Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max) review: Re-filling the need for speed

Price When Reviewed

£1,999

Best Prices Today: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023)

$1999

The Mac Studio had a splashy debut final 12 months, a brand new desktop design with velocity that crammed the wants of essentially the most demanding professionals. But it additionally raised just a few questions on the time: Does it substitute the Mac Pro? And if it doesn’t, will Apple proceed the Mac Studio line as soon as the Apple silicon Mac Pro arrives? Would the Mac Studio find yourself similar to iMac Pro, a mannequin that obtained little consideration after its launch and finally was discontinued?

We now have solutions that give the Mac lineup some much-needed readability. Apple confirmed at WWDC that it’s devoted to upgrading and sustaining the high-end desktop Mac as a platform with the discharge of the M2 Max/Ultra Mac Studio and the M2 Ultra Mac Pro. The Mac Studio is Apple’s major providing for purchasers in search of a high-performance Mac, whereas the Mac Pro addresses a distinct segment that wants {hardware} enlargement.

However, the M2 Pro Mac mini that Apple launched again in January offers an fascinating comparability with the M2 Max Mac Studio. Whether that Mac mini or the M2 Max Mac Studio is the Mac for you is determined by the form of work you do.

This overview seems to be on the Mac Studio with an M2 Max chip, a 38-core GPU, 64GB of reminiscence, and a 2TB SSD. It has a number of upgrades over the entry-level $1,999 M2 Max Mac Studio, which places the worth of our overview unit at $3,199. Apple additionally sells a $3,999 Mac Studio with an M2 Ultra, 64GB of reminiscence, and a 1TB SSD.

This overview initially appeared on Macworld.com.

Foundry

From M1 Max to the M2 Max

The Mac Studio debuted in March of final 12 months with M1 Max and M1 Ultra fashions. The M1 chip collection has had its time (there are solely two Macs left with the entry-level M1 chip), and the M2 collection is in full swing. The Mac Studio now comes with an M2 Max or M2 Ultra for a similar value.

New chips imply, after all, boosted efficiency. The M2 Max has a 12-core CPU, which is break up between eight efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. Its predecessor, the M1 Max, had two fewer effectivity cores (10 complete CPU cores). Apple claims an enchancment of as much as 25 p.c over the M1 Max.

We at all times begin off our opinions with a take a look at general-purpose efficiency with the Geekbench benchmark. In our multi-core testing, the M2 Max was 18 p.c quicker than the M1 Max it replaces–not the 25 p.c Apple claims, however Apple does hedge it by saying “up to 25 percent.” The M2 Max’s single-core consequence offers a 19 p.c enchancment.

A knowledge level that stands proud is the multi-core results of the M2 Pro–this chip has the identical 12-core CPU because the M2 Max. The M2 Pro that I examined within the 16-inch MacBook Pro is about 5 p.c slower than the M2 Max Mac Studio, a distinction you’ll barely discover, so it mainly has the identical CPU efficiency. The M2 Pro is a $300 choice on the $1,299 Mac mini; in case your work includes plenty of CPU processing and fewer graphics processing (which we’ll get to in a bit), the Mac mini generally is a extra reasonably priced choice over the Mac Studio.

We additionally ran Cinebench R23 to gauge CPU efficiency, and these are the outcomes that matter most to consumers of the Mac Studio since Cinebench primarily makes use of 3D rendering and is a greater efficiency gauge for artistic professionals. We noticed a 20 p.c enchancment of the M2 Max over the M1 Max–nonetheless not 25 p.c, however nearer.

We additionally once more noticed that the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini had the identical efficiency. It’s vital to reiterate right here that though Cinebench is a CPU-focused 3D rendering check and doesn’t depend on the chip’s GPU.

HandBrake is a video converter app that stresses the CPU or specialised video {hardware}, relying on how it’s configured. In this check, we transcoded the 4K model of the royalty-free Tears of Steel video to H.265 utilizing the CPU and the video encoders (the “VideoToolbox” framework model).

In the CPU encode check, the M2 Max blew by the M1 Max, bettering efficiency by 32 p.c. Our outcomes additionally confirmed that the M2 Max has a slight edge over the M2 Pro, which is probably going because of the quantity of reminiscence out there. The Mac mini in our assessments had 16GB of RAM, whereas the Mac Studio has 64GB.

The M2 Max’s enhance over the M1 Max was a extra modest 18 p.c when utilizing the video encoders. It additionally posted the identical velocity because the M2 Pro Mac mini.

With the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, we noticed a small 5 p.c enchancment within the M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD over the M1 Max. That’s a noticeable distinction when coping with giant information. The Read outcomes are mainly comparable. The M2 Max Mac Studio’s SSD additionally posted average boosts over the M2 Pro Mac mini’s SSD.

The GPU will get a lift, too

The M2 Max on this overview has a 38-core GPU, which is an improve from the 30-core GPU within the $1,999 Mac Studio. The 32-core GPU within the M1 Max Mac Studio that we reviewed last year was additionally an improve choice. So in our GPU comparisons, we’re wanting on the new 38-core GPU versus the previous 32-core GPU.

The Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark assessments the GPU efficiency utilizing OpenCL or Metal APIs. Metal is developed by Apple and it’s the API the corporate needs builders to make use of to get the perfect efficiency. OpenCL is an open-standard API that’s extra extensively used due to its cross-compatibility.

With each the Metal and OpenCL benchmarks, the M2 Max’s 38-core GPU offers velocity that’s over 21 p.c quicker than the M1 Max’s 30-core GPU. The M1 Ultra is included on this testing on your reference–with both 48 or 64 GPU cores, it zooms previous the M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is obtainable with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

I made it some extent to name out the M2 Max’s comparable CPU efficiency in opposition to the M2 Pro, however right here’s the place the M2 Max Mac Studio separates itself from the M2 Pro Mac mini, which comes with both 16 or 19 GPU cores. If your work includes GPU processing, get a Mac Studio with as many GPU cores as you possibly can afford.

Apple says it needs to convey extra video games to the Mac, and at WWDC, the corporate revealed some efforts to get extra builders on board. It’s going to take a while earlier than we are able to get some trendy video games to benchmark with, so within the meantime, we’re sticking to what we’ve got: Tomb Raider and Civilization 6. The M2 Max Mac Studio posted some spectacular framerates.

Resident Evil Village is a more moderen recreation that options MetalFX Upscaling, which might enhance graphics efficiency in software program that makes use of Apple’s MetalFX API. It’s the kind of graphics upscaling that AMD and Nvidia have executed on the Windows PC.

To see it in motion on the Mac Studio, I activated a Metal Performance HUD, which shows the body charge. (You can do that within the Terminal by getting into on the immediate defaults write -g MetalForceHudEnabled -bool sure after which hit Return. To flip it off, enter the identical code in Terminal however substitute sure with no.) I set the sport show settings with the Prioritize Graphics preset and the display decision at 2560×1440. Then I ran the sport twice.

The first time, I didn’t use MetalFX Upscaling and I had body charges between 130 and 160 fps when shifting across the recreation. The second time, I activated MetalFX Upscaling to the Quality setting, and the body charges jumped up between 160 to 195 fps. What a candy enhance! Hopefully, Apple will do extra to advertise this know-how to recreation builders so we are able to see the Mac gaming library develop and, extra importantly, change into extra present.

Apple chips have video encoding engines, and we use iMovie to check them out. In our export assessments, we didn’t see a distinction between the M2 Max and the M1 Max, which isn’t that shocking for the reason that engines between the 2 are very comparable. The iMovie Stabilze check that we do places strain on the chip’s Neural Engine, and we see a 20 p.c distinction between the 2 chips.

The M2 Max has twice as many ProRes engines as the M2 Pro, which explains why it’s so a lot quicker in our assessments.

Foundry

An enormous distinction with show help

The principal factor that’s new concerning the 2023 Mac Studio is the system on a chip–virtually all the things else is identical as final 12 months. Apple didn’t introduce any design modifications or change the variety of ports, although there are some upgrades. The headphone jack now has superior help for high-impedance headphones and also you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 as with Apple’s different current Macs.

However, there’s a huge change within the show help. The 2023 Mac Studio has an “enhanced HDMI” port as an alternative of HDMI 2.0, and this enhanced HDMI implementation helps options within the HDMI 2.1 specification. This improve fixes the most important flaw within the unique Mac Studio: its HDMI port has a most decision of 4K at 60Hz. Now, you possibly can join a show with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 240Hz. And there’s help for variable refresh charge, HDR, and multichannel audio.

That’s not all! If you additionally use Thunderbolt, the M2 Max Mac Pro nonetheless helps 4 shows with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one show with 4K at 60Hz over HDMI. The new function is that you would be able to now join two shows with 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, and one show with 8K at 60Hz or 4K at as much as 240Hz over HDMI. Did you get all that? Cool!

If it’s essential go hog wild with the shows, you’ll must improve to the M2 Ultra Mac Studio. Since it is a overview of the M2 Max Mac Studio, I’m not going to go over all of the M2 Ultra show configurations. You can take a look at Apple’s web site, however right here’s somewhat teaser: you possibly can join as much as eight 4K at 60Hz shows. Yowza!

You can learn my overview from, final 12 months in order for you a deep dive into the Mac Studio’s design, discover out the details about the external ports, or get the nitty-gritty on Apple’s mouse, trackpad, and keyboard offerings. Here’s a fast bullet-point abstract in order for you the gist.

• The Mac Studio measures 7.7 inches sq. and is 3.7 inches tall. The M2 Max mannequin is 5.7 kilos, whereas the M2 Ultra mannequin is 2 kilos heavier due to the thermal system it wants.
• The again of the Mac Studio has 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb ethernet port, two USB-A ports, enhanced HDMI, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack
• The entrance of the Mac Studio has both two USB-C ports (M2 Max mannequin) or two Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 Ultra mannequin), and an SDXC Card slot
• The Mac Studio doesn’t embrace a mouse, trackpad, or keyboard. You can present your personal however know that the Mac Studio works with the Magic Keyboard Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($199). Touch ID is helpful to have.

Foundry

Mac Studio or M2 Pro Mac mini?

As proven by our testing, the M2 Max Mac Studio and the M2 Pro Mac mini have comparable CPU efficiency. That is sensible since each CPUs have 12 cores, break up into 8 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. With that being the case, if you already know that the apps you’re employed in essentially the most are CPU dependent, the M2 Pro Mac mini could possibly be a money-saving consideration–in the event you don’t customise it past the CPU improve.

To get the 12-core M2 Pro Mac Studio, clients take the $1,299 normal configuration 10-core M2 Pro Mac mini and improve the CPU. That brings the worth as much as $1,599 on a mannequin with 16GB of reminiscence. If you then resolve to additionally improve to 32GB of reminiscence, the worth is $1,999–the similar value as a base mannequin M2 Max Mac Studio with a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 32GB or reminiscence, and a 512GB SSD. For the identical value, you will get extra GPU efficiency, entrance ports, and expanded show help.

If you utilize plenty of pro-level software program that’s GPU dependent, then the Mac Studio is the particular alternative with its higher graphics efficiency. The M2 Pro Mac mini’s GPU tops off at 19 cores, whereas the M2 Max Mac Studio GPU begins at 30 cores and has an improve to 38 cores (which we examined right here). If you want extra, you possibly can improve to an M2 Ultra with 60 or 76 GPU cores.

The M2 Pro Mac mini has different limitations that would sway you in direction of a Mac Studio. Its most reminiscence configuration is 32GB, whereas the M2 Max Mac Studio can have as much as 64GB, or 96GB in the event you improve to the 38-core GPU. Also, the M2 Pro Mac mini helps as much as three 4K 60Hz shows, whereas the M2 Max Mac Studio can deal with as much as 5, and the M2 Ultra Mac Studio can help as much as eight.

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Still a worthy funding

Thanks to the web, everyone seems to be a media creator these days, whether or not you’re tending to social media, making your personal films, producing music, taking pictures and modifying pictures, creating artworks, or creating software program. The Mac Studio is the perfect Mac–it’s highly effective, priced appropriately, has numerous ports for connecting units, and it gained’t take up plenty of desk area.

If to procure a Mac Studio final 12 months, there’s little motive to improve, except processing energy is a endless seek for you, or it’s essential join extra shows than what the 2022 Mac Studio can deal with. If you possibly can maintain off till later 2024 or early 2025, we might get the M3 Max/Pro by then, and the M3’s new 3nm course of guarantees to take Apple silicon past the 25 p.c incremental enchancment we normally get.

If you’ve been holding off on the Mac Studio all this time, what are you ready for? The Mac Pro? Well, it’s right here, have enjoyable with it! Seriously, if the Mac Studio matches the invoice when it first got here out however you waited, you possibly can hold ready for the M3 I simply talked about. Or you will get one now and get some work executed quicker than ever earlier than.

The Mac Studio begins at $1,999 with an M2 Max–you get a large number of options and energy, particularly in the event you evaluate it to the M2 Pro Mac mini. The Mac Studio with Apple’s strongest chip, the M2 Ultra, begins at $3,999.