Comparing M1 Max and M1 Ultra

While it might seem unusual to compare these two models due to their stark differences in pricing and capabilities, understanding your requirements is crucial, especially if you're investing in a Mac Studio for business or creative projects. You want to maximize the value and ensure a solid return on your investment.

If your budget allows, you certainly want the most powerful machine Apple can offer, but you must also consider your investment wisely.

Pricing Overview

Note: All prices mentioned are in GBP, but they can generally be converted directly to USD.

The M1 Max Mac Studio begins at £1,999, which includes a 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 32GB of unified memory, and a 512GB SSD.

Upgrading options are plentiful. For an additional £200, you can increase the GPU cores to 32. If you want more memory, an extra £400 will boost it to 64GB.

With both upgrades, the total comes to £2,599.

Storage options vary as well: upgrading to 1TB will cost an extra £200, while maxing out to 8TB will set you back a staggering £2,400.

If you fully customize the M1 Max Mac Studio, the price can reach £4,999.

On the other hand, the M1 Ultra Mac Studio starts at £3,999. For the additional £2,000, you receive a 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, 64GB of unified memory, and 1TB of storage.

You can upgrade the GPU cores to 64 for £1,000 and increase the memory to 128GB for an additional £800.

Maxing out the M1 Ultra configuration will cost you £7,999.

While customizing your Mac is exciting, it can also lead to tough decisions.

Computing Power

I believe that very few users will truly need the immense computing capabilities of the M1 Ultra chip. Most individuals will likely recognize if their tasks require such power, as the M1 Ultra is designed for specialized applications.

While I'm not a benchmark enthusiast, it's easy to compare the M1 Max and M1 Ultra in terms of performance. The M1 Ultra effectively doubles the capabilities of the M1 Max, thanks to its architecture, which merges two M1 Max chips.

This results in double the cores, memory bandwidth, and video encoding engines.

According to Apple's tests, the M1 Ultra outperforms the top-spec 27-inch Intel iMac by 5.3 times for demanding computational tasks and by 2.5 times in processing specific filters in Photoshop.

In contrast, the M1 Max achieves 2.7 times and 2.2 times faster performance for the same tasks, respectively. This illustrates the diminishing returns unless your work is highly computational where time translates to money.

If that's not the case, the M1 Max Mac Studio is a more sensible financial option.

Video Performance

This is an area where I have significant interest, and the comparison between the M1 Max and M1 Ultra in terms of video performance is particularly intriguing.

Key differences in graphical capabilities include: - Maximum GPU cores: 32 (M1 Max), 64 (M1 Ultra) - Concurrent 8K ProRes playback: 9 streams (M1 Max), 18 streams (M1 Ultra)

Both chips can support up to five displays for an impressive setup.

Apple's rendering tests show that the M1 Ultra Mac Studio renders 8K video five times faster than a 27-inch iMac with the Radeon Pro 5700 XT, while the M1 Max is 3.5 times faster.

These differences highlight the specific audience for the M1 Ultra when it comes to video performance.

If every second of rendering time equates to significant costs, the M1 Ultra is worth considering. Likewise, if you need to handle more than nine streams of 8K ProRes footage simultaneously, the Ultra is essential. Otherwise, the M1 Max is likely the better choice.

Unified Memory and Storage

As previously mentioned, the landscape of Mac memory has evolved considerably.

Apple's silicon utilizes low-latency, high-bandwidth unified memory, allowing the chip to access data without transferring it between multiple memory pools. This enhances computing efficiency for M-based Macs.

Consequently, you may not require as much memory as you would with Intel models.

Nevertheless, both the M1 Max and M1 Ultra can be configured with substantial amounts of unified memory—64GB and 128GB, respectively.

If you genuinely need 128GB for your work, you’ll be aware of it. Since this configuration is exclusive to the M1 Ultra, that model would be your best fit.

Conclusion: M1 Max vs. M1 Ultra

Did you notice the recurring theme throughout this article?

I believe that most users who require the M1 Ultra already recognize their need for it.

For those uncertain about their choice, the M1 Max Mac Studio is undoubtedly the better option. If your budget is sufficient, prioritize spending on unified memory and storage rather than opting for the pricier M1 Ultra.

It's essential to remember that for general computing tasks, both models will perform similarly due to their identical single-core performance. The added benefits of the extra cores will only be noticeable if you actively utilize them, and the advantages will depend on how you value your time.

In fact, I am confident that around 95% of readers will find themselves perfectly suited to the M1 Max Mac Studio.

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Originally published at https://markellisreviews.com on March 18, 2022.