Poll: *** The official Mac Studio thread (it has the M1 Max, the M1 Ultra and everything!) ***

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It's official and it's available to order now. The new Mac Studio.

Note that you can pick multiple options in the poll. I expect most people to pick the "I really want one but I don't need one" along with "No". In fact, even if you pick one of the "yes" options, if you're truthful you'll probably choose the "I really want one but I don't need one" as well

Mac Studio is an entirely new Mac desktop. It packs outrageous performance, extensive connectivity and new capabilities into an unbelievably compact form, putting everything you need within easy reach and transforming any space into a studio. And it all starts with your choice of the ferociously fast M1 Max or the all-new M1 Ultra — the most powerful chip ever in a personal computer.



Built from two M1 Max chips, M1 Ultra lets you power through workflows on an unprecedented scale. So you can run complex particle simulations or work with massive 3D environments that were previously impossible to render. And with twice the media engine resources, M1 Ultra can support up to 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video playback — something no other personal computer can do.

 

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I'm waiting for the reviews but I'm almost certainly going to have the base Max model, upped to 32 GPU cores, 64Gb RAM and a 2Tb drive.

 

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@Raymond Lin Basically the same spec that I'll [probably] go for except I'm upping the SSD.

Have you ordered yet?

 

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It seems so insanely priced, even for Apple

I know you'll say "he would say that" but I don't think it is. Compare it to the equivalent iMac Pro or the Mac Pro (both of which it utterly outperforms) and it's significantly cheaper.

 

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As long as they are specifically optimised for the M1 - last time I checked for generic multi platform apps like Handbrake, M1 still trailed behind

Totally anecdotal but I just converted a 4Gb .mp4 from my drone on my 2017 4.2GHz i7 iMac and my M1 MBA to h265 at the same time. The iMac took 6:53 and the M1 MBA 2:49. That's using Permute which I believe is still a universal app.

 

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My plans are always evolving. I’m now looking at the possibility of a base Ultra with a 2Tb drive and the new monitor in a couple of months.

 

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Did you watch that Max Tech video today? Where they suggest storage is the best value upgrade?

I didn’t - do you have a link please?

 

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Thanks, it's interesting that I'd already come to pretty much that same conclusion

The reason I'm now angling towards the Ultra is that I really think that a desktop should be more powerful than a laptop and the M1 Max in it is basically the same as the top of the range MBP. I know that tech will move on and it won't take long for it to be overtaken but I've always been one to buy the best I can afford to make it last as long as I can which is why my original iMac lasted six years and I've had my current one for five years.

It works out as about £1200* more to buy the base Ultra with a 2Tb drive than it does to buy the base Max with extra GPU cores, 64Gb RAM and a 2Tb drive.

Considering the difference between the base models is £2000, this makes sense to me. I'd be getting 48 GPU cores as opposed to 32, the same RAM, the same SSD but effectively double the computing power, double the memory bandwidth and double all the decode/encode engines along with that sparkly, smug feeling of having the spanky new chip

I think it's worth delaying the purchase a couple of months to put the extra cash together.

*Actually it'll be just £1000 more as I'm getting it ex-vat

 

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To go big on this one I will need £4k for the computer alone

That's just one big wedding

 

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I would hope the NDA will be lifted and we'll start seeing reviews in the next couple of days.

 

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I reckon the review embargos will lift today and we’ll start seeing them drop on YouTube this afternoon. I’m quite sure iJustine will be creaming herself.

 

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Monday (yesterday) for iPhone SE
Tuesday (today) for iPad Air 5
Wednesday (tomorrow) for Mac Studio

Unless anything has appeared since I went to bed, looks like this isn’t quite right.

You subscribed to a different page of hers are you?

Perhaps it was a poor choice of words

 

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Oops. I really hope it's not glued together, that'd be awful for cleaning and maintenance.

Take it outside and give it a good puff through or squirt a can of compressed air through it to blow out the dust.

I'd expect the ifixit teardown to appear sometime today, that'll be interesting.

 

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Tear-down.

Christ, he's more annoying than iJustine

 

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Mine will just sit on my desk, the same way my iMac does. Every so often (like, maybe once a year), I disconnect it, take it outside and blow compressed air through it.

 

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quite a lot of people complaining about it.

It seems variable, some people are saying they can hear the fans, others are saying it's basically inaudible. It does seem consistent that the Max is slightly less silent than the Ultra though.

 

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Ultra has a denser heatsink, so that could be it.

Aye, reports saying that it's copper on the Ultra and aluminium on the Max. When I get mine, if I put it on the desk and it's noisy, I'll just mount it under the desk so it's away from me. Having said that, I really don't think it's going to be an issue.

Also means you can probably DIY the Max cooling into something better with better TIM, even using aftermarket heatsinks if one becomes available.

Having seen what's involved with the strip down, I'll be very surprised if anyone does that but yes, it's a good warranty busting option

 

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Really looking forward to you guys getting them

 

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iFixit (sort of) teardown.
https://www.ifixit.com/News/57898/mac-studio-teardown

 

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So been watching Apple YouTube videos while I wait for my Studio to turn up. I have one single question. Does iJustine ever give a negative review?

Believe it or not, she’s calmed down!