Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max / M1 Ultra) vs Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac Studio (M1 Max / M1 Ultra) | AppleMac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2022 | June 2023 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M1 Max or Apple M1 Ultra | Apple M2 Max or Apple M2 Ultra |
| CPU cores | 10 or 20 | 12 or 24 |
| Graphics | 24-core GPU, 32-core GPU, 48-core GPU or 64-core GPU | 30-core GPU, 38-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 76-core GPU |
| AI engine (NPU) | 22 TOPS | – |
| Memory | 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB | 32 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 192 GB (better) |
| Storage | 512 GB to 8 TB | 512 GB to 8 TB |
| CPU | M1 Max has 10 CPU cores (8 performance, 2 efficiency); M1 Ultra has 20 (16 performance, 4 efficiency) | M2 Max: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores |
| GPU | M1 Max has 24 or 32 GPU cores; M1 Ultra has 48 or 64 | M2 Max: 30-core or 38-core GPU; M2 Ultra: 60-core or 76-core GPU |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine (M1 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M1 Ultra) | 16-core Neural Engine (M2 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M2 Ultra) |
| Memory bandwidth | 400 GB/s (M1 Max); 800 GB/s (M1 Ultra) | M2 Max: 400GB/s; M2 Ultra: 800GB/s |
| Storage type | SSD; M1 Max starts at 512 GB, configurable to 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB; M1 Ultra starts at 1 TB with 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB options | SSD |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; M1 Max has one video decode, two video encode and two ProRes engines; M1 Ultra has two video decode, four video encode and four ProRes engines | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; M2 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M2 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack | 4 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 10 Gb/s | 10 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 5 | Up to 5 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.3 |
| Front ports | Two USB-C ports up to 10 Gb/s (M1 Max) or two Thunderbolt 4 ports up to 40 Gb/s (M1 Ultra); SDXC slot with UHS-II support | M2 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M2 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Back ports | Four Thunderbolt 4 ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; two USB-A up to 5 Gb/s; HDMI; 10 Gb Ethernet supporting 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support | 4 × Thunderbolt 4 with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort; 2 × USB-A (up to 5Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones |
| External displays | Four displays at up to 6K 60 Hz over USB-C and one at up to 4K 60 Hz over HDMI, simultaneously | M2 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M2 Ultra: up to eight at up to 4K 60Hz, six at up to 6K 60Hz, or three at up to 8K 60Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; HDMI multichannel audio output | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | – | None built in |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Compact | Compact |
| Weight | 2.7 kg | 2.7 kg |
| Width × depth × height | 197 × 197 × 95 mm | 197 × 197 × 95 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Weight is 2.7 kg with M1 Max or 3.6 kg with M1 Ultra; both enclosures are 197 × 197 × 95 mm | – |
| Power supply | Built-in; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum continuous power 370 W | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 370W maximum continuous power |
| Noise | 15 dBA sound pressure at idle and during Apple's wireless web test (M1 Ultra, operator position) | – |
| Materials | 80% recycled aluminium enclosure | – |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| In the box | Mac Studio, power lead | Mac Studio, power lead |
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