Anybody got $14K for the new Mac Studio M3 Ultra?

[monkey man]

I think for me personally, the 64GB/2TB configuration is the sweet spot. That’s what my M1 Max Mac Studio is.

Do you ever come close to using all the RAM James? Sounds like you don't reckon any more is needed.

Have you tried instantiating a shedload of VI's with samples loaded just to see what's possible?

I mean, just to be sure you're covered for every scenario... and for science, of course.

[timware99]

Actually, having read this full thread, I went for the Mac Studio M4 Max, 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine/
64GB memory/2TB of storage. I'm sure I'll be fine with this significant upgrade to my iPad Pro 2017 8-core/32GB memory/1TB storage.

I only do audio with DP. Heck, just doubling the memory should put significantly more zip in my workflow.

Tim

I think for me personally, the 64GB/2TB configuration is the sweet spot. That’s what my M1 Max Mac Studio is. Please share your impressions with us once you get DP installed. Love to know how they get along! Congrats!

Well, I sure *hope* they play nice! I'm very excited to get it all up and running, and I'll post my impressions after I pick up the M4 Ultra on March 31. Thanks.

[mikehalloran]

Do you ever come close to using all the RAM...?

No unless I go too long before rebooting. Apps, plug-ins and web pages have memory leaks, the developers' Whack-A-Mole. I could go almost a week between reboots with the 128GB in my iMac Pro.

Those who remember ancient history will recall that OWC always tried to sell us upgrades with bar graphs showing how much faster Photoshop ran with more RAM. Now substitute AV and AI. I'm certain that the 512GB RAM upgrade in the Studio M3 Ultra is for AI. The current Mac Pro, like my Studio, is only configurable to 128 or 192GB and I can confirm that it crunches any AV quickly.

My Studio's 192GB Unified RAM was how mine was configured in the Refurb Store; otherwise, pretty sure that 64 or 128 would have been fine. I doubt that any of the AV or AI tasks I'm doing come close to needing anything near what I have.

Anyone want to speculate that the next Mac Pro will have an M4 Ultra configurable to 1TB RAM? Since the M3 Studio can be had with 16TB storage on board, expect that or more available then, too.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Anybody got $14K for the new Mac Studio M3 Ultra?

Frankly? Yes. But I'd have to subscribe to Adobe and Microsoft and, besides, Finale and DP are working reasonably well on my lowly 2013 Mac Pro. Upping the internal drive to 2TB really helped speed things up.

[HCMarkus]

Anybody got $14K for the new Mac Studio M3 Ultra?

Frankly? Yes. But I'd have to subscribe to Adobe and Microsoft and, besides, Finale and DP are working reasonably well on my lowly 2013 Mac Pro. Upping the internal drive to 2TB really helped speed things up.

Can't speak as to Adobe, but Libre Office is open-source donation ware that, at least for me, has completely replaced Microsoft Office.

https://www.libreoffice.org

[cuttime]

Can't speak as to Adobe, but Libre Office is open-source donation ware that, at least for me, has completely replaced Microsoft Office.

https://www.libreoffice.org

And if you live in the Photoshop realm, there's GIMP 3.0. But seriously, Apple Silicon is worth it.

[mikehalloran]

…

Frankly? Yes. But I'd have to subscribe to Adobe and Microsoft and, besides, Finale and DP are working reasonably well on my lowly 2013 Mac Pro. Upping the internal drive to 2TB really helped speed things up.

I've been working a lot with Bill Hare lately (LSO, Pentatonix etc.). His MP 6.1 is still chugging along running an ancient version of ProTools and plug-ins that must have cobwebs by now. If it works, it works.

Can't speak as to Adobe, but Libre Office is open-source donation ware that, at least for me, has completely replaced Microsoft Office.

Office has editing tools still not found in Libre, darn it. Since both my wife and I derive income from editing, these are important. Fortunately, permanent licenses for Office can be found if you know where to look and they're not expensive.

Adobe Photoshop/Premiere Elements through 2024 is a permanent license but I don't know if that can still be purchased. I dropped the subscription versions a few years ago. Unfortunately, Elements 2025 has introduced a 3-year license (and they screwed up Premiere big time) so I obtained a refund and will run 2024 till a macOS update breaks it. Adobe just released a version of Acrobat "Classic" that's non-subscription. When my subscription to that AI riddled hot mess called Acrobat Pro comes up for renewal, I'm going to jump ship. As bad as it is, still beats any of the competitors for what I do. If Classic behaves like Acrobat Pro X or 2017, I'll be happy.

With my handicap, having Apple devices that communicate well with each other makes my life a lot easier. Not remaining current really isn't an option for me but I don't have to buy into everything.

[mhschmieder]

Does anyone know if tariffs cause an immediate price rise in stuff like computer monitors and computers? Not a crystal ball kind of prediction, but simply observations from the past. When I check prices on 5K 27" monitors and new Mac Studios tonight, they are unchanged, but does there seem to be a high risk that waiting to do one's upgrade could be expensive, or do prices not usually change until new models or updated model specs happen? I have no observational experience.

[mikehalloran]

Does anyone know if tariffs cause an immediate price rise in stuff like computer monitors and computers? Not a crystal ball kind of prediction, but simply observations from the past. When I check prices on 5K 27" monitors and new Mac Studios tonight, they are unchanged, but does there seem to be a high risk that waiting to do one's upgrade could be expensive, or do prices not usually change until new models or updated model specs happen? I have no observational experience.

Tariffs and duties are collected at point of entry to the US before goods are released for delivery.

Tariffs are not collected on goods already in inventory. That said, companies are free to raise prices in anticipation of higher prices on new inventory if they think their customers will pay. This is similar to an announcement about the rise in crude oil on Monday and higher pump prices on Tuesday.

Many companies have announced price increases for May. If I was planning on that new Mac, I would order sooner than later.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks, Mike. I've had the money for some time, but it's time-consuming to find "uncommon" tax forms so I haven't started my taxes yet (my printer is suddenly printing squiggly lines even though it passes all diagnostics, so I unfortunately must wait until I can print forms from the office vs. home, which is a challenge).

Sounds like I'd better order the Asus monitor this weekend (too bad Best Buy doesn't carry it) and probably the Mac Studio no later than after tax day. I may do more research into 4K monitors if they have low latency and high refresh rate as that may be better than going for the 5K model overall. The 6K models seem to be exclusive to Apple so far, and are $5K+.

[James Steele]

Thanks, Mike. I've had the money for some time, but it's time-consuming to find "uncommon" tax forms so I haven't started my taxes yet (my printer is suddenly printing squiggly lines even though it passes all diagnostics, so I unfortunately must wait until I can print forms from the office vs. home, which is a challenge).

I've been a big fan of TurboTax for years. Although the Windows version has been buggy for years if you file a Schedule C. Little known fact, Turbo Tax Deluxe does include Schedule C, but they don't advertise it wanting to push you into buying the more expensive product for business. Years ago, without any warning, they pulled the Schedule C from the "Deluxe" product and it created a firestorm and Intuit backed up and put it back in. But again, they won't tell you it's there.

[mhschmieder]

Interesting. The one and only time I tried TurboTax, I had nothing but W2 income from one low-paying job and a small amount of bank interest and thus was eligible for the 1040EZ form. And yet, TurboTax said I owed a gazillion dollars in AMT! I figured if it couldn't even handle that, there's no way I could trust it for more complicated stuff, so once my taxes got more involved, I never took a second look.

And though I look at HR Block's software, it can't handle my tasks. The IRS switched from their own internal stuff to HR Block a number of years ago. So I do my own taxes as I also can't get anyone to do them unless I approach them in June for the following year. It took me an outrageous amount of time last year, and this year will be worse due to 1099's for selling a few paperbacks from the 1970's online (more than that, of course, but the burden is huge on normal people).

I'm also in a race against time for gardening and other outdoor tasks during the super brief spring we have here. A long and brutal winter but summer is around the corner and by then it's too late. We're almost a two-season area, like California.

Once the sun sets today, I'll start looking at other monitors for the Mac Studio. I hate to step down from a 2017 5K monitor (iMac 27" model) but maybe it isn't a downgrade due to other factors, if I get the right 4K monitor. I will probably stick with a 2 TB internal drive though, rather than always be close to the bone with 1 TB, so that I can comfortably start using the internal drive for active projects and just copy to my master drive when done for the day. I have only ever worked off the external.

[mhschmieder]

Hah, I forgot that I set my 2017 iMac with 5K Monitor to 2560 x 1440 (the default) vs. full 5120 x 2880 anyway, due to text size (although this can probably be scaled accordingly), so maybe I don't need a 5K monitor after all. The more important specs are color accuracy, then latency, and (if lucky) refresh rate. I don't game, AT ALL. But I do occasionally work on art and photography.

[mikehalloran]

…
Sounds like I'd better order the Asus monitor this weekend (too bad Best Buy doesn't carry it) and probably the Mac Studio no later than after tax day. I may do more research into 4K monitors if they have low latency and high refresh rate as that may be better than going for the 5K model overall. The 6K models seem to be exclusive to Apple so far, and are $5K+.

Not an issue with the macOS. 4K maxes at 60Hz; latency is never an issue. This is


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W16xa0eU_8

If you were still in the Bay Area, I'd have you come over and see my LG 4Ks flanking my 5K Studio Display and the contrast is clear. Don't get me wrong: 4K is fine but 5K is a lot better. The above video also mentions newer 5K displays from other venders besides Apple and LG.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks; that is an extremely helpful video explanation. Amazingly, nothing that guy said shows up in any articles I found, but most web talk on computer monitors is Windows-centric and/or game-oriented.

Here's another discussion that clears up any confusion over which resolution to choose in System Preferences and why it doesn't affect actual sharpness on macOS as everything renders at retina resolution and simply dithers as-needed.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/do ... c.2078133/

It's strange that the Asus 27" 5K Retina model is not available at Best Buy, where I could put it on 0% installments, but I think even Amazon has a multi-pay option these days.

None of the other 27" 5K models seem as good in color accuracy as the Asus, except top-of-line Apple models which are too rich for my blood at this time.

I can always upgrade to an Apple monitor later, and the Asus shouldn't be a downgrade from the 2017 27" iMac display.