MS 14,14 Is this a good move?

[bcomer]

Canadian user here - Canada/U.S. exchange rate is 42% for U.S. readers looking at the prices.

Current machine - 2019 MacPro 12 core, 1TB and 192GB memory.

Used M2 Ultra (24 CPU and 60 GPU), 4TB SSD, 128GB memory and AppleCare+ until November 2026.

New with tax $8760.00 CDN asking $4500.00.

This is the heart of the post:
Is it is worth waiting for a new M4 Max Studio with 2TB and 96GB of memory?

I do a lot of photo editing and VM work.

 

[Pressure]

Are your current machine limiting you in those tasks?

Perhaps a cheaper solution would be to upgrade the CPU to the 24- or 28-core Xeon and add an PCIe NVMe adapter.

Otherwise I would just wait for the new Mac Studio to rear its head before spending money on Apple Silicon.

 

[MBAir2010]

Canadian user here - Canada/U.S. exchange rate is 42% for U.S. readers looking at the prices.

Current machine - 2019 MacPro 12 core, 1TB and 192GB memory.

Used M2 Ultra (24 CPU and 60 GPU), 4TB SSD, 128GB memory and AppleCare+ until November 2026.

New with tax $8760.00 CDN asking $4500.00.

This is the heart of the post:
Is it is worth waiting for a new M4 Max Studio with 2TB and 96GB of memory?

I do a lot of photo editing and VM work.

if you have the extra loonies, I would get the Used M2 Ultra
(the MChips are nice, quiet and quick compared to intel)
since the M series are just a step better since my M1 is a tad slower than the m2
so the M2 will be a tad or two slower than the M4 but still a productive chip.

Last century I remember when the exchange rate was 30% in the 1980 and then almost zero in 2004.
what a surprise that i never expected the exchange to be that high now!

 

[bcomer]

Are your current machine limiting you in those tasks?

Perhaps a cheaper solution would be to upgrade the CPU to the 24- or 28-core Xeon and add an PCIe NVMe adapter.

Otherwise I would just wait for the new Mac Studio to rear its head before spending money on Apple Silicon.

All fair points - the MacPro is showing its age a bit but upgrading to the 28-core CPU is just extending the end result - replacement in the near future. I already have a number of PCI mounted SSDs that can be moved to a Thunderbolt enclosure. The Studio is also easier on the power bill.

The M4 Pro Mini is powerful but it is limited in the amount of memory and the fan can be noisy.

 

[bcomer]

if you have the extra loonies, I would get the Used M2 Ultra
(the MChips are nice, quiet and quick compared to intel)
since the M series are just a step better since my M1 is a tad slower than the m2
so the M2 will be a tad or two slower than the M4 but still a productive chip.

Last century I remember when the exchange rate was 30% in the 1980 and then almost zero in 2004.
what a surprise that i never expected the exchange to be that high now!

The exchange rate is terrible and may get worse given the political environment but it is what it is.

The Studio of interest is very well configured in both storage and memory.

 

[MacPoulet]

The cheapest M2 Ultra Studio I found in Canada was a base model for $4700CAD (new on openbox.ca) but that is no longer available and was only 64GB of ram. $4500CAD roughly translates to $3200USD, which is a steal for a machine with that kind of memory and Applecare for 20 more months. If this will improve your workflow, I'd grab it because a comparable M4 Studio or Pro will be multiples of that price.

 

[ultratiem]

The current M2 Ultra will still beat the new M4 (or whatever) Max thats set to come out. There are also other trade offs with the Max (like front ports, slower overall bandwidth, etc.).

Apple wants $5,700 on refurb for that configuration. If you can part with the SSD, you can get a 1TB for $4,700. So finding one for $4,500 seems like a very good asking price.

TBH, coming from the 2019 Mac Pro, it's going to be HUGE.

I would grab it. Really good time to buy last gen!

 

[bcomer]

I bought it and is in as new condition - thanks for all the feedback.

 

[MacPoulet]

I bought it and is in as new condition - thanks for all the feedback.

That's amazing. Enjoy your new Mac Pro.

EDIT: I mean Mac Studio!

 

[bcomer]

That's amazing. Enjoy your new Mac Pro.

EDIT: I mean Mac Studio!

He also has a Sonnet Echo III PCI chassis I am looking at.