MAC STUDIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mikehalloran]

Thanks Mike! Thanks again for the Mac rescue a few weeks ago, I’m forever grateful!


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That was fun — and it worked.

You’re welcome.

[wylie1]

Well that was a quick 3.5k in Canadian Pesos.
Apple M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
64GB unified memory
1TB SSD storage
At least there was the 0% interest option.
If it holds up as well as my 2008 Mac Pro it should out live me.

I've got my finger on the "continue" button on the same thing. Long overdue to replace my 2008 Mac Pro!

I thought I had to get the Ultra for 64GB RAM so that's good news.
What are you doing for audio and MIDI interface?

Currently MIDI = USB Midisport 4x4
Audio = 828mk3, 8pre and a Presonus Digimax FS
Looking to add a Audient ASP880

[HCMarkus]

MOTU 828es... been great on USB with my 5,1 Mac Pro. Gonna' be even better (fingers crossed) with Thunderbolt and a Mac Studio Ultra!

[BobK]

YouTuber Max Yuryev disassembles an M1 Ultra Mac Studio:

https://youtu.be/IY0gRMpT4AY

Not surprisingly, it looks really well-designed and solid. He calls it "upgradeable"; I think this refers to the SSD, which IIRC is not soldered!

"Upgradeable" might be a bit of a stretch, but then again, OWC sells kits for opening up and re-sealing an iMac for DIY upgrades and repairs.

One detail I really appreciate is that the ports on the back are individually screwed into the case instead of all together on a board. Hopefully that means they could be individually replaced if they get fried. I suspect it's more expensive to manufacture it this way, but it's probably sturdier. Nice touch, Apple!

I don't know how often Thunderbolt ports get fried, but if I recall correctly, I had two Firewire ports die over the years, one in a MacBook Pro and one on a Metric Halo 2882. (Fortunately, I had Apple Care for the laptop, as I think the entire motherboard had to be replaced.)

[HCMarkus]

You DO recall correctly Bob!

But it appears the SSD slots (2 additional ones in an Ultra) are not standard form factor and will thus require a custom SSD package. T2 is another question here... but we may still be talking about a good project for OWC to work on.

[James Steele]

You DO recall correctly Bob!

But it appears the SSD slots (2 additional ones in an Ultra) are not standard form factor and will thus require a custom SSD package. T2 is another question here... but we may still be talking about a good project for OWC to work on.

Would be great if OWC comes up with something by the time I’m ready to buy which I think may be October or so. I could get the smallest drive possible and then upgrade myself. One can hope.

[James Steele]

Watching that tear down video now. Geez… I’d be terrified digging into something new and expensive like that. What was interesting to me is there was an *extra* unused connector for an SSD? Does that mean you could have TWO internal drives?? Hmmmm

[BobK]

But it appears the SSD slots (2 additional ones in an Ultra) are not standard form factor and will thus require a custom SSD package. T2 is another question here... but we may still be talking about a good project for OWC to work on.

If you didn’ know, PCI NVMe drives come in lengths as short as 30 mm. Hard to tell from the video what the Mac Studio uses; I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s proprietary, though. In that case, I doubt OWC will sell replacements because they’d have to get them from Apple. (From what I’ve seen, it appears OWC‘s SSD products use standard form factors.)

Hopefully some day “Right to Repair” laws will force companies like Apple to make their machines more user-repairable. One great thing about building a hackintosh (my first and hopefully last computer build) was knowing that the major parts could be easily and usually cheaply replaced.

Does that mean you could have TWO internal drives?? Hmmmm

Yeah, I was wondering that too. And whether the M1 Max version has the 2nd slot.

[tremo]

That's a fantastic teardown, and apart from the storage upgradeability aspect, it's reassuring that if the SSD ever fails, repair should be relatively affordable.

[stubbsonic]

Watching that tear down video now. Geez… I’d be terrified digging into something new and expensive like that. What was interesting to me is there was an *extra* unused connector for an SSD? Does that mean you could have TWO internal drives?? Hmmmm

I was really wanting at least a sped up version of his putting it all back together and then firing it up... just for closure (no pun intended).

[frankf]

I recently replaced the internal 1T drive in my 6,1 with a Crucial 2T drive as per a post here by Mike H and had to use an adapter to make it fit. Working perfectly. Maybe the same here?


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[mikehalloran]

The SSDs in T2 Macs are not soldered in but they have to be paired with the T2 chip. Although this has been around since 2016, Apple has yet to offer it to the aftermarket except for the Mac Pro 7.1.

Before I called it off ten days ago, the SSD pair in my iMac Pro was scheduled to be replaced Apple had decided to replace those and the motherboard, then see if the problem still persisted. Once I found the real cause of the problem, I knew that replacing the hardware would accomplish nothing—the techs sent to my home ran some tests and agreed with me.

Since those blades had to be paired and are available up the 8TB (2 x 4TB), I made serious inquiries about having my storage upgraded and would have paid well to do it. The blades are proprietary and Apple is not letting that happen.

That said, it might be possible the same way that it is on the Mac Pro using Configurator. If the blades in the Studioare the same as the Mac Pro 7.1, it should be doable. The 8TB kit costs $2,800 from Apple, less than the 8TB option on the Studio.

In other words, although it’s been possible for over 5 years, don’t get your hopes up.

[mikehalloran]

Update: My iMac Pro can be updated with the $2,800 Mac Pro 8TH SSD kit
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MXNR ... or-mac-pro
if I can find someone to do it and pay the labor charge. Because of the internals, I'll open any Mac except this one-handed.
Ignore the title—it can be done.
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/699 ... c+Pro+2017


OTOH, the Studio SSD pair, although removeable, uses a different form factor. Though it may be upgradeable some day, can't be done yet.
https://www.cultofmac.com/770141/mac-st ... removable/

In any case, no reason that, if the upgrade becomes available someday, it would be any less expensive than buying the storage you need upfront.

So... spend $3,200 or more (incl tax + labor) on an iMP worth only $3,808 as a trade-in on a Studio to get the extra 4TB I need? Yea... that doesn't make any sense to me either.

On the other hand, my heat concerns about the Ultra don't seem to be real. Other than this guy's extreme overacting, the info seems pretty solid regarding thermals.



His concerns about GPU performance in extreme situations seem to be centered around AV apps that haven't been optimized for the M1 Ultra — yet. I like GPU performance but do not need what the Ultra can do.

[James Steele]

This proprietary price-gouging tendency of Apple really tests my loyalty to the platform sometimes. Someone commented beneath the story about the SSD drives you linked to that this is what class action lawsuits are for. I don’t know, but the Right to Repair movement can hopefully address these scenarios. It really seems that Apple does this primarily to gouge their customers.

[HCMarkus]

Apple can and probably will claim the T2's security feature is the reason. Gives them a better position than if it was just "because we want more $$$$."

The multiple TB ports make the issue essentially a non-issue in my eyes.