Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) vs Apple Macintosh Quadra 900

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Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) compared with Macintosh Quadra 900

	AppleMac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)	AppleMacintosh Quadra 900
Overview
Released
Released	March 2025	October 1991
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M4 Max or Apple M3 Ultra	68040 25 MHz (Macintosh Quadra 900)
CPU cores
CPU cores	14, 16, 28 or 32	1
Graphics
Graphics	32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPU	–
Memory
Memory	36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better)	4 MB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 16 TB (better)	160 MB to 400 MB
CPU
CPU	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	25 MHz Motorola 68040 with integrated memory-management and floating-point units and 8 KB on-chip cache; no standard L2 cache
GPU
GPU	M4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	Built-in video with 1 MB VRAM, expandable to 2 MB; Apple lists 8-bit colour at 640 × 480, 832 × 624 and 1152 × 870 with standard VRAM, and 24-bit at 640 × 480 and 832 × 624 with 2 MB
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra)	–
Memory type
Memory type	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.	Sixteen 30-pin 80 ns SIMM slots in banks of four, with 4 MB standard. Apple's October 1991 catalogue supported 64 MB using 4 MB SIMMs; its later support sheet lists a 256 MB technical maximum using larger modules but notes 8 MB and 16 MB SIMMs are not supported by Apple. Original UK maker brochure explicitly advertises 256 MB using 16 MB SIMMs; that original maker qualification differs from the later support sheet's unsupported-module note.
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	SSD	Internal 1.44 MB SuperDrive and optional 160 MB SCSI hard drive at launch; Apple listed a 400 MB version for January 1992. The case supports three further internal SCSI devices, including a removable-media device.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	Five NuBus '90 slots and one processor-direct slot
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
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack	Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	10 Gb/s	–
External displays
External displays	Up to 5	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	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)	–
Back ports
Back ports	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	Apple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, two serial ports, AAUI Ethernet, mono sound input and stereo sound output
External displays
External displays	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	Built-in video supports Apple's monitor range, with colour depth depending on VRAM and resolution; Apple's launch catalogue also names VGA, NTSC and PAL monitor support
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Internal speaker, mono audio input and stereo sound output; Apple supplied a microphone
Microphones
Microphones	None built in	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Tower
Weight
Weight	2.74 kg (better)	16.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 95 mm	226 × 523 × 473 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Apple's 18.6 × 8.9 × 20.6 inch dimensions and 36.8 lb weight for the floppy-only model; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power	Maximum 303 W, 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery and keyboard soft power
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
In the box
In the box	Mac Studio, power lead	Original System Software 7.0.1, microphone and ADB mouse; Apple's October 1991 catalogue says the keyboard was sold separately