Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)

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Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) compared with Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)

	AppleMac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)	ApplePower Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2026	July 2000
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M5 Max or Apple M5 Ultra	PowerPC G4 400 MHz (Power Mac Gigabit Ethernet), 2 × PowerPC G4 450 MHz (Power Mac Gigabit Ethernet) or 2 × PowerPC G4 500 MHz (Power Mac Gigabit Ethernet)
CPU cores
CPU cores	18, 30 or 36	1 or 2
Graphics
Graphics	32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 64-core GPU or 80-core GPU	ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB)
Memory
Memory	36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better)	64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB or 1.5 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 16 TB (better)	20 GB to 40 GB
CPU
CPU	M5 Max: 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores; M5 Ultra: 30-core CPU with 10 super cores and 20 performance cores, or 36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores	400 MHz single processor; 450 and 500 MHz dual PowerPC G4 processors. Each physical processor has 1 MB backside L2 cache; 100 MHz system bus. Supplier unspecified in these generic clock-only records.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	ATI RAGE 128 Pro with 16 MB SDRAM in an AGP 2x slot; ADC and VGA outputs.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine (M5 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M5 Ultra)	–
Memory type
Memory type	Apple’s current specification table lists 256GB and 512GB with the 36-core CPU / 80-core GPU M5 Ultra; its configure-to-order section only explicitly restricts 512GB. Current UK store configurator lists memory options up to 256GB, so the maker-confirmed 512GB option is not claimed as currently selectable there.	400 MHz: 64 MB, dual 450: 128 MB, dual 500: 256 MB PC100 SDRAM. Four DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; Mac OS 9 maximum per application 999 MB.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	M5 Max: 460GB/s with the 32-core GPU, 614GB/s with the 40-core GPU; M5 Ultra: 1.2TB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	Stock 400: 20 GB 5400 rpm/DVD-ROM; dual 450: 30 GB 7200 rpm/DVD-ROM; dual 500: 40 GB 7200 rpm/DVD-RAM. The retained storage prose says 20 GB 7200 rpm where its configuration matrix and launch release specify 30 GB; matrix retained. Ultra ATA/66, three drive bays supporting two ATA or three SCSI drives. Optional SCSI 36/72 GB, Zip and optical options are not expanded into unproven cross-combinations.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	Three open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and one AGP 2x graphics slot.
Media engine
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode; M5 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M5 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	2 × USB-A, Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet	10 Gb/s (better)	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 5	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	–
Front ports
Front ports	M5 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M5 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	Two external FireWire 400 ports and two USB ports at 12 Mbps each; Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem and analog audio input/output. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card. Keyboard USB ports excluded.
External displays
External displays	M5 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, plus a fifth at up to 5K 60Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus a third at up to 5K 60Hz over HDMI); M5 Ultra: up to eight at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, or four at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz; up to four over a single Thunderbolt port; VRR and HDR supported	ADC carries video, USB and display power; VGA also available, with graphics resolutions up to 1920 × 1200.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker and analog audio input/output.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	–	Apple Pro Keyboard and optical Apple Pro Mouse.
Microphones
Microphones	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Tower
Weight
Weight	2.7 kg (better)	13.6 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 95 mm	226 × 467 × 432 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	43.2 cm height, 22.6 cm width, 46.7 cm depth and 13.6 kg reference weight; weight varies with configuration.
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power	Maximum continuous power 220 W.
Power use
Power use	M5 Max with 32-core GPU, 36GB and 512GB: 7W idle, 200W maximum; M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 512GB memory and 16TB: 9W idle, 385W maximum (Apple wall-power test)	–
Noise
Noise	Declared to ECMA-109 as 1.5 B sound power and 7 dB sound pressure at the operator position, at idle and wireless web (M5 Ultra, 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU)	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 35% recycled content overall	–
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
In the box
In the box	Mac Studio, power lead	Mac OS 9, QuickTime and iMovie 2. Apple confirms all three factory configurations immediately available on 19 July 2000. Later review software updates are not launch firmware.