New Mac Studio M5 worth the upgrade for Xplane 12

[dimme]

I own a m4 max studio 16 core CPU (12 Performance and 4 Efficiency) 40 core GPU, 64 GB ram. Xplane 12 runs pretty good. Just curious if upgrading to a m5 max studio with similar specs be worth the money. The CPU option would be 18 cores instead of 16 but the GPU would be the same. I know on paper it's an upgrade but I not sure about Xplane. I did ask a few AI models and they said no. I usually upgrade every other processor so I will probably wait for the M6, but I am wondering if it will be worth it when Laminar Research ships the multicore rendering optimizations they've said are coming. I do use the Studio for other task and it time for those.

 

[!!!]

I own a m4 max studio 16 core CPU (12 Performance and 4 Efficiency) 40 core GPU, 64 GB ram. Xplane 12 runs pretty good. Just

Sounds like the answer is no.

I am wondering if it will be worth it when Laminar Research ships the multicore rendering optimizations they've said are coming

Still sounds like the answer is no, you already have 12 performance cores.

If you could provide performance data related to where X-Plane is being bottlenecked, then maybe we could determine what a worthwhile upgrade is, but as you said it runs pretty good. Even if you were trying to chase more FPS or higher resolution, I'd have a hard time recommending the M5, since the GPU core count would the same. I know there are some architectural improvements, but the difference between one generation is almost never worth it.

 

[galad]

Keep activity monitor with the CPU and GPU charts open when running X-Plane, and see what is being used.

 

[aakshey]

I know nothing about x-plane or what it does. But I can't think of any use case for anybody where upgrading to a similarly specced Mac in all respects but going from M4 Max to M5 Max would be worth the money.

And if money is truly no object, I would get the M5 Ultra maxed out, truly no budget. Just for kicks.

If money is not infinite, better spend it elsewhere and upgrade to a M7 Max when the time comes. Even M6 Max probably won't be large enough of an upgrade given what you have now.

 

[diamond.g]

I own a m4 max studio 16 core CPU (12 Performance and 4 Efficiency) 40 core GPU, 64 GB ram. Xplane 12 runs pretty good. Just curious if upgrading to a m5 max studio with similar specs be worth the money. The CPU option would be 18 cores instead of 16 but the GPU would be the same. I know on paper it's an upgrade but I not sure about Xplane. I did ask a few AI models and they said no. I usually upgrade every other processor so I will probably wait for the M6, but I am wondering if it will be worth it when Laminar Research ships the multicore rendering optimizations they've said are coming. I do use the Studio for other task and it time for those.

Without knowing what settings/resolution/fps you get currently, I would not upgrade based on performance improvements in this one game. Now if your other tasks see a big performance increase, then yeah it could be worthwhile to get the "free" boost.

 

[aakshey]

If you're talking strictly about gaming and if this gaming is well optimised for Apple Silicon, then an upgrade to a comparable M5 Max system should easily result in 30-50% upgrade in terms of FPS.

Now for somebody already getting say 40 fps, that additional 30-50% might them to around 55 fps, so a good upgrade but not earth shattering.

Probably not worth the asking money, but not something entirely silly, if you could upgrade for under $500 such a graphic card upgrade might be worth considering. But here you'd be spending thousands I guess, so a definite no.

 

[dimme]

If you're talking strictly about gaming and if this gaming is well optimised for Apple Silicon, then an upgrade to a comparable M5 Max system should easily result in 30-50% upgrade in terms of FPS.

Now for somebody already getting say 40 fps, that additional 30-50% might them to around 55 fps, so a good upgrade but not earth shattering.

Probably not worth the asking money, but not something entirely silly, if you could upgrade for under $500 such a graphic card upgrade might be worth considering. But here you'd be spending thousands I guess, so a definite no.

I'm total happy with my M4max Studio and using it for Xplane is a small part of what I do. I use the computer mostly for photography and light programing and it perfect for that. I have been using flight sims since my commodore 64 and for me it's a fun way to benchmark computers. As for Xplane I get 35 to 60 FPS depending on where I am and the weather. SO when the new M5 came out I had to wonder. That said when the M6 or M7 Max comes out I may jump on it.