Is Mac Studio Ultra worth it at 3199?

[memo90061]

Costco has the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. I just sold my iMac Pro and bought a Mac Studio Display that I'm using with a PC. I bought a prebuilt PC with i9 13900k and a 4070 Ti for $2150. It's extremely fast and when upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI it's super fast!! It's a good value.

I've had a Mac most of my life though and I'm starting to miss it... I was thinking about the base Mac Studio at 1499 and wondered about the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. Don't know if it's worth it at that price or would it be too much for me? Or would a PC and a Mac Mini make sense? Would probably be the same price as the Mac Studio Ultra.

I mostly use my computer for photography, basic video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro and upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI.

 

[dogface1956]

Costco has the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. I just sold my iMac Pro and bought a Mac Studio Display that I'm using with a PC. I bought a prebuilt PC with i9 13900k and a 4070 Ti for $2150. It's extremely fast and when upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI it's super fast!! It's a good value.

I've had a Mac most of my life though and I'm starting to miss it... I was thinking about the base Mac Studio at 1499 and wondered about the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. Don't know if it's worth it at that price or would it be too much for me? Or would a PC and a Mac Mini make sense? Would probably be the same price as the Mac Studio Ultra.

I mostly use my computer for photography, basic video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro and upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI

I love my Mac Studio Ultra, I got the version with 128GB RAM and 2TB SSD Drive with standard GPU and it works great for the main application I run iZotope RX-10, I don't really need the additional graphic cores for what I use it for, but the extra RAM really helps. I do light photography mostly using Luminar Neo and Pixelmator Pro. Don't do any real video work at all so can't really speak to how the Studio does for the type of work you do.

 

[stradify]

I recommend getting the base model and then compare it to your prebuilt PC.
If the PC smokes the Studio Max then return it and try the Ultra. I'll bet the Studio Max
will surprise you with how powerful it is and you'll not be tempted by the Ultra.

 

[Velin]

How has the PC been working? If it’s working great, why the need for a Mac desktop as well?

 

[russell_314]

Costco has the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. I just sold my iMac Pro and bought a Mac Studio Display that I'm using with a PC. I bought a prebuilt PC with i9 13900k and a 4070 Ti for $2150. It's extremely fast and when upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI it's super fast!! It's a good value.

I've had a Mac most of my life though and I'm starting to miss it... I was thinking about the base Mac Studio at 1499 and wondered about the Mac Studio Ultra for 3199. Don't know if it's worth it at that price or would it be too much for me? Or would a PC and a Mac Mini make sense? Would probably be the same price as the Mac Studio Ultra.

I mostly use my computer for photography, basic video editing on Adobe Premiere Pro and upscaling videos using Topaz Video Enhance AI.

I think it depends on what you want to do with it. Also, I would have some realistic expectations. I wouldn't expect even the Ultra to have the same GPU power as your PC with a 4070Ti… if you're happy with your workflow on the $2150 PC, why are you going to spend another $3200 plus tax on a Mac?

Unless you're just bored and have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would ask yourself what do you want this machine for. Are you planning to shift part of your workflow from the PC to the Mac and what part of that workflow? Is there something you feel more comfortable doing under macOS rather than Windows? I feel like this is just an impulse buy because it's cheap. There's a reason why it's cheap because a new version is likely to come out soon. This doesn't make the current version bad but it's something you should be aware of.

 

[memo90061]

I love my Mac Studio Ultra, I got the version with 128GB RAM and 2TB SSD Drive with standard GPU and it works great for the main application I run iZotope RX-10, I don't really need the additional graphic cores for what I use it for, but the extra RAM really helps. I do light photography mostly using Luminar Neo and Pixelmator Pro. Don't do any real video work at all so can't really speak to how the Studio does for the type of work you do.

I wonder if RAM would help the program that I use. I use Topaz Video Enhance AI.

 

[memo90061]

I think it depends on what you want to do with it. Also, I would have some realistic expectations. I wouldn't expect even the Ultra to have the same GPU power as your PC with a 4070Ti… if you're happy with your workflow on the $2150 PC, why are you going to spend another $3200 plus tax on a Mac?

Unless you're just bored and have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would ask yourself what do you want this machine for. Are you planning to shift part of your workflow from the PC to the Mac and what part of that workflow? Is there something you feel more comfortable doing under macOS rather than Windows? I feel like this is just an impulse buy because it's cheap. There's a reason why it's cheap because a new version is likely to come out soon. This doesn't make the current version bad but it's something you should be aware of.

The pre built PC is still within the return window. So I was thinking of exchanging for a Mac Studio. I don’t need all the power the PC has. I would exchange the prebuilt PC for a base studio Mac Studio for 1499 at the store, but they sold out.

I just miss the small things I could do with the Mac like copying on my phone and pasting on the mac. I only use the computer for creating my teacher lessons, photography and basic video editing. Miss texting from the computer during school PDs. Lol

I wanted the PC for a project of upscaling music videos and now I’m almost most done in one week!

 

[russell_314]

The pre built PC is still within the return window. So I was thinking of exchanging for a Mac Studio. I don’t need all the power the PC has. I would exchange the prebuilt PC for a base studio Mac Studio for 1499 at the store, but they sold out.

I just miss the small things I could do with the Mac like copying on my phone and pasting on the mac. I only use the computer for creating my teacher lessons, photography and basic video editing. Miss texting from the computer during school PDs. Lol

I wanted the PC for a project of upscaling music videos and now I’m almost most done in one week!

I feel you about using Windows. I use it for gaming but for everything else it's a Mac

If you can get whatever apps you use for video you prefer and for video editing on the Mac, then it sounds like a deal but that's still a lot of money for the Ultra. If speed is really important to you then maybe it's worth it for you? Costco still lists the Max version online for $1499 online so maybe have it shipped to you?

 

[pshufd]

I recommend getting the base model and then compare it to your prebuilt PC.
If the PC smokes the Studio Max then return it and try the Ultra. I'll bet the Studio Max
will surprise you with how powerful it is and you'll not be tempted by the Ultra.

An excellent approach as Costco gives you 90 days to return it.

The Studio Max is overkill for me on CPU but I do appreciate the ports, support for 5 monitors and the RAM. The Ultra would be overkill for my needs.

 

[astr627]

I picked up the Max version from Costco yesterday. So far haven't done anything heavy with it but it looks really good on my desk. It has a small footprint yet feels substantial as a pro level kind of machine. I also have a PC with a RTX 3090 in it, and it's only used for gaming from time to time. I was a Mac user and switched to PC during pandemic. I think the UI in MacOS has improved quite a bit and studio feels super responsive. I guess I will keep both.

 

[cpnotebook80]

When I had the MSUltra, it was great and the little or no heat was great esp in the summer time and being on the desk. I went to a buddies house who is a PC user and has the 4090 gaming rig and he has AC on constantly in that gaming room and the heat that GPU puts out is insane along with the rest of the desktop. While I'm all for power generation of GPU/CPU etc, there has to be a balance and not feel like a sauna when you are using a computer machine. I saw a few youtube videos where they are jamming the GPU in small cases with coolers and fans and wow the temps are insane.

 

[memo90061]

I picked up the Max version from Costco yesterday. So far haven't done anything heavy with it but it looks really good on my desk. It has a small footprint yet feels substantial as a pro level kind of machine. I also have a PC with a RTX 3090 in it, and it's only used for gaming from time to time. I was a Mac user and switched to PC during pandemic. I think the UI in MacOS has improved quite a bit and studio feels super responsive. I guess I will keep both.

Keeping both would be nice. I'm supposed to receive a retroactive check soon, but I should pay the credit cards. haha.

When I had the MSUltra, it was great and the little or no heat was great esp in the summer time and being on the desk. I went to a buddies house who is a PC user and has the 4090 gaming rig and he has AC on constantly in that gaming room and the heat that GPU puts out is insane along with the rest of the desktop. While I'm all for power generation of GPU/CPU etc, there has to be a balance and not feel like a sauna when you are using a computer machine. I saw a few youtube videos where they are jamming the GPU in small cases with coolers and fans and wow the temps are insane.

I noticed this! I left the computer running and I went to run a quick errand and when I came back, the room was so warm! It's nice for the winter. lol.