Replacing Mac Pro with Mac Studio: Should I wait for the M5?

[quadra605]

I primarily do Audio Production (some video) and am finally ready to upgrade from my 2012 MacPro 5,1 to a Mac Studio.

Not looking forward to it & it's not going to happen overnight: should I be waiting for the M5 Studio to be released?

How big of a jump/difference in performance is everyone expecting? Is there a macOs upgrade expected to be a part of this hardware upgrade?

Or should I buy something now in anticipation of prices going up due to RAM scarcity?

I've been using Macs since 1989, there's never a "right" time to buy one, except when you need it

 

[Ifti]

You'll be waiting a while as generally they go through the entire MacBook lineup and the Mini before they get to the Studio. So even if the M5 is released today you'd be waiting many months for it to work its way into the Studio I'd imagine - especially the Ultra variants (if it even comes).

You are spot on by saying there's never a right time to buy it!
When you're waiting for a release it takes absolutely ages.
When you make a purchase a new release comes straight away! haha

Very happy with my M4 Max - used mainly for video, and I will be sticking with it for several years. At this point in time, with the M5 just being announced yet, if you need a new system I'd just get one now. Who knows how long we would be waiting for the M5 Studio.......

 

[maflynn]

I don't think the buyer's guide is helpful in this case. We see the initial release in 2022, then a year later an update, then in mar 2025, the M4 Max was released. rumors have swirled that we may see something in Q1, but I do think that may be overly optimistic.

If it were me, and my current rig was holding up, I'd stick out, the improvements that the M5 have over the M4 are worth the wait imo

 

[tenthousandthings]

I primarily do Audio Production (some video) and am finally ready to upgrade from my 2012 MacPro 5,1 to a Mac Studio.

Not looking forward to it & it's not going to happen overnight: should I be waiting for the M5 Studio to be released?

How big of a jump/difference in performance is everyone expecting? Is there a macOs upgrade expected to be a part of this hardware upgrade?

Or should I buy something now in anticipation of prices going up due to RAM scarcity?

I've been using Macs since 1989, there's never a "right" time to buy one, except when you need it

All three generations of the Max in the Mac Studio have launched five months after the Max in the MacBook Pro. So if M5 Max MacBook Pro launches this month (January), then June is likely.

In terms of performance, there is an industry rumor (just a rumor, not a leak) that Apple has adopted TSMC’s SoIC silicon architecture for M5 Pro/Max/Ultra — if so, then we could see reduced constraints. You can find endless speculation about this possibility elsewhere.

This year there will also be a [1] Studio Display update and [2] what looks to be a “Studio Display XDR” — in short, a lot is happening in 2026 with regard to the Studio, and if you can it’s probably worth waiting for. If you can’t, the current Mac Studio has Thunderbolt 5 and won’t disappoint.

 

[Fallforward]

Thoughts from a nonexpert....

The jump from a 2012 MacPro 5,1 to M4 Mac Studio might be a 5-10x improvement. If your 2012 MacPro 5,1 is somehow getting your workload done, then you might barely notice the added power of the M5 over the M4.

A lot of the jump might be your overall system, requiring other investments to get the real benefit. Examples include anything connecting via Thunderbolt 5 and the latest WiFi. Even the cables.

 

[Basic75]

I don't think the buyer's guide is helpful in this case. We see the initial release in 2022, then a year later an update, then in mar 2025, the M4 Max was released. rumors have swirled that we may see something in Q1, but I do think that may be overly optimistic.

Yes, the buyer's guide can be quite misleading. In some cases it says things we already know to be wrong, and in some cases the extrapolation from the past to the future is questionable at best.

If it were me, and my current rig was holding up, I'd stick out, the improvements that the M5 have over the M4 are worth the wait imo

Coming from a 2012 Mac Pro the jump is huge regardless. And the truth is, we don't know when the M5 Studio will come, and we don't know how much it will be affected by RAM pricing.

The usual advice holds, you need it now you buy it now, and if you don't need it, well, there's always something better coming later.

 

[dgdosen]

I primarily do Audio Production (some video) and am finally ready to upgrade from my 2012 MacPro 5,1 to a Mac Studio.

Not looking forward to it & it's not going to happen overnight: should I be waiting for the M5 Studio to be released?

How big of a jump/difference in performance is everyone expecting? Is there a macOs upgrade expected to be a part of this hardware upgrade?

Or should I buy something now in anticipation of prices going up due to RAM scarcity?

I've been using Macs since 1989, there's never a "right" time to buy one, except when you need it

2012!

Buy the cheapest, oldest Mac Studio you can find (used M1 Max?) - Migrate to Apple Silicon, use it now, enjoy the bump, then trade it in for an M5 Max/Ultra and enjoy another bump.

 

[quadra605]

You'll be waiting a while as generally they go through the entire MacBook lineup and the Mini before they get to the Studio. So even if the M5 is released today you'd be waiting many months for it to work its way into the Studio I'd imagine - especially the Ultra variants (if it even comes).

You are spot on by saying there's never a right time to buy it!
When you're waiting for a release it takes absolutely ages.
When you make a purchase a new release comes straight away! haha

Very happy with my M4 Max - used mainly for video, and I will be sticking with it for several years. At this point in time, with the M5 just being announced yet, if you need a new system I'd just get one now. Who knows how long we would be waiting for the M5 Studio.......

Don't NEED a new system yet, but I'm watching as upgraded apps/browsers here & there no longer work with Mojave.
My primary software is Pro Tools followed by Final Cut. I'll keep this Mac Pro because I'm running Photoshop CS6 and some other legacy apps that will always works & I don't want to give up.

I've played around with OpenCore, but I need rock-solid stability because I interact with sound studios around the world, and just need stuff that works.

Didn't know that about how they roll out the the new processors, so maybe I'll wait a bit to see how things shake out. I definitely want to be working with a new computer no later than the end of the summer of '26.

 

[dymac]

I would be concerned how much ram you might be needing. I went from a 2019 MacPro with 192GB of ram to a Studio M4 Max with only 128GB of ram, and while it is much faster I am having memory pressure issues at times doing my normal workload.

 

[quadra605]

You'll be waiting a while as generally they go through the entire MacBook lineup and the Mini before they get to the Studio. So even if the M5 is released today you'd be waiting many months for it to work its way into the Studio I'd imagine - especially the Ultra variants (if it even comes).

You are spot on by saying there's never a right time to buy it!
When you're waiting for a release it takes absolutely ages.
When you make a purchase a new release comes straight away! haha

Very happy with my M4 Max - used mainly for video, and I will be sticking with it for several years. At this point in time, with the M5 just being announced yet, if you need a new system I'd just get one now. Who knows how long we would be waiting for the M5 Studio.......

Since you are using it for video editing, how much RAM did you spring for?

 

[splifingate]

should I be waiting for the M5 Studio to be released?

Yes.

 

[SDAVE]

M5 Max/Ultra is worth the wait and it should last you for years to come, just make sure to get high amount of RAM + stock SSD and you'll be set.

Especially coming off a 2012 5,1 you're going to see huge gains.

The reasoning for waiting for M5 is that based on benchmarks for the base M5, there's +10/20% in CPU uplift and +30% in GPU from M4 and that's a huge jump.

If you really need a Mac Studio right now, I suggest not spending hard earned money on the M3 (current gen and considered old) and get like a used M2 Ultra/Max or something like that. Plenty of good local deals in mint condition (people usually take care of their Macs).

 

[apostolosdt]

As an owner of MP 5,1 (yes, still running quite functional) and Studio M2 Max, I should emphasize that you'll dearly miss the freedom of expanding and/or upgrading your hardware; for Silicon Macs are non-upgradable.

 

[splifingate]

The usual advice holds, you need it now you buy it now, and if you don't need it, well, there's always something better coming later.

This!

 

[Varmann]

Thoughts from a nonexpert....

The jump from a 2012 MacPro 5,1 to M4 Mac Studio might be a 5-10x improvement. If your 2012 MacPro 5,1 is somehow getting your workload done, then you might barely notice the added power of the M5 over the M4.

A lot of the jump might be your overall system, requiring other investments to get the real benefit. Examples include anything connecting via Thunderbolt 5 and the latest WiFi. Even the cables.

Yes, it is important go through the whole system, It may be there you will find bottlenecks. This can be much more costly than the new computer, but necessary to get a balanced setup.

My 3.1 had a massive disk system. Areca raid card with one SAS attached 24 TB 8-disk raid6, and one 3TB 6-disk SATA SSD raid 0. Then three different Sata JBOD systems for backup. A total of about 70 disks. My disk throughput was at best 1000 mb/s, on the raid0 system. About half that on the raid6 setup. Total cost was about 8 times the base 3.1.

On my M4 Studio today I have a setup that covers the same goalposts. But way less complicated, much faster and cheaper (but still more expensive than the M4).

 

[quadra605]

Yes, it is important go through the whole system, It may be there you will find bottlenecks. This can be much more costly than the new computer, but necessary to get a balanced setup.

My 3.1 had a massive disk system. Areca raid card with one SAS attached 24 TB 8-disk raid6, and one 3TB 6-disk SATA SSD raid 0. Then three different Sata JBOD systems for backup. A total of about 70 disks. My disk throughput was at best 1000 mb/s, on the raid0 system. About half that on the raid6 setup. Total cost was about 8 times the base 3.1.

On my M4 Studio today I have a setup that covers the same goalposts. But way less complicated, much faster and cheaper (but still more expensive than the M4).

Yes, good points. My storage system is mostly for audio, so it takes up less room than someone who edits video day in & day out. But putting together an external storage system is something I haven't had to do in a long time, I'm going to have to plan it out.

 

[southerndoc]

If you can wait 6 months, I definitely would wait.

 

[quadra605]

If you can wait 6 months, I definitely would wait.

I probably can (although I purchased audio hardware I've purchased specifically because Firewire is dead on the new Macs). What would I be waiting for though? Are we expecting a great leap forward with the M5?

 

[Solarflares]

I probably can (although I purchased audio hardware I've purchased specifically because Firewire is dead on the new Macs). What would I be waiting for though? Are we expecting a great leap forward with the M5?

If I were you, I’d buy a base Mac Mini M4, and spend the next 6 months learning Linux.
Multi-Core utilisation of all music apps is pitiful at present, and the blame-game is currently in full swing.
M3 Ultra Studio owners complaining of performance spikes at 27% utilisation. Windows even worse.
Then, if you’ve bought UAD hardware, you’ve got another can of ugly worms with Mac OS - with yet another blame-game going on.
To be honest, this is the worst year to buy a computer for music, ever. Not that any year is good for UAD in my opinion!

You haven’t cited your musical preferences. If it’s orchestral, then RAM is needed - lots of it.
If not, then single-core performance is crucial. A base M4 Mini will do 117 tracks of audio, with a 24-bit full Drumkit, and multitudes of plugins.
The M5 might be 4.6Ghz over the M4’s 4.46Ghz. You’ll hardly notice. But RAM speeds, RAM frequencies, RAM bandwidth, and Neural Engines are going to be increased on the newer M5. This you will notice, if you require thousands of Orchestral samples loaded in, and fired from RAM. At that point, external Thunderbolt speeds become moot, as 7GB/sec is a drop in the ocean, compared to a full 24-bit Concert Orchestra firing out of RAM with ambient stereo-mic placements, and a 120dB dynamic-range - with a 72-piece choir, and 72 instances of Antares Autotune!!

The M4 Max 16-core Studio is one hell of a machine, and even tops the M3 Ultra in some areas. But if you want more than 512GB of RAM, then neither will cut it. Possibly the M5 Ultra will be configurable with 1TB of RAM? But also possible that there might not even be an M5 Max, or Ultra.
You might find prices of digital storage hit the roof, and M4 Max stuff becomes hard to find, as M5 prices are suddenly a joke.

Let’s simplify it.
If you do sample-based Orchestral - then grab an M3 Ultra, from 96GB upward.
If you do Rock, or whatever - then grab an M4 Max 16-core Studio, with 64GB upward.
For live recording of a huge number of tracks - you can do your own research, but I’m betting it’s the Ultra. Or maybe 4 Ultras linked together?
Whichever way, unless you’re running in Linux, then the whole thing is tedious with the current state of core-utilisation. There are 3rd-party workarounds on Mac OS. You could use Audio Gridder for instance?
Or you could turn off Core 0?

Would be helpful if you state your musical intentions, ability-level, and whether this is a professional installation or not. Then I might have something more positive to give you.

 

[throAU]

I primarily do Audio Production (some video) and am finally ready to upgrade from my 2012 MacPro 5,1 to a Mac Studio.

Not looking forward to it & it's not going to happen overnight: should I be waiting for the M5 Studio to be released?

How big of a jump/difference in performance is everyone expecting? Is there a macOs upgrade expected to be a part of this hardware upgrade?

Or should I buy something now in anticipation of prices going up due to RAM scarcity?

I've been using Macs since 1989, there's never a "right" time to buy one, except when you need it

If you can still use your current system, wait.

That said, the performance difference between even m1 and my trashcan with 6 core and 64 GB of RAM is crazy.

You can’t go wrong with any Apple silicon studio, they’ll all be massively faster than your 2012, especially in interactive performance.

 

[quadra605]

If I were you, I’d buy a base Mac Mini M4, and spend the next 6 months learning Linux.
Multi-Core utilisation of all music apps is pitiful at present, and the blame-game is currently in full swing.
M3 Ultra Studio owners complaining of performance spikes at 27% utilisation. Windows even worse.
Then, if you’ve bought UAD hardware, you’ve got another can of ugly worms with Mac OS - with yet another blame-game going on.
To be honest, this is the worst year to buy a computer for music, ever. Not that any year is good for UAD in my opinion!

You haven’t cited your musical preferences. If it’s orchestral, then RAM is needed - lots of it.
If not, then single-core performance is crucial. A base M4 Mini will do 117 tracks of audio, with a 24-bit full Drumkit, and multitudes of plugins.
The M5 might be 4.6Ghz over the M4’s 4.46Ghz. You’ll hardly notice. But RAM speeds, RAM frequencies, RAM bandwidth, and Neural Engines are going to be increased on the newer M5. This you will notice, if you require thousands of Orchestral samples loaded in, and fired from RAM. At that point, external Thunderbolt speeds become moot, as 7GB/sec is a drop in the ocean, compared to a full 24-bit Concert Orchestra firing out of RAM with ambient stereo-mic placements, and a 120dB dynamic-range - with a 72-piece choir, and 72 instances of Antares Autotune!!

The M4 Max 16-core Studio is one hell of a machine, and even tops the M3 Ultra in some areas. But if you want more than 512GB of RAM, then neither will cut it. Possibly the M5 Ultra will be configurable with 1TB of RAM? But also possible that there might not even be an M5 Max, or Ultra.
You might find prices of digital storage hit the roof, and M4 Max stuff becomes hard to find, as M5 prices are suddenly a joke.

Let’s simplify it.
If you do sample-based Orchestral - then grab an M3 Ultra, from 96GB upward.
If you do Rock, or whatever - then grab an M4 Max 16-core Studio, with 64GB upward.
For live recording of a huge number of tracks - you can do your own research, but I’m betting it’s the Ultra. Or maybe 4 Ultras linked together?
Whichever way, unless you’re running in Linux, then the whole thing is tedious with the current state of core-utilisation. There are 3rd-party workarounds on Mac OS. You could use Audio Gridder for instance?
Or you could turn off Core 0?

Would be helpful if you state your musical intentions, ability-level, and whether this is a professional installation or not. Then I might have something more positive to give you.

It's a pro set-up, primarily recording voiceover for animation, games, commercials, film/tv ADR, narration etc. I've used Pro Tools since the Audiomedia III days and do a lot of remote set-ups (originally via ISDN, now SourceConnect, IpDTL, etc). Not recording music, altho I will add music/fx to my final mixes when required.

 

[Solarflares]

It's a pro set-up, primarily recording voiceover for animation, games, commercials, film/tv ADR, narration etc. I've used Pro Tools since the Audiomedia III days and do a lot of remote set-ups (originally via ISDN, now SourceConnect, IpDTL, etc). Not recording music, altho I will add music/fx to my final mixes when required.

Then a basic M4 Mini, with a 512GB SSD and 24GB of RAM would do you fine - offloading finished projects to clear space.
I assume a basic Ethernet connection is sufficient?

 

[FatLouie]

I have a Studio M4 Max and love it. In your case, I would say to wait for the Studio M5, then wait a bit longer for it to appear on the Apple Store refurbished site. If you are a U.S. veteran or have a family member who is, you can add the veteran discount to the refurbished price and save even more.

I think the potential port and memory benefits for the Studio M5 will be worth the wait. As always, buy as much drive space and memory as you can afford. Keep in mind the Apple Silicon Studio is not memory / drive upgradable. What you buy is what you have for years on end.

 

[quadra605]

I have a Studio M4 Max and love it. In your case, I would say to wait for the Studio M5, then wait a bit longer for it to appear on the Apple Store refurbished site. If you are a U.S. veteran or have a family member who is, you can add the veteran discount to the refurbished price and save even more.

I think the potential port and memory benefits for the Studio M5 will be worth the wait. As always, buy as much drive space and memory as you can afford. Keep in mind the Apple Silicon Studio is not memory / drive upgradable. What you buy is what you have for years on end.

Then a basic M4 Mini, with a 512GB SSD and 24GB of RAM would do you fine - offloading finished projects to clear space.
I assume a basic Ethernet connection is sufficient?

Yes, basic/regular internet has turned out to be fine re: quality, latency, etc.
I usually get more RAM & storage then I actually use, so I'll at least go with 1TB SSD + 64GB RAM

 

[quadra605]

I have a Studio M4 Max and love it. In your case, I would say to wait for the Studio M5, then wait a bit longer for it to appear on the Apple Store refurbished site. If you are a U.S. veteran or have a family member who is, you can add the veteran discount to the refurbished price and save even more.

I think the potential port and memory benefits for the Studio M5 will be worth the wait. As always, buy as much drive space and memory as you can afford. Keep in mind the Apple Silicon Studio is not memory / drive upgradable. What you buy is what you have for years on end.

I probably can wait...ugh...but my system is starting to show it's age with browsers/apps that don't work with macOS 10.14. I've played around with OpenCore on my backup rig, but I just need as close to 100% reliability when I'm working with clients. It's why I have a back-up for a lot of my hardware--a bit overkill, but it all comes in handy if there's any tech failures.