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Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) vs Apple Power Macintosh G3 Desktop

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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AppleMac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)ApplePower Macintosh G3 Desktop
Overview
ReleasedMarch 2025November 1997
Performance
ProcessorApple M4 Max or Apple M3 UltraPowerPC G3 233 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop), PowerPC G3 266 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop) or PowerPC G3 300 MHz (Power Macintosh G3 Desktop)
CPU cores14, 16, 28 or 321
Graphics32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPUATI 3D RAGE II+ (2 MB), ATI 3D RAGE II+, RAGE Pro or RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB; dated factory revisions) or ATI 3D RAGE Pro Turbo (2 MB)
Memory36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB32 MB or 64 MB
Storage512 GB to 16 TB4 GB to 6 GB
CPUM4 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 CPU233 or 266 MHz PowerPC G3 at launch, with 512 KB backside L2 cache at 117 or 133 MHz. The later 300 MHz option has 1 MB at 150 MHz; all use a 66 MHz system bus and 32 KB each instruction/data L1 cache. Apple names IBM/Motorola as G3 suppliers but does not identify each fitted processor supplier.
GPUM4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracingOriginal ATI 3D RAGE II+ with 2 MB SGRAM, expandable to 6 MB. Apple Service Source distinguishes later RAGE Pro logic boards. EveryMac identifies May 1998 RAGE Pro and August 1998 RAGE Pro Turbo revisions; dated 300 MHz stock graphics are described explicitly rather than assigned to all models.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra)–
Memory typeM4 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.Three 168-pin 3.3 V unbuffered SDRAM DIMM slots. Original support table gives 192 MB maximum; later Apple Service Source specifies 384 MB with DIMMs no taller than 1.15 inches (192 MB with 1.25-inch DIMMs). Unofficial 768 MB upgrades are excluded.
Memory bandwidthM4 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 typeSSDLaunch factory pairs: M6141LL/A 233 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM; M6202LL/A 266 MHz/32 MB/4 GB IDE/CD-ROM/100 MB Zip. Later 300 MHz/32 or 64 MB/6 GB/24x CD-ROM/Zip pairs are from EveryMac’s exact Desktop record; precise graphics revisions vary. Maker BTO options include 4 or 9 GB Ultra Wide SCSI, 2x DVD-ROM, Zip, faster Ethernet and FireWire cards; unproven cross-combinations are omitted. Internal SuperDrive accepts 1.44 MB and 800 KB floppy disks.
Expansion slots–Three PCI slots, plus a PERCH audio or audio/video I/O card slot; optional modem attaches to the I/O card. Desktop has one or two free 3.5-inch storage bays depending on the Zip configuration.
Media engineHardware-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
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jackEthernet, headphone jack
Ethernet10 Gb/s0.01 Gb/s
External displaysUp to 5–
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E–
Bluetooth5.3–
Front portsM4 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M3 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II)–
Back ports4 × 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 headphonesOne DB-15 monitor connector, one DB-25 external SCSI connector, two DMA serial ports compatible with LocalTalk/GeoPort, one ADB connector, 10BASE-T Ethernet and stereo audio input/output. Optional expansion cards do not count as standard ports.
External displaysM4 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 supportedBuilt-in monitor port supports resolutions up to 1600 × 1200; available colour depths depend on graphics memory. Optional separate graphics card supports a second monitor.
Keyboard and mouse–AppleDesign Keyboard, ADB Mouse II and Apple PlainTalk microphone (Service Source).
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker–
MicrophonesNone built in–
Design and power
TypeCompactCompact
Weight2.74 kg9.979 kg
Width × depth × height197 × 197 × 95 mm365.76 × 429.26 × 160.02 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detail–Current maker support table gives 6.3 inches height, 14.4 inches width, 16.9 inches depth and 22 lb; main fields are direct unit conversions. Older Service Source differs at 15.6 × 36.5 × 43.0 cm and 9.97 kg. Weight varies with fitted devices.
Power supplyBuilt-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power230 W maximum continuous and 290 W peak input (Service Source). Voltage-selector settings cover 100–130 V or 200–240 V AC; 50–60 Hz.
ColoursSilver–
In the boxMac Studio, power leadMac OS 8.0 originally; revised logic board requires Mac OS 8.1 and System Enabler 777. November 1997 month is supported by Apple’s November release confirming immediate G3 availability and the opened Apple Store notice describing actual sales. No exact first-delivery day is established.

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