. My NEC monitior was designed for photographers and the screen is not shiny. B&H is where I bought my monitor and I highly recommend it for someone looking for a monitor other than Apple. I was waiting for something like this. I would say my budget would be arouind $4000 for my new computer and it should last me for a long time. I want a computer that can run Lightroom and Photoshop fast. For the work I do I can shoot between 1000-2000 RAW images daily and having a fast computer that can edit my images will be a time saver for me. My old Mac is on its last legs. I am very happy Apple came out with this new computer. I do not see them coming out with a 27 iMac pro. This is a better option becasue a Mac user can use their own monitor.
One genuine question: how does the ultra compare with Threadripper 32 core, Nvidia TI 10gb and 64 gb 3200 ram and nvme 2.0 drives combo? Besides the power.
We'll know pretty soon once reviewers start getting their hands on them.
Apparently it's pretty close. M1 Ultra beats AMD 64 core on single core performance, and 5% less on multi core performance all the while drawing way less power.
Unfortunately, my next desktop is gonna be Threadripper still.
Oh man, what a comment thread, too bad I got here late to see all of Jared Weavers contributions😂
On another note I was positively surprised by the price point, given the specs and the premium Apple adds to its high end devices I’d have expected a lot more!