Mac Studio Spec and RAM

[Biro]

I’ve posted elsewhere that I simply cannot afford to upgrade to the M5 Max Mac Studio - at least the way I truly wanted to spec it. But, just before I totally abandon the idea of a new Mac Studio, I’d like to run a few questions past the MR Best and Brightest:

I do heavy still-photo processing, primarily with Apple’s Photos app but perhaps I might add other, non-Adobe software. I also do light-to-moderate, fairly simple video editing (never more than 4K) with Final Cut. I don’t see my use case getting much heavier than that. None of this is paid work. I used to edit video for network TV but this my own personal hobby in early retirement.

So… that being the case, would a base Mac Studio with the base M5 Max and 36 GB of RAM hold me for 5-7 years? Would bumping to 48 gigs of RAM (which also requires the next level of M5 Max) make much difference?

I could consider a Mac Mini but add a few options and the price is within a couple hundred of the Studio. Plus the Studio has better connectivity and better cooling. And, of course, I could keep my M2 Max Mac Studio with 64 gigs of RAM. That would certainly work in the short-to-medium term but it’s probably not going to be nearly as useful (nor worth as much on a trade-in) after a few more years. It is also likely that taking this route will mean not ugrading to a new Studio at all down the line - strictly for financial reasons.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[m1maverick]

I’ve posted elsewhere that I simply cannot afford to upgrade to the M5 Max Mac Studio - at least the way I truly wanted to spec it. But, just before I totally abandon the idea of a new Mac Studio, I’d like to run a few questions past the MR Best and Brightest:

I do heavy still-photo processing, primarily with Apple’s Photos app but perhaps I might add other, non-Adobe software. I also do light-to-moderate, fairly simple video editing (never more than 4K) with Final Cut. I don’t see my use case getting much heavier than that.

Mac Mini M6. If you’re firm on the Studio then M5 Max. Configure RAM and storage as necessary (base RAM should work in either config).

That said I would recommend a used late model Mini or Max Studio.

 

[!!!]

Some of your text is in white.

I simply cannot afford to upgrade to the M5 Max Mac Studio

None of this is paid work. I used to edit video for network TV but this my own personal hobby in early retirement.

I wouldn't get it, then.

I could consider a Mac Mini but add a few options and the price is within a couple hundred of the Studio. Plus the Studio has better connectivity and better cooling.

I agree, as an M4 Pro Mini owner I am disappointed with the cooling and would've opted for the Studio had I known about how loud it gets under load. It just can't keep the Pro processor cool under load.

And, of course, I could keep my M2 Max Mac Studio with 64 gigs of RAM. That would certainly work in the short-to-medium term but it’s probably not going to be nearly as useful (nor worth as much on a trade-in) after a few more years. It is also likely that taking this route will mean not ugrading to a new Studio at all down the line - strictly for financial reasons.

I don't understand why you think you need to upgrade. Why would your M2 Max suddenly be unable to perform? It's plenty powerful and as you said you're not doing this for work. Do you think your hobby editing is going to suddenly increase in clip resolution or count? Are you going to start doing heavy special effects?

If you're thinking about exiting retirement, waiting until then would be a better choice. As time goes on, the prices of used machines decreases and new models come out, maybe in a few years when you come out of retirement and need to edit big timelines of 8K footage you can afford the M7 Max or a used M5 Max at a discount.

I know this is a computer form, but for some financial advice, if you're struggling to afford a computer that costs thousands for a hobby while you already have a very capable computer, I would not think it is a smart decision to buy a new one.

 

[4sallypat]

I'd keep the M2 Max Studio w/ 64GB of RAM since it's working well - much more useful and considering the increased prices of current Macs, yours would be one to keep for a few more years.

Unless there is a performance issue you are experiencing ?

I have the M1 Studio Max base and love it - been perfect for what I use going on 4 years.

Just upgrading since I saw my M1 Studio reselling for almost what I paid for 4 years ago.

Makes my monthly lease effectively drop from $53/month to $11/month for a base M5 Studio Max.....

 

[DavidPS]

For the workload you describe, I'd honestly stay put for now. Photos and Final Cut at 4K are both very well optimized on Apple Silicon, and your M2 Max with 64GB is going to feel about the same day to day as a base M5 Max with 36GB — you'd be trading a lot of memory headroom for a modest CPU/GPU bump. Memory is the thing that ages worst: 36GB is fine today, but if you ever open a big Final Cut library alongside Photos and a browser with 30 tabs, you'll notice swap before you notice cores. If you do buy, I'd take 48GB over the extra GPU cores every time for a 5-7 year horizon.

One thing worth checking before you spend anything: look at Activity Monitor's Memory tab under your normal heavy session and watch memory pressure (the graph at the bottom) rather than the "used" number. If it's staying green with 64GB, a 36GB machine would likely be yellow at times. That's a much better guide than specs on paper.

On mini vs Studio — the Studio's advantage for you is less about the chip and more about sustained load and the front SD/USB-C ports for card ingest. But given none of this is paid work and your current machine isn't struggling, skipping this generation and buying an M6 or M7 Studio with more RAM later is probably the better use of the money.

 

[Basic75]

Your signature says that you have two M5 generation laptops and two M5 iPad Pros. Are you really interested in what works best for your use cases or are you just collecting? More importantly, between all those machines and the M2 Max Mac Studio, what is it you can't already do well enough?

 

[Biro]

Your signature says that you have two M5 generation laptops and two M5 iPad Pros. Are you really interested in what works best for your use cases or are you just collecting? More importantly, between all those machines and the M2 Max Mac Studio, what is it you can't already do well enough?

The other devices are machines in the household, used by other people. My concern is not about whether I can continue to use my M2 Max Mac Studio for a while longer. It’s that, as a recent retiree, I’m probably not going to afford another Mac Studio in the future. I wanted to update this year because A) there have finally been enough improvements since the M2 Max version (in all areas, not just CPU/GPU) to make it worth it and B) the clock on the Mac Studio’s useful life will be reset to zero… meaning that many more years of use for me looking ahead.

 

[4sallypat]

The other devices are machines in the household, used by other people. My concern is not about whether I can continue to use my M2 Max Mac Studio for a while longer. It’s that, as a recent retiree, I’m probably not going to afford another Mac Studio in the future. I wanted to update this year because A) there have finally been enough improvements since the M2 Max version (in all areas, not just CPU/GPU) to make it worth it and B) the clock on the Mac Studio’s useful life will be reset to zero… meaning that many more years of use for me looking ahead.

As a very recent retiree, I understand your concerns.

Taking retirement was a huge shift in my life - similar to getting married or having kids....

Since I am on a fixed income, I have to watch what I spend but then I do have a small business on the side which helps out with keeping me busy and juggling finances.

Take a look at the Apple Upgrade lease program - it might work for you.

I have the M1 Studio and love it but the gains of the M5 is just amazingly better for my needs so I am leasing thru Apple / Klarna for $49/month for 3 years and then deciding if I will buy out the M5 at the end and own it for $763. Or I can just jump into the next version like an M7 or M8 and continue upgrading for about the same $.

You can also trade in your M2 Studio to drop the monthly even more.

I am opting to privately sell my M1 Studio because I can get 3x more than trading in. After selling it, my effective monthly drops to $15/month which is very doable for a retiree.

Here's my thread on the M5 lease I pre-ordered:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/m5-studio-base-pre-ordered-using-apple-upgrade-lease.2487922/

 

[benholt]

Chiming in as another M2 Ultra owner. Photos and FCP at 4K are already well inside what your M2 Max can do. The gen-to-gen jump on those specific workflows is real but nowhere near what benchmarks suggest, because both apps lean on the media engines and unified memory bandwidth, which got refined but not fundamentally changed.

The one place I'd actually consider upgrading is if your 4K FCP libraries push you past your 64GB comfort zone with Photos and a heavy browser open at the same time. Otherwise the M2 Max is still doing exactly what you'd throw at it. And if you do buy, spec RAM over the Max/Ultra tier - the extra memory headroom is where you'll actually feel a difference in 3-5 years, especially on a fixed budget.