Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)

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Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) compared with Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)

	AppleMac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)	ApplePower Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2001)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2026	July 2001
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M5 Max or Apple M5 Ultra	PowerPC G4 733 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2001), PowerPC G4 867 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2001) or 2 × PowerPC G4 800 MHz (Power Mac QuickSilver 2001)
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	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB) or NVIDIA GeForce2 MX TwinView (64 MB)
Memory
Memory	36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better)	128 MB, 256 MB or 1.5 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 16 TB (better)	40 GB to 80 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	Single 733/867 MHz or dual 800 MHz PowerPC G4. Each processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; 733 MHz has no L3, while 867 MHz and dual 800 MHz have 2 MB L3 per processor running at one-quarter clock speed. 133 MHz system bus. Generic chip records omit unverified supplier.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	Single-processor models: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 32 MB. Dual 800 MHz: GeForce2 MX TwinView 64 MB with simultaneous ADC and VGA displays. Optional GeForce3 64 MB DDR listed separately, not expanded into unproven stock combinations.
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.	128 MB PC133 SDRAM on 733/867 MHz, 256 MB on dual 800 MHz. Three DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB; base and maximum rows retain each stock drive and graphics card.
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	733 MHz: 40 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/66 and 12x/10x/32x CD-RW. 867 MHz: 60 GB 7200 rpm; dual 800 MHz: 80 GB 7200 rpm, both with SuperDrive (DVD-R 2x, CD-R 8x). Optional Combo drive, Zip 250 and SCSI 36/72 GB choices remain in details. Three hard-drive bays support two ATA or three SCSI drives.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	Four full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots plus dedicated AGP 4x 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, headphone jack
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 USB chassis ports at 12 Mbps each, two FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, ADC and VGA. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card. Headphone and Apple Pro Speakers minijacks; no analog audio input. 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	TwinView supports one ADC and one VGA display simultaneously on dual 800 MHz; no simultaneous-display assumption for the standard single-processor card.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers connect to a dedicated speaker minijack.
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)	14.1 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	–	Maker reference weight 14.1 kg, configuration-dependent; height 43.2, width 22.6, depth 46.7 cm.
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power	Maximum continuous power 360 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 X and Mac OS 9.2 at launch; iTunes, iMovie 2 and iDVD for SuperDrive. Macworld’s reviewed shipment uses Mac OS X 10.0.4 and initially lacks CD/DVD burning; support arrives with 10.1. Maker confirms immediate 733/867 MHz availability on 18 July and actual dual-800 shipments on 20 August 2001.