Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)

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iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) compared with Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)

	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)	AppleMac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	March 2025
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7500, Intel Core i5-7600, Intel Core i7-7700K or Intel Core i5-7600K	Apple M4 Max or Apple M3 Ultra
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	14, 16, 28 or 32
CPU threads
CPU threads	4 or 8	–
Graphics
Graphics	Radeon Pro 570 (4 GB VRAM), Radeon Pro 575 (4 GB VRAM) or Radeon Pro 580 (8 GB VRAM)	32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB	36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 3 TB	512 GB to 16 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	Quad-core Core i5 at 3.4 GHz (Turbo Boost 3.8 GHz), 3.5 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.1 GHz) or 3.8 GHz (Turbo Boost 4.2 GHz); only the upper two bases support the 4.2 GHz Core i7 upgrade with Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz	M4 Max: 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 16-core CPU; M3 Ultra: 28-core CPU with 20 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, or 32-core CPU
GPU
GPU	Radeon Pro 570 or 575 with 4 GB VRAM, or Radeon Pro 580 with 8 GB VRAM; graphics are tied to the three base configurations	M4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra)
Memory type
Memory type	2400 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules in four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots. Lower base configurable to 16/32 GB; upper two bases to 16/32/64 GB.	M4 Max: 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB with the 16-core CPU / 40-core GPU. M3 Ultra: 96GB or 256GB in the current specification table. Apple announced 512GB at launch and documents a 32-core CPU / 80-core GPU, 512GB, 16TB system in its power test; that historical option is retained separately.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M4 Max: 410GB/s with the 32-core GPU, 546GB/s with the 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 819GB/s. M4 Max takes 36GB (32-core GPU) or 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU); M3 Ultra takes 96GB or 256GB, and was offered with up to 512GB at launch
Storage type
Storage type	570 base: 1/2 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 575 base: 1/2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. 580 base: 2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 512 GB/1/2 TB SSD.	SSD
Media engine
Media engine	–	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode; M4 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M3 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines
Display
Screen size
Screen size	27″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	5120 × 2880	–
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s specification sheet	–
Display features
Display features	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	10 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	Up to 5 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	5.3
Front ports
Front ports	–	M4 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M3 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 3 ports; two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require separately sold adapters.	4 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort 2.1; 2 × USB-A (USB 3, up to 5Gb/s); HDMI 2.1 with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
External displays
External displays	Built-in display at full native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours	M4 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 144Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M3 Ultra: up to eight at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 144Hz, or four at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	None built in
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2	–
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Compact
Weight
Weight	9.44 kg	2.74 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	650 × 203 × 516 mm	197 × 197 × 95 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.	–
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable	Mac Studio, power lead