Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) | AppleMac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2015 | March 2025 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6500, Intel Core i7-6700K or Intel Core i5-6600 | Apple M4 Max or Apple M3 Ultra |
| CPU cores | 4 | 14, 16, 28 or 32 |
| CPU threads | 4 or 8 | – |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon R9 M380 (2 GB GDDR5), AMD Radeon R9 M390 (2 GB GDDR5), AMD Radeon R9 M395 (2 GB GDDR5) or AMD Radeon R9 M395X (4 GB GDDR5) | 32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPU |
| Memory | 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB | 36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better) |
| Storage | 256 GB to 3 TB | 512 GB to 16 TB (better) |
| CPU | 3.2 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz in the M380 and M390 models; 3.3 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz in the M395 model. Only the M390 and M395 bases support the 4.0 GHz Core i7 upgrade, with Turbo Boost up to 4.2 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 | AMD Radeon R9 M380 or M390 with 2 GB GDDR5; M395 with 2 GB GDDR5 in the upper base, configurable to M395X with 4 GB GDDR5 only in that base | M4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | – | 16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra) |
| Memory type | 1867 MHz DDR3; 8 GB standard as two 4 GB modules, configurable to 16 GB or 32 GB; four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots | 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 | – | 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 | M380 base: 1 TB 7200-rpm hard drive, 1/2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB SSD. M390 base: 1/2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. M395 base: 2/3 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD. The 1 TB Fusion Drive has 24 GB of flash; 2/3 TB Fusion Drives have 128 GB. | SSD |
| 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 | 27″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 5120 × 2880 | – |
| Panel | IPS LCD | – |
| Display type | LED-backlit Retina 5K display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours | – |
| Display features | P3 colour gamut; Apple does not publish brightness or refresh rate in this model's specification sheet | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt 2, 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 | 1 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | Up to 2 | Up to 5 (better) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | 5.3 |
| 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 | FaceTime HD | – |
| Back ports | Four USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports with Mini DisplayPort output, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5 mm headphone and optical digital audio output; Kensington lock slot. HDMI, DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI 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 | Built-in display at full native resolution alongside up to two 4096 × 2160 displays, or one 5120 × 2880 dual-cable display; extended desktop and video mirroring | 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 | Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | Dual microphones | None built in |
| Keyboard and mouse | Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Trackpad 2 with Force Touch | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Compact |
| Weight | 9.54 kg | 2.74 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 650 × 203 × 516 mm | 197 × 197 × 95 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration. A built-in VESA mount version was also available. | – |
| Power supply | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power |
| Colours | – | Silver |
| Noise | Apple's 3.3 GHz Core i5, 8 GB, 2 TB Fusion Drive and Radeon M395 test configuration: operator-position sound pressure 15.5 dB at idle, wireless web and hard-drive seek | – |
| Materials | Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass; mercury-free LED backlight | – |
| In the box | iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable | Mac Studio, power lead |
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