Apple Mac Studio
A year and a half later, Apple updated Mac Studio using a very unusual approach. The basic model received the M4 Max chip, and the more powerful one — M3 Ultra.
Apple claims that the Mac Studio with the M4 Max chip is up to 3.5 times faster than the original version based on the M1 Max. The device is equipped with a 14- or 16-core CPU and a 32- or 40-core GPU.
As with the M4 Max MacBook Pro, this version of the Mac Studio starts with 36 GB of RAM (versus 32 GB for the M2 Max model) and supports expansion up to 128 GB (previously the limit was 96 GB). The base model is equipped with a 512GB SSD, but configurations with up to 8TB are available.
Mac Studio based on the M3 Ultra processor will be an incredibly productive offering. The chip has up to 32 computing cores, 24 of which are productive. According to Apple, this is 50% more than any previous Ultra chip.
The GPU unit starts with 60 cores and has 80 cores in the top version. There is also a 32-core Neural Engine for machine learning and artificial intelligence.
RAM starts at 96 GB, but can be expanded to an impressive 512 GB — enough to run the most complex AI models directly on the computer. Storage capacity has also increased: the initial 1 TB can be expanded to 16 TB.
Apple says the GPUs in Mac Studio now support dynamic caching, which reduces latency by caching frequently used data. There is also hardware acceleration for Mesh shading — these are the first Apple graphics chips with this feature.
The second generation of the ray tracing engine has also been implemented, which will provide more realistic graphics in games and content creation.
Externally, the new Mac Studio retains its classic look: a compact, square silver case. The front panel has 2 USB-C ports and an SD card slot. The rear panel has 4 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, an audio jack, an Ethernet port, a power connector, and a power button. Both Mac Studio configurations support Thunderbolt 5, but there’s a catch: in the M4 Max version, only 4 rear USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 5. If you need all 6 ports with Thunderbolt 5, you need to choose the M3 Ultra version.
Both versions of Apple Mac Studio are already available for pre-order on Apple’s website at $1999 (M4 Max) and $3999 (M3 Ultra). The new products will go on sale on March 12.
As a reminder, yesterday Apple introduced iPad Air with M3 chip and iPad 11th generation tablet with double the storage capacity.
Source: The Verge