Apple’s Mac Studio is the first computer equipped with the M1 Ultra chip, which promises very good performance in an ultimately very compact case, all in stony silence.
With the Mac Studio and its M1 Ultra, Apple has created yet another particularly interesting machine. Its performance is good, especially with hardware acceleration of applications, although the latest generation of high-end AMD and Intel processors and Nvidia RTX 30 series graphics cards are generally faster. However, future optimization of 3D rendering and video post-production software could reduce the current gap. The feat is mainly to be found in its compact format, its quiet operation and its controlled consumption, for the moment unrivaled.
Strong points
- Exemplary finishes.
- Good performance overall.
- Compact housing.
- Ultra quiet.
- Low energy consumption.
- Complete connectivity.
- Excellent quality headphone output.
Weak points
- Raw performance below competitive high-end CPUs and GPUs.
- Difficult to dismantle and not scalable.
NB: The reported price drop is calculated by comparing the lowest price of the day with the average of the lowest prices charged by all merchants for the product last month, with security rules to exclude the prices of stores whose the VAT policy is not clear (so-called “gray” stores, typically in the case of imports from China).
Alternatively
The Apple Mac Studio M2 Max (2023) is a desktop computer, or rather a more than convincing workstation. It retains the qualities of the previous model with impeccable finishes, exemplary operating silence, all in a compact case. But it also has its flaws, namely zero scalability and raw performance below what is offered in the x86 PC world.