Mac Studio Speculation [Merged]

[majus]

Was planning on getting a M2 max but now thinking might wait or will it be until June again for the M3 max? thoughts

Gurman wrote today:
"Apple is planning to release M3 MacBook Airs in just a few months. [...]
The move means there’s only a couple Macs left that don’t have the latest processor generation: the Mac Studio and Mac Pro. But they probably won’t get upgraded until the end of 2024 at the earliest, if not 2025."

If there is any reality in that, and there well could be, it is not good news for those of us who have been waiting... and waiting.

 

[JEuro2285]

Gurman wrote today:
"Apple is planning to release M3 MacBook Airs in just a few months. [...]
The move means there’s only a couple Macs left that don’t have the latest processor generation: the Mac Studio and Mac Pro. But they probably won’t get upgraded until the end of 2024 at the earliest, if not 2025."

If there is any reality in that, and there well could be, it is not good news for those of us who have been waiting... and waiting.

dang that is a while for the Mac Studio, if he's right of course

 

[danwells]

Unfortunately, I personally wouldn't buy any Mac Studio right now, because the performance difference between the M2 Max and M3 Max is so great. For almost any Mac Studio-type workload, the M3 Max is at least closely approaching the M2 ULTRA (90%+ in CPU, 70% or so in GPU)...

On the one hand, this is disappointing for Mac Studio customers - there is no desktop Mac in our world to buy right now. The iMac has just been updated, but no new, more creative-oriented model, just the "iPad on a stick" for home and light business use. The Mac Mini is a reasonable buy, far better than either the iMac or the Studio (because the difference between an M2 Pro and an M3 Pro is FAR less than the difference between an M2 Max and an M3 Max - it even occasionally favors the M2 Pro), but it's not a super-fast machine with a ton of RAM capacity, either.

There are two pieces of good news. One is that the M3-generation Studio is likely to be a Beast (affordable access to the very quick M3 Max at the low end, VERY high end performance at the top). The second is that I am quite sure Gurman's wrong. Apple is unlikely to tolerate a MacBook Pro being as fast as the top Studio for a year - this is an artifact of the timing of the M3 generation, but I'd expect the Studio at WWDC at the latest.

 

[StuAff]

Gurman, as per usual, is guessing, and nothing more. The M3-gen Mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro will be following as soon as Apple can get them out. They know damn well anyone who knows they're coming and wants one will wait for it rather than buying an M2…
(Waiting for an M3 Studio…).

 

[majus]

November 5, 2023, Gurman wrote: A new Mac Studio is in development.

Then there was that, from November. It made me hopeful that it foretold an early 2024 release but if it is a form-factor redesign, then much later would be understandable. Maybe they are coming out with the Mac Pro smaller case we've seen pictures of long ago. An Ultra base model with two pci-e slots.

 

[splifingate]

"The M6 is just a few years-away..."

There's always something better, just-around the corner . . . I am not, however, content with chasing that dragon

this is disappointing for Mac Studio customers - there is no desktop Mac in our world to buy right now.

urhm . . . YMMV, but I'm very happy with the M2-Max Mac Studio I purchased from apple dot com last month . . . it truly is a beast.

 

[Harry Haller]

Need the M3 Ultra for hardware ray tracing and dynamic cache. Big upgrades on the GPU. 32 core CPU, 80 core GPU and up to 256 GB memory will make for a great Creative Cloud, audio production, Blender and Unreal Engine machine.

 

[Harry Haller]

M3 ultra rumors.

How the M3 Ultra could bring the most significant Mac shift in years

If the M3 Max is any indication, the M3 Ultra will be a beast.

www.macworld.com

 

[MacPoulet]

M3 ultra rumors.

How the M3 Ultra could bring the most significant Mac shift in years

If the M3 Max is any indication, the M3 Ultra will be a beast.

www.macworld.com

I hope it comes sooner. NAB 2024 would be nice.

 

[Harry Haller]

I hope it comes sooner. NAB 2024 would be nice.

Yeah, but Apple hasn't been at NAB since 2011.
I’m worried there's not even going to be an announcement at WWDC.

 

[roundski]

trendforce thinks the June 2024 M3 Ultra will be based on TSMCs N3E,… could explain the delay 😉

 

[socialwill]

Need the M3 Ultra for hardware ray tracing and dynamic cache. Big upgrades on the GPU. 32 core CPU, 80 core GPU and up to 256 GB memory will make for a great Creative Cloud, audio production, Blender and Unreal Engine machine.


View attachment 2325805

...or just for checking Macrumors, Reddit, and your email a few microseconds faster

 

[MacPoulet]

...or just for checking Macrumors, Reddit, and your email a few microseconds faster

Those microseconds add up! Think of all the miniseconds saved…

 

[Harry Haller]

“Mac desktops need a serious boost.”

What will the M3 Mac Studio look like? | Digital Trends

Apple's Mac Studio is its most attractive and accessible desktop PC, offering tremendous power in a refined package. What will Apple do to keep it on top?

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Gloor]

Yeah, thats right. Having M3 Max in a laptop and then not in a desktop is a bit weird. The more time passes the more awkward it will be when M4 gets out. They really need to start doing these updates a bit more together. Maybe October one dump and then March/April the rest. Right now M2 Studio is pretty much DOA as the MBP overtakes it in most tasks.

“Mac desktops need a serious boost.”

What will the M3 Mac Studio look like? | Digital Trends

Apple's Mac Studio is its most attractive and accessible desktop PC, offering tremendous power in a refined package. What will Apple do to keep it on top?

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[treehuggerpro]

“Mac desktops need a serious boost.”

What will the M3 Mac Studio look like? | Digital Trends

Apple's Mac Studio is its most attractive and accessible desktop PC, offering tremendous power in a refined package. What will Apple do to keep it on top?

www.digitaltrends.com

Interesting bit of conjecture (no evidence provided) suggesting the current M3 Max has no Ultra-Fusion bridge.
If true, the stars might be aligning for the final step in Apple’s transition / full lineup of M chips. Something like this . . .

M
M-Pro
M-Max (Laptop Variant) sans Ultra-Fusion
M-Max (Desktop Variant) with x4 capable Ultra-Fusion

Wishful thinking?

 

[Gloor]

Maybe, just maybe, the laptop variant is N3B without the fusion and then Desktop will be N3E with the fusion. That is possible explanation why the release was all in one go back in October.

Interesting bit of conjecture (no evidence provided) suggesting the current M3 Max has no Ultra-Fusion bridge.
If true, the stars might be aligning for the final step in Apple’s transition / full lineup of M chips. Something like this . . .

M
M-Pro
M-Max (Laptop Variant) sans Ultra-Fusion
M-Max (Desktop Variant) with x4 capable Ultra-Fusion

Wishful thinking?

 

[danwells]

Maybe, just maybe, the laptop variant is N3B without the fusion and then Desktop will be N3E with the fusion. That is possible explanation why the release was all in one go back in October.

Very interesting, and would make a lot of sense. No need for an interposer on a laptop. It takes a 16" chassis to adequately cool ONE of those chips - an Ultra laptop would look like a 2" thick Alienware gaming monster, and have the battery life of one, too.

If you add a second interposer to the desktop chip, the Mac Pro chassis suddenly makes sense. It alone has the space, cooling and power to handle a 4-way interposer.

You then have:

M(N) - iPads, MacBook Airs, low-end MBP, Mini and iMac. Performs like a decent midrange PC. ($800-$1500).
M(N) Pro - High-end Mini, midrange MBP, new midrange iMac?. Performs like a performance-oriented business PC or a high-end laptop. ($1200-$2500).
M(N) Max - High-end MBP, low-end Mac Studio, new high-end iMac?. Fastest laptop in the world, performs like a top-end desktop PC or entry-level desktop workstation. ($2000-$7000).
M(N) Ultra (2x Max) - High-end Mac Studio, iMac Pro????, low-end Mac Pro? Performs like a powerful desktop workstation (midrange to upper-end Threadripper or Xeon). ($4000-$15000).
M(N) Extreme (4x Max) - Mac Pro only. Performs like a VERY high-end desktop workstation. May outperform any single Threadripper or Xeon. ($12000-$35000).

That's quite a line.

 

[mBox]

For my day job I am running a 2019 Mac Pro somewhat loaded.
Also an M1 Pro 10core for mobile use which is being replaced by new M3 MAX.
We just received the Studio M2 Ultra and I haven't had a chance to fire it up.
My question is, what is coming down the pipe in the near future.
I want one for home freelance use and still sitting on a 2013 tube.
I can wait but would like to plan now.

 

[Boil]

What we need is:

• Mac Cube Pro
• M3 Extreme SoC
• 64-core CPU (48P/16E)
• 160-core GPU
• 64-core Neural Engine
• 1TB LPDDR5X RAM (16 @ 64GB chips)
• 2TB/s UMA bandwidth
• 32TB SSD (4 @ 8TB NAND blades)
• Thunderbolt 5
• WiFi 7
• Bluetooth 5.4

Is this too much to ask...?

;^p

 

[Harry Haller]

For my day job I am running a 2019 Mac Pro somewhat loaded.
Also an M1 Pro 10core for mobile use which is being replaced by new M3 MAX.
We just received the Studio M2 Ultra and I haven't had a chance to fire it up.
My question is, what is coming down the pipe in the near future.
I want one for home freelance use and still sitting on a 2013 tube.
I can wait but would like to plan now.

You'll know at WWDC in June.

 

[Chuckeee]

What we need is:

• Mac Cube Pro
• M3 Extreme SoC
• 64-core CPU (48P/16E)
• 160-core GPU
• 64-core Neural Engine
• 1TB LPDDR5X RAM (16 @ 64GB chips)
• 2TB/s UMA bandwidth
• 32TB SSD (4 @ 8TB NAND blades)
• Thunderbolt 5
• WiFi 7
• Bluetooth 5.4

Is this too much to ask...?

;^pw

What no internal 6G modem?

 

[Boil]

What no internal 6G modem?

For a desktop with dual 10Gb Ethernet ports...?

 

[Chuckeee]

For a desktop with dual 10Gb Ethernet ports...?

Sure, shoot for the moon!!

 

[MacPoulet]

For my day job I am running a 2019 Mac Pro somewhat loaded.
Also an M1 Pro 10core for mobile use which is being replaced by new M3 MAX.
We just received the Studio M2 Ultra and I haven't had a chance to fire it up.
My question is, what is coming down the pipe in the near future.
I want one for home freelance use and still sitting on a 2013 tube.
I can wait but would like to plan now.

Would be very surprised if the M3 Studio didn‘t ship with an M3 Max and M3 Ultra (2x Max). Since we know what the M3 Max can do, it’s not really a question of ”what?” but “when?”.