MI ULTRA! Mac Studio

[AcousticDreams]

My head is spinning trying to figure out which computer I can afford...what the benefits are to this new MI Ultra Chip and the Mac Studio.

"Apple claims that the Mac Studio with M1 Max will deliver 50 percent faster CPU performance than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Xeon and 2.5 times faster CPU performance than a 27-inch iMac with a 10-core Core i9. The M1 Ultra configuration purportedly has 3.8 times faster CPU performance than that 27-inch iMac and is up to 90 percent faster than the 16-core Mac Pro.
The M1 Ultra is a monstrous chip supporting up to 128GB of memory. It has a 20-core CPU with 16 high-performance cores and four efficiency cores, as well as a 64-core GPU and a 32-core neural engine. Apple says it’s “nearly” eight times faster than the M1"
I suggest you start this video...which was just streamed a hour and half ago...at 27 minutes and 30 seconds..

MY HEAD IS SPINNING!

[jim1960]

I just took a look at the prices for adding on memory and main drive space. It's a lot more reasonable than it was in the past. To go from 32gb of ram to 64gb will run you $400. That's not terrible.

To go from the 512gb storage to 1Tb is $200 and to jump to 2Tb is $600. Again, not terrible.

The base M1 Max with 64gb ram and 1Tb drive will run $2600. That machine will blow away my current 2017 iMac. But I'm still waiting to see what they do with the 27" iMac before I think about jumping in.

[Sasquatchian]

Having two of the new M1 Max MBP's, using one for photo and one for Logic, one area that has been an issue with older machines was read/write speed and sometimes getting overload errors when playing back mixes. The internal drives on these new Macs are insanely fast - much faster than any external drive you can currently get and that's something to consider. I went with the 4TB option on both laptops and moved all my Logic projects back to the startup drive to take advantage of the speed.

The external OWC SSD Duo Dock was hitting its rated speed of 500-600 mb/sec roughly through a TB3 cable. The internal SSD on the new laptop is around 7000 mb/sec read and a little over 5000 mb/sec write. The fastest external SSD's right now are around 2000-2500 mb/sec.

Just for kicks, I priced out a new Studio with their new monitor and the whole thing came in at around $11K. Remember that you can't upgrade anything on any of these new Macs and you need to buy more now than you think you'll need in order to do a bit of future proofing.

[KevWind]

Pretty interesting so the prognosticators where correct about the iPad Air and the new small iPhone.
And they were correct about a new chip with the dual M1 Max chips linked . But they were caught off guard with the Mac Studio (many thought it would be a new (Pro) Mac Mini with more connections and M1 Pro and M1 Max chips and were guessing the price to be $1299 to $1499 ) But it looks like the Studio may now be the only step between the M1 Mac Mini and what will eventually be a new all out Mac Pro ??????????????????????????????

Many were also hoping for a new 27 inch iMac (Pro) with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips but maybe that will come later with new Mac Pro ??????????

But I see the your quandary. Studio M1 Max or Studio M1 Ultra
For Audio (unless 100's of tracks and or lots Of VI's ) I am not sure the M1 Ultra is necessary or worth the extra $2000

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by Sasquatchian

Just for kicks, I priced out a new Studio with their new monitor and the whole thing came in at around $11K. Remember that you can't upgrade anything on any of these new Macs and you need to buy more now than you think you'll need in order to do a bit of future proofing.

No way for me to afford 11K. LoL I guess the big question is what do I really need?

And that is so tough for me to answer. Especially since my recording knowledge is little.

Probably the 24 inch M1 Imac would be plenty fine for my tracking and all the of VI instruments I will use.

Yet, I hate to limit myself. I dream of doing video to my music. I have done video years ago. But the truth is...that comes with a whole new world of expense...Cameras and more. As much as I would love to...there is no way to afford everything.

So this is where I am trying my best..to keep myself in check. There are dreams...and there are realities. I must face reality...

Computers is not a life long companion, as a guitar might be. Internet, programs will demand upgrades. And I think I need to except that...and purchase not the best...but what will work well for me now and in the next few years.

But oh boy, what great marketing...what great promises Mac is making..

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

No way for me to afford 11K. LoL I guess the big question is what do I really need?

And that is so tough for me to answer. Especially since my recording knowledge is little.

Probably the 24 inch M1 Imac would be plenty fine for my tracking and all the of VI instruments I will use.

Yet, I hate to limit myself. I dream of doing video to my music. I have done video years ago. But the truth is...that comes with a whole new world of expense...Cameras and more. As much as I would love to...there is no way to afford everything.

So this is where I am trying my best..to keep myself in check. There are dreams...and there are realities. I must face reality...

Computers is not a life long companion, as a guitar might be. Internet, programs will demand upgrades. And I think I need to except that...and purchase not the best...but what will work well for me now and in the next few years.

But oh boy, what great marketing...what great promises Mac is making..

Well I just priced up a system with the Studio with the M1 Max chip with 32 core GPU 64 GB Unified memory and 4 TB SSD which was $3799 and then the display is $1599 and the keyboard and mouse is $200 So $5600 total and IMO would be more than enough machine for most audio and video. And remember the display is in fact a 27" 5K with a 12 MP camera and so you could easily opt for a 3rd party 4k or 5k that will be less money

Myself I would probably not opt for the M1 iMac but if I did it would be maxed out with 16 GB memory and 2 TB SSD and costs $2499
I would instead opt for the maxed out M1 Mac Mini at $1799 and get a 27 or 32 inch 4K display

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Myself I would probably not opt for the M1 iMac but if I did it would be maxed out with 16 GB memory and 2 TB SSD and costs $2499
I would instead opt for the maxed out M1 Mac Mini at $1799 and get a 27 or 32 inch 4K display

Tell me more KevWind. Your suggestion sounds interesting.

I see that I would save a few hundred dollars by doing as you suggested...as monitors are less money.

Very appealing that I could lock up the Mini when I go on trips much easier. I do have a large safe in which a 24 inch will fit...but moving the mini is easier yet.

Besides from that, is there other advantages to going with the mini?
The one disadvantage..is that I believe the Mac screen is super accurate color wise. I do still do a little bit of photo play. And color accuracy is nice to have.

[AcousticDreams]

KevWind, what about the Mac Studio with M1Max,... instead of ultra.

What do you think about that as an option?

The starting configuration of the Mac Studio uses an M1 Max CPU and is equipped with 32GB of unified memory and 512GB of storage. $1999

And then I could upgrade to larger GB? Would there be anything else I would need to upgrade to?

Adding Tech specks...I am wondering if the only thing I would really need to add is more Terabites? and if so...how much and why?
https://www.apple.com/mac-studio/specs/

[KevWind]

I'm not really tech savvy enough to comment on color accuracy differences in displays. But personally in my current system I have a 2020 27" (intel) iMac with a 5k display and I also have 10 year old Apple Cinema Display as a second display and for music production there is not that much difference Now photo editing might be different ?


So my suggestion on the mini was pretty much based on just the $700 dollar difference and then for me personally the 10BG ethernet port on the mini (not available on the 24" iMac is the other reason because I use an Avid interface that uses AVB ethernet to connect to the computer.

Also FYI as far as the new Mac Studio the guys at Max Tech have just ordered three Mac Studio machines in different configurations and will be doing some performance comparison video's when they get them.'

Here is a quick Max Tech video just posted 45 minutes ago on the M1 Ultra Chip

[jpmist]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

I see that I would save a few hundred dollars by doing as you suggested...as monitors are less money.

Very appealing that I could lock up the Mini when I go on trips much easier. I do have a large safe in which a 24 inch will fit...but moving the mini is easier yet.

I've been following this thread a bit. I don't have anything to offer on new Apple equipment as I've been perfectly content recording my songs with my 10 year old i7 Mini's doing 6 mic tracks at most on Garageband.

But I do want to steer you away from getting any iMac at all simply because the CPU part will age out past usefulness far sooner than the Monitor will expire. It's simply Apple's business model to make their computers obsolete as rapidly as they can by making their Operating Systems do more and more each year. A nice monitor with whichever Mini you get just makes more sense to me.

But that's me, you might be the guy who likes to upgrade to the latest and greatest every 3-4 years, but I've been there and done that . . . <grin>

Best of luck with your new setup!

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by KevWind

in my current system I have a 2020 27" (intel) iMac with a 5k display and I also have 10 year old Apple Cinema Display as a second display and for music production there is not that much difference Now photo editing might be different ?

Mac Studio the guys at Max Tech have just ordered three Mac Studio machines in different configurations and will be doing some performance comparison video's when they get them.'

I can still use my 2009 Imac...it still works...for editing pictures. It's Not like I have the best camera equipment anyway...so that computer works great for my purposes.

Originally Posted by jpmist

But I do want to steer you away from getting any iMac at all simply because the CPU part will age out past usefulness far sooner than the Monitor will expire. A nice monitor with whichever Mini you get just makes more sense to me.

you might be the guy who likes to upgrade to the latest and greatest every 3-4

No, no, no....I am not that guy...LoL ...I am the guy who buys a car and keeps it for 20 years! My current car is 10 years old. And...I still have my Van that I bought in 1988.(but that just sits in the driveway)
__________________________________________________ _________

But I do need a new computer to handle Virtual Instruments. I am having problems with that.

That video looks great KevWind...but they did not mention if they were going to be getting a Mac Studio with just the MI Max chip? I can certainly wait another 10 days or more, to see what they have to say. (Heck, in truth I can wait a month or two more as well)

Thank you so much for bringing up the mini. I do not need a great monitor for music production. And it stores away easier. So this makes sense.

The question now lies with either getting a mini with MI loaded up?...or the Studio One with MI Max Chip. Might not be that much of a difference in price when you load up to the same figures?

My gut says that this might be the way to go? Especially if it is only a few hundred more.

[jim1960]

If I went the Mac Studio route, the new Apple 27" monitor isn't really a consideration. A 5K display isn't anywhere near a necessity for me. There are plenty of sub-$500 4K monitors options out there and that would suit my studio needs just fine. I'd probably go wide screen as the extra real estate would be nice so that I can have multiple plugins open to one side and not block much of the edit or mix window that I have open.

If I were building a M1 Max unit. I'd opt for the 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU (only a $200 upgrade), 64gb ram, and the 4TB drive. That would come to $3800.

If I went the M1 Ultra route, I'd stick with the base 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, stay with 64gb ram, and upgrade to the 4TB drive. That would come to $5000.

I'd want to see the benchmark numbers for both of these CPUs but I suspect I'd probably opt for the Ultra build since the difference is only $1200. Not an insignificant amount of money but not life-changing either. It's might be overkill for what I do now but overkill doesn't bother me and should I decide to get into video, I'd feel very well equipped. I'd rather be overpowered as much as possible to future proof the computer. Unlike the iMac I bought in 2017, I think the Mac Studio is a much safer bet to still be quite capable a decade from now despite my penchant for virtual instruments.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jim1960

If I were building a M1 Max unit. I'd opt for the 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU (only a $200 upgrade), 64gb ram, and the 4TB drive. That would come to $3800.

I did not realize....I thought it would only be $1999 plus $200 for the Mac studio MI Max chip.

I guess they kind of get you because you can not upgrade TeraBites and cores later?

Think I will have to take a trip to the Mac store tomorrow.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

I did not realize....I thought it would only be $1999 plus $200 for the Mac studio MI Max chip.

I guess they kind of get you because you can not upgrade TeraBites and cores later?

Think I will have to take a trip to the Mac store tomorrow.

First I am guessing Max Tech will likely order at least one machine with the M1 Max chip option, for performance comparison (like they did with the 3 or 4 Macbook Pros they ordered when they came out,,,,at least one was a M1 Pro chip )

I am not sure what you mean $200 for the (Mac studio M1 Max chip)

There is no ("Mac studio M1 Max chip)

There is the Mac Studio which is the box (the machine itself) and there are various M1 Max and M1 Ultra chip configurations that can be ordered to go in the Mac Studio


The $1999 base Mac Studio configuration is

* M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
* 32GB unified memory
* 512GB SSD storage
Now with any Studio Mac you will also need a Display and Keyboard and mouse


For the M1 Max chip configuration you can see the upgrade options here
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/m...b-memory-512gb

The big question is if there will also be a new Mac Mini coming or not ,,,,with M1 Pro or Max chips... OR will the M1 Mini be the only Mini,,,,and the base Mac Studio will be the only next step up ??????????????????????????????????????

Also consider that while you cannot upgrade the (INTERNAL) configuration of cores , memory or storage , you can easily add more SSD storage via the input ports on the machine So you should buy the amount of Unified Memory you anticipate wanting and you can always add backup storage later

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

The big question is if there will also be a new Mac Mini coming or not ,,,,with M1 Pro or Max chips... OR will the M1 Mini be the only Mini,,,,and the base Mac Studio will be the only next step up ??????????????????????????????????????

Something that occurred to me this morning is that the six TB4 ports on the Mac Studio M1 Ultra build is a solid step toward future-proofing. All the ports on my iMac are filled and if I got another TB3 device, I'd need to buy a TB3 hub. That knocks a couple of hundred off the cost difference between the Max and the Ultra. So where I said last night it would be a $1200 difference for me, it's likely only a $1K difference for me. I'm doubtful the Mac Minis will offer that many TB3 ports.