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Apple is expanding its line-up of computers for professionals with a new Mac Studio. This time the company is placing particular emphasis on on-device AI performance, but it has not forgotten video editing, 3D graphics or working on large projects. The computer features M5 Max chips and the debuting M5 Ultra, and in its most powerful configuration it can be equipped with as much as 512 GB of unified RAM.
M5 Ultra is set to be a true AI monster
The biggest change in the new Mac Studio is, of course, the M5 Ultra chip. Apple equips it with up to a 36-core CPU and an 80-core GPU, and unified memory can reach 512 GB. Memory bandwidth is as much as 1.2 TB/s, which is 50 per cent more than the previous generation. Those specs are intended to allow really large language models to run directly on the computer. Apple says the M5 Ultra delivers up to 4.3 times higher peak AI compute performance than the M3 Ultra. Compared with the M1 Ultra the difference can be as much as 9.8 times. Interestingly, users can also link several Mac Studios into a single cluster using Thunderbolt 5 and RDMA technology. According to Apple, a four-machine configuration can provide up to 3 times greater AI inference performance than a single system.
Mac Studio M5 Max also received a powerful performance boost
The less expensive model uses the M5 Max chip with an 18-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU. In this version you can equip up to 128 GB of unified RAM, with bandwidth reaching 614 GB/s. The GPU also gained integrated Neural Accelerators intended to improve performance on AI-related tasks. Apple boasts, among other things, up to 3.9 times faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio compared with the Mac Studio with M4 Max. For text-to-image generation the company claims up to 3.5 times higher performance, and the Magic Mask feature in DaVinci Resolve Studio is said to run up to three times faster. Professional graphics haven’t been forgotten either. The M5 Max offers third-generation hardware ray tracing, and the machine can easily handle 8K footage and multiple video streams.
33 8K streams at once? Mac Studio is said to be ready for extreme editing
With the M5 Ultra, Apple pushes multimedia capabilities even further. The chip has twice as many video encoding and decoding blocks as the M5 Max, meaning Mac Studio can handle up to 33 simultaneous 8K ProRes 422 streams at 30 fps. This hardware is therefore aimed not only at people working in AI. Apple also mentions filmmakers, visual effects artists, 3D designers, developers and people working with large datasets. Mac Studio is intended to allow, among other things, colour correction of 8K footage in real time and rendering of demanding 3D scenes.
Thunderbolt 5, Wi‑Fi 7 and as many as eight monitors
The new Mac Studio also features an expanded selection of ports. On board there are up to six Thunderbolt 5 ports, offering bandwidth of up to 120 Gb/s. The computer also supports Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and via USB‑C can use genlock technology useful for professional image production. Apple allows up to eight displays to be connected simultaneously. It is also possible to use up to four Studio Display XDR monitors at full 5K resolution at 120 Hz.
Pre-orders for the new Mac Studio began on 25 August, while first deliveries and retail sales will start on 22 September. The M5 Max model starts at 12,499 zł in Poland, and the M5 Ultra version is priced at a minimum of 27,999 zł. Configurations with 512 GB of RAM will arrive at the end of October.
The new Mac Studio is primarily a showcase for the capabilities of the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. 512 GB of unified memory, an 80-core GPU, 1.2 TB/s of bandwidth and a huge emphasis on on-device AI mean the most powerful version is aimed at truly demanding users. Apple also lets machines be clustered, so Mac Studio can be used even when working with very large AI models.
source: Apple
