Only $14K fully loaded and when I say fully loaded I mean FULLY LOADED. 32-core CPU/80-core GPU /32-core neural engine. Cn't wait to see Geekbench scores but wonder if Geekbench can actually handle a system with this many cores. 512GB unified memory and 16TB storage Throw in FCP and Logic-Pro for an additional $500 (use your own keyboard and mouse) and you have a much better Mac than the old Mac Pro for a whole lot less money.
I can't wait for someone to complain about not being able to upgrade the memory or storage. With Thunderbolt 5 you don't need any more internal storage just use external TB5 devices.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
Nope, it's only a 4K monitor and our Intel 27" iMacs are 5K resolution. There are some 5K monitors out there but they cost on par with Apple's so not cheap. I thought I've heard Apple might release an updated iMac Pro but a reasonably configured Mac Studio with excellent monitor would be a nice replacement. At this point, a loaded Mac Mini Pro would also be a very good replacement for the old 5K iMac.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
Nah. We've been waiting on a new 32" iMac.
That would be my preference but the chances of that are slim to none at this point. I would have been happy with a M4 iMac 27" but that also doesn't seem to be in the cards. My advice is just get a new studio like the rest of us.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
Nah. We've been waiting on a new 32" iMac.
That would be my preference but the chances of that are slim to none at this point. I would have been happy with a M4 iMac 27" but that also doesn't seem to be in the cards. My advice is just get a new studio like the rest of us.
I agree but there's no M4 Pro iMac of any size and I doubt Apple will make one. Apple seems to be pushing laptops and iPads, not desktops, so the only way we're going to get a 27" or more 5K iMac is if we buy a Mac mini M4 Pro or the Mac Studio combining it with as good of a display as we can find.
We're looking at $4600 for a fully blown Mac mini M4 Pro. 14/20/16, 64GB/8TB, +$100 for 10G ethernet if desired.
Same specs on the Mac Studio would cost $5099, 14/40/16, 64GB/8TB. Had to go with better SoC to get 64GB memory. --So these configurations cost about the same but the Studio has a lot more headroom for better specs. Are the M4 Pro mini specs enough for most of you/us? They totally destroy anything Apple made with the Intel chip, including my fully blown 2019 iMac.
Apple has a huge problem. Their naming and numbering scheme is an absolute mess. Paying double the money for a MacStudio with an M3 instead of an M4 sounds like you're getting something less but paying more. And having to understand the differences between Max and Ultra and Pro is insane. Also, why I'm on a rant, there is literally zero point anymore to upgrading an iPad past an M1 until they allow it to run MacOS simultaneously. All the same hardware is there. If we can figure out how a Nintendo Switch works (portable vs. docked), I'm pretty sure we can figure out the same thing with our iPad doubling as a laptop. Streamline the product line.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
Nah. We've been waiting on a new 32" iMac.
Which will probably be at minimum a 5K monitor and if you are lucky 6K, with thunderbolt five.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
Nah. We've been waiting on a new 32" iMac.
That would be my preference but the chances of that are slim to none at this point. I would have been happy with a M4 iMac 27" but that also doesn't seem to be in the cards. My advice is just get a new studio like the rest of us.
Keep the dream alive imagine a 32” big screen iMac inside of an XDR display enclosure. A person who couldn’t wait any longer and settled on a M2 Mac Studio.
This is the one I've been waiting for to replace my 2020 iMac 5K which has been glitching lately playing YouTube videos and consuming 100% CPU.
Getting this with a Studio Display, 64 GB RAM, a fully loaded M4 Max, and 4 TB SSD so this is basically a slide-in replacement for my iMac.
The Ultras have way more horsepower and multiprocessing than I need, and the faster M4 performance cores will make this the snappiest Mac yet for normal workloads.
With 4 Thunderbolt 5 ports on the rear, the Studio Display will leave three each with a Thunderbolt controller behind it (unlike the 2020 iMac which shared a single controller between the two ports). A new keyboard will add TouchID support to speed security interruptions.
This should be over 3x faster than my core-i9 iMac (which is still my daily driver due to its superior screen real estate), with six times faster graphics with hardware ray tracing - not to mention support for Apple Intelligence. The 2020 iMac will replace the old 2017 iMac 5K as the family computer (which no longer has current macOS support).
Splitting up the processor and display will make for cheaper and smoother upgrades in the future too - though given the power of this new hardware it's hard to see needing upgrades much in the future.
I know seeing a growing collection of amazing screens but under spec processors at my last job convinced me that everything had gotten to the point where only really the base iMac they now have is the only one that makes sense.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
I was actually looking at the same monitor for myself. I have the Dell G3223Q gaming monitor and love it. I have 3 Macs connected to it and two of the Macs support 144 Hz vertical scan and are so smooth. No issues at all. The two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 port handle up to 144 Hz. I noticed the model you’re referring to only supports 120 Hz but I’ve tried mine at 120 Hz and it’s still silky smooth.
I control all of OSD features of the monitor using BetterDisplay and it’s incredibly easy to switch between the three computers. All three share the same Logitech mouse and keyboard.
I’m sure that a 5K or 6K monitor would be better for some users, but I also have a 5K Studio monitor and using the Dell monitor is equally satisfying for me. Feature wise the Dell blows the Studio display out of the water for the things I use my computers for. After getting the G3223Q I kick myself for not buying two of the Dell 32” G3223Q monitors. It would have less expensive too.
The VESA compatibility is a huge factor for me. My Studio monitor is on an arm as well, but when you get the VESA option from Apple you do not get a stand at all so you can’t change the mounting if you want to use it without an arm.
A thousand experts could tell me that I’d be happier with a 5K monitor but my eyes are the only thing that matter and they are completely happy with good quality 4K monitors. Based on my experience with all of the monitors I own, the one you asked about is something I’ve already started looking at and it’s very high on my list.
I agree but there's no M4 Pro iMac of any size and I doubt Apple will make one. Apple seems to be pushing laptops and iPads, not desktops, so the only way we're going to get a 27" or more 5K iMac is if we buy a Mac mini M4 Pro or the Mac Studio combining it with as good of a display as we can find.
We're looking at $4600 for a fully blown Mac mini M4 Pro. 14/20/16, 64GB/8TB, +$100 for 10G ethernet if desired.
Same specs on the Mac Studio would cost $5099, 14/40/16, 64GB/8TB. Had to go with better SoC to get 64GB memory. --So these configurations cost about the same but the Studio has a lot more headroom for better specs. Are the M4 Pro mini specs enough for most of you/us? They totally destroy anything Apple made with the Intel chip, including my fully blown 2019 iMac.
The 2020 iMac 5K with core-i9 (10c, 20t) and AMD Radeon 5700/XT with 16 GB VRAM and 10g ethernet - my currently daily driver - was the most powerful intel machine Apple made; heck, I bought it after the M1 was announced to tide me over while Apple smoothed over the Apple Silicon transition.
The Mac Studio with the unbinned M4 Max has over three times the CPU power and over six times the graphics power (and supports ray tracing and Apple Intelligence); combine that with a Studio Display and you have a capable replacement for the 2020 iMac 5K with some granularity - you can replace the Mac Studio without having to rebuy the display - though I can't really see my workload overpowering the M4 Max, except maybe for stuff like Topaz Video AI which will probably always eat as much resources as available.
Apple has a huge problem. Their naming and numbering scheme is an absolute mess. Paying double the money for a MacStudio with an M3 instead of an M4 sounds like you're getting something less but paying more. And having to understand the differences between Max and Ultra and Pro is insane. Also, why I'm on a rant, there is literally zero point anymore to upgrading an iPad past an M1 until they allow it to run MacOS simultaneously. All the same hardware is there. If we can figure out how a Nintendo Switch works (portable vs. docked), I'm pretty sure we can figure out the same thing with our iPad doubling as a laptop. Streamline the product line.
Apple's already hinted that not every Apple Silicon line will have a Ultra - they probably just don't sell enough of them to expend the engineering effort for every generation.
I actually have an 11" iPad Pro M4 (binned) just for the single core speed - it was the fastest browser in my quiver simply because of the M4's single core speed.
The Nintendo Switch is just a display/power interface - and the mechanics of getting a USB-C port to blind dock are a bit mind blowing. I believe all the video hardware is inboard on the Switch - and it's not really a super duper performer in any case.
Apple has a huge problem. Their naming and numbering scheme is an absolute mess. Paying double the money for a MacStudio with an M3 instead of an M4 sounds like you're getting something less but paying more. And having to understand the differences between Max and Ultra and Pro is insane. Also, why I'm on a rant, there is literally zero point anymore to upgrading an iPad past an M1 until they allow it to run MacOS simultaneously. All the same hardware is there. If we can figure out how a Nintendo Switch works (portable vs. docked), I'm pretty sure we can figure out the same thing with our iPad doubling as a laptop. Streamline the product line.
Not really. The Ultra is for a pretty small market that has specific requirements when it comes to computing. They know that despite the lower number they are getting Apple's most powerful chip. If this were the MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac or MacBook Pro I'd agree. For general consumers it would probably be confusing having the older generation of process as the top option.
I agree but there's no M4 Pro iMac of any size and I doubt Apple will make one. Apple seems to be pushing laptops and iPads, not desktops, so the only way we're going to get a 27" or more 5K iMac is if we buy a Mac mini M4 Pro or the Mac Studio combining it with as good of a display as we can find.
We're looking at $4600 for a fully blown Mac mini M4 Pro. 14/20/16, 64GB/8TB, +$100 for 10G ethernet if desired.
Same specs on the Mac Studio would cost $5099, 14/40/16, 64GB/8TB. Had to go with better SoC to get 64GB memory. --So these configurations cost about the same but the Studio has a lot more headroom for better specs. Are the M4 Pro mini specs enough for most of you/us? They totally destroy anything Apple made with the Intel chip, including my fully blown 2019 iMac.
The 2020 iMac 5K with core-i9 (10c, 20t) and AMD Radeon 5700/XT with 16 GB VRAM and 10g ethernet - my currently daily driver - was the most powerful intel machine Apple made; heck, I bought it after the M1 was announced to tide me over while Apple smoothed over the Apple Silicon transition.
The Mac Studio with the unbinned M4 Max has over three times the CPU power and over six times the graphics power (and supports ray tracing and Apple Intelligence); combine that with a Studio Display and you have a capable replacement for the 2020 iMac 5K with some granularity - you can replace the Mac Studio without having to rebuy the display - though I can't really see my workload overpowering the M4 Max, except maybe for stuff like Topaz Video AI which will probably always eat as much resources as available.
My 2019 iMac is a 3.6GHz, 8-core i9-9900K, 72GB DDR4 RAM (I added OWC RAM), 2TB SSD, Radeon Pro Vega 48-8c. I don't believe they had 10G ethernet at that time. Geekbench 6 scores: CPU 1564/7339, Compute (Metal) 79206. Apple would give me around $350 trade-in credit for a Mac that cost me in the mid $5Ks. Compare this to the original M1 iMac's scores: CPU 2347/8369, Compute (Metal) 32395. I'd need at least an M2 Pro Mac mini to beat the compute score. The M4 Pro mini has a compute score of 110108, which costs almost nothing compared to what I paid.
M3Ultra instead of M4Ultra is likely due to Apple being hard at work during 2024 to make that happen and would have had to start over if skipping directly to M4Ultra.
Hopefully any lessons learned with M3Ultra can help accelerate M4Ultra.
M3Ultra instead of M4Ultra is likely due to Apple being hard at work during 2024 to make that happen and would have had to start over if skipping directly to M4Ultra.
Hopefully any lessons learned with M3Ultra can help accelerate M4Ultra.
The M4Max doesn't have the same interface to put two together to get an Ultra like the M3Max has. That's the reason there isn't going to be an M4 Ultra. The M5 hopefully will have a different design that would allow more cores, etc., while also being able to be connected like the Ultra. If that isn't the plan then Apple designers are hard at work trying to figure out a different way to combine SoCs into some kind of package that would be usable in the Studio and Mac Pro. Maybe something like plug-in M5Max (new name?) on a PCIe 7 (512 GB/s) backplane. Using this in a Mac might mean storage and possibly memory slots. I feel this would/might be the best way to enhance the computational capabilities of a Mac instead of trying to build a huge SoC, which will be expensive because of production errors. I could see it producing a lot of binned SoCs because of all of its components. Supercomputers use a ton of individual computers instead of creating huge CPUs. Maybe it's time for Apple to Think Differently, again.
My M1 Ultra Mac Studio (128 GB ram and 8TB SSD) with two Studio Displays mounted on the wall does what I need to do. I am not doing re-entry calculations of the satellites or space debris so there is plenty of compute power for years to come.
It will be interesting to see the single core speed of the M3 Ultra and see if it lines up with the other M3 models single core speed (like in the M1 and M2 models). The M4 series support Thunderbolt 5 but maybe they tweaked the M3 Ultra to support that feature.
My 16" M4 Max Mac Book Pro (128GB RaM and 8TB SSD) equals/ or slightly exceeds the power of my Studio but in a laptop. Really amazing stuff.
This is what I and a lot of other 27 inch iMac owners have been waiting on. My only remaining decision is what monitor to buy. I want to get at least a 32 inch so was considering the
Does this seem like a good monitor to pair with my new studio? I get a $200 Dell credit every 6 months with my Amex Business Platinum card so that will knock it down to $749.
When I switched from my 27 inch iMac to a Mac mini, I bought exactly that monitor. I put it on my desk next to my iMac and was severely disappointed in the quality. I tried using it, but gave up after a few days and sent it back. I just couldn't stomach the loss in quality. I'm not a graphics / video professional and I never thought of myself as being very picky about monitors, but I guess I'm pickier than I realized. I ultimately bought the Apple Studio Display instead.
I think part of my issue was that going up in size while going down in resolution (and down in brightness) really is not a good idea. I have a 4k Dell 27" display that I occasionally use with a Windows laptop (which actually cost more than the 32" monitor, at least when I bought it), and while it's not as good as the Studio Display, it's not as bad as the model you're considering.
The Studio Display isn't perfect -- the built in web-cam really is sub-par -- and for the price it really should have a great camera. But I'd still rather pay more for the Studio Display and get the quality I was accustomed to on my iMac than settle for the Dell.
I have created the new 27" iMac for both me and one of my kids: Studio Display with a 12 South shelf with a Mac mini residing on the shelf. The kids got my M2 Pro Mac mini (32GB ram, 10 Gb ethernet and 2TB SSD) while mine had a M4 Max Mini (64GB,10Gb ethernet and 8TB SSD). Both Stidio Displays were ordered with nano upgrade.
Advantage over my real 27 iMacs is either part of the new setup could be replaced without tossing out the other part too.
Comments
32-core CPU/80-core GPU /32-core neural engine. Cn't wait to see Geekbench scores but wonder if Geekbench can actually handle a system with this many cores.
512GB unified memory and 16TB storage
Throw in FCP and Logic-Pro for an additional $500 (use your own keyboard and mouse) and you have a much better Mac than the old Mac Pro for a whole lot less money.
I can't wait for someone to complain about not being able to upgrade the memory or storage. With Thunderbolt 5 you don't need any more internal storage just use external TB5 devices.
Nope, it's only a 4K monitor and our Intel 27" iMacs are 5K resolution. There are some 5K monitors out there but they cost on par with Apple's so not cheap. I thought I've heard Apple might release an updated iMac Pro but a reasonably configured Mac Studio with excellent monitor would be a nice replacement. At this point, a loaded Mac Mini Pro would also be a very good replacement for the old 5K iMac.
We're looking at $4600 for a fully blown Mac mini M4 Pro. 14/20/16, 64GB/8TB, +$100 for 10G ethernet if desired.
--So these configurations cost about the same but the Studio has a lot more headroom for better specs. Are the M4 Pro mini specs enough for most of you/us? They totally destroy anything Apple made with the Intel chip, including my fully blown 2019 iMac.
M3 Ultra is a year too late and will be forgotten about really quickly. The big chip will be saved for the Mac Pro
i for one will be in the M4 Max camp, finally resting a maxxed MacPro 5,1 after 13 years.
The Mac Studio with the unbinned M4 Max has over three times the CPU power and over six times the graphics power (and supports ray tracing and Apple Intelligence); combine that with a Studio Display and you have a capable replacement for the 2020 iMac 5K with some granularity - you can replace the Mac Studio without having to rebuy the display - though I can't really see my workload overpowering the M4 Max, except maybe for stuff like Topaz Video AI which will probably always eat as much resources as available.
I actually have an 11" iPad Pro M4 (binned) just for the single core speed - it was the fastest browser in my quiver simply because of the M4's single core speed.
The Nintendo Switch is just a display/power interface - and the mechanics of getting a USB-C port to blind dock are a bit mind blowing. I believe all the video hardware is inboard on the Switch - and it's not really a super duper performer in any case.
Geekbench 6 scores: CPU 1564/7339, Compute (Metal) 79206. Apple would give me around $350 trade-in credit for a Mac that cost me in the mid $5Ks.
Compare this to the original M1 iMac's scores: CPU 2347/8369, Compute (Metal) 32395. I'd need at least an M2 Pro Mac mini to beat the compute score. The M4 Pro mini has a compute score of 110108, which costs almost nothing compared to what I paid.
Hopefully any lessons learned with M3Ultra can help accelerate M4Ultra.
It will be interesting to see the single core speed of the M3 Ultra and see if it lines up with the other M3 models single core speed (like in the M1 and M2 models). The M4 series support Thunderbolt 5 but maybe they tweaked the M3 Ultra to support that feature.
My 16" M4 Max Mac Book Pro (128GB RaM and 8TB SSD) equals/ or slightly exceeds the power of my Studio but in a laptop. Really amazing stuff.
I think part of my issue was that going up in size while going down in resolution (and down in brightness) really is not a good idea. I have a 4k Dell 27" display that I occasionally use with a Windows laptop (which actually cost more than the 32" monitor, at least when I bought it), and while it's not as good as the Studio Display, it's not as bad as the model you're considering.
The Studio Display isn't perfect -- the built in web-cam really is sub-par -- and for the price it really should have a great camera. But I'd still rather pay more for the Studio Display and get the quality I was accustomed to on my iMac than settle for the Dell.
Advantage over my real 27 iMacs is either part of the new setup could be replaced without tossing out the other part too.