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Windows equivalent to Mac Studio?
- Thread starter Ryand123
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Yes, there are.
There are several small form factor PCs, some of which are of a size comparable to the Mac Mini. HP, Dell, and Lenovo have some options. Also, Intel has the so-called Next Unit of Computing (NUC), barebones small factor computers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_...mputing (NUC,computer kits designed by Intel).
Look at a list here of small form factors here: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-windows-mini-pcs. They tend not to be as beautiful or elegant as the Mac Mini, but they are OK.
Also, the PC towers have evolved a lot since the grey boring cases of the 1990s. There are plenty of nice options, some colorful with bright lights, others austere and elegant. Some of them are compact and others are large.
If you are really bold and have the money to spare, you can get a design piece such as the In-Win Z-Tower (https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/z-tower).
If you are not into that, I particularly like the design of the Corsair Carbide 540 (https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ...-High-Airflow-ATX-Cube-Case/p/CC-9011034-WLED).
You may also take a look here:
www.pcgamer.com
www.tomshardware.com
There are several small form factor PCs, some of which are of a size comparable to the Mac Mini. HP, Dell, and Lenovo have some options. Also, Intel has the so-called Next Unit of Computing (NUC), barebones small factor computers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_...mputing (NUC,computer kits designed by Intel).
Look at a list here of small form factors here: https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-windows-mini-pcs. They tend not to be as beautiful or elegant as the Mac Mini, but they are OK.
Also, the PC towers have evolved a lot since the grey boring cases of the 1990s. There are plenty of nice options, some colorful with bright lights, others austere and elegant. Some of them are compact and others are large.
If you are really bold and have the money to spare, you can get a design piece such as the In-Win Z-Tower (https://www.in-win.com/en/gaming-chassis/z-tower).
If you are not into that, I particularly like the design of the Corsair Carbide 540 (https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ...-High-Airflow-ATX-Cube-Case/p/CC-9011034-WLED).
You may also take a look here:
The best PC cases in 2024
You'll want the best PC case if you're building your perfect gaming PC.
Best PC Cases 2024: Our Tested Picks for Your Next Build
Our case recommendations for the best PC cases come from our cooling, noise, and build tests.
For the Studio. You could custom build a mini ITX desktop. It’ll probably be a bit bigger and a lot noisier. For the same performance.
For the Mini. There’s the likes of Intel NUC and other similar sized devices. But they’re likely not as fast. Especially on the graphics front. But they are upgradable For RAM and storage. HP, Dell and others also make this clients. Which are a bit bigger than the Mini but a lot smaller than regular desktops.
For the Mini. There’s the likes of Intel NUC and other similar sized devices. But they’re likely not as fast. Especially on the graphics front. But they are upgradable For RAM and storage. HP, Dell and others also make this clients. Which are a bit bigger than the Mini but a lot smaller than regular desktops.
You don't really see many Mac Studio-like PCs these days, but they were more popular maybe 10 years ago or so. My parents used to have a Dell Inspiron Zino HD that was very much like the Mac Studio. I think they've been mostly replaced with All-in-Ones, or NUCs as mentioned above.
Also, sometimes you have to browse the "business desktops" section to see the smaller form factor PCs, especially at Dell and HP.
Also, sometimes you have to browse the "business desktops" section to see the smaller form factor PCs, especially at Dell and HP.
Mac Studio 20CPU 64GPU is equivalent to a PC with Intel 12600K and Nvidia 3060 so can easily fit in a small SFF. Case selection boils down to personal preference. Maybe window shop on pcpartpicker.com and find something you like.
https://pcpartpicker.com/b/LW27YJ
https://pcpartpicker.com/b/LW27YJ
What are you looking for? Just the form factor? Plenty. Like many said here, there are even Intel NUCs that are a lot smaller, almost the size of AppleTV.
If you're looking form factor AND performance, then I don't think PCs can match the Mac Studio yet (performance for the size). You can get the performance on PCs, but you will need a good size case with adequate cooling, and huge power supply for the GPUs. Basically in OCs, you cannot have both small form factor and performance, yet. You have to pick one or the other.
Notwithstanding the slightly gamery aesthetic (I believe you can disable the skull logo on the front), this is a very powerful and has an extremely potent thermal solution (basically 0 thermal throttling even under sustained loads) - https://www.engadget.com/intel-nuc-12-extreme-review-gaming-mini-desktop-171532497.html
I discovered the new Hp Z2 G9 Mini. I'm actually thinking of going this over the Studio as I have some Windows software needs. Not released yet but probably pretty comparable. https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/z2-mini.html
I have had mini desktops in the past, and what I hate about them is their length/depth, as they still need to have enough length to support the full length graphics card. So it might look small, but the desktop space depth needed can be annoying as it's still requires the same depth as regular desktop case.
The Corsair looks nice but, if you are going with a modern high-end GPU, it looks like this design may be a bit cramped. I think the form factor is older.
These came to my mind not small as mac studio though
Asus proart https://www.asus.com/displays-desktops/mini-pcs/all-series/mini-pc-proart-pa90/
Corsair one https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ...CORSAIR-ONE-Compact-Gaming-PC/p/CS-9040010-NA
Asus proart https://www.asus.com/displays-desktops/mini-pcs/all-series/mini-pc-proart-pa90/
Corsair one https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categ...CORSAIR-ONE-Compact-Gaming-PC/p/CS-9040010-NA
Meant to be released march. I am getting the outgoing model to play with and mirrored nvme ssd. Easily upgradeable cpu, ram, ssd. G9 appears to have huge flow through ventilation and rave reviews pre-launch. HP Z2 can have xeon and ecc ram if that matters.
I spotted an early review, which pitted it against the new NUC Extreme, 12th gen. On the cusp of release also, but it seemed to score higher than the G9. The NUC Extreme 12 actually looks pretty cool, effectively an ITX machine, but gives you that ability to swap out for full size GPU’s rather than the half size number in the G9.
HP Z2 Mini G9 Workstation Review
The HP Z2 Mini G9 is a noticeable update to HP's compact professional workstations and is a system that can tackle most pro workloads.
www.storagereview.com
The Studio is cool because of the form factor but it's also restrictive in what you can do to it. One of the advantages of PCs is that you can add pieces to them which makes the standard tower form-factor attractive if you want to make changes down the road. PCs tend to throw out more heat as well which makes the case for a bigger case if you want the CPU horsepower of a Studio.
It’s weird but, I mean as Mac users we’ve really had it great over the years - being able to dual boot with ease between Windows and macOS.
It’s a massive feature to lose with the current gen Macs, and it honestly does have me for the first time looking at a Windows machine.
Macs really are unequalled when it comes to build design, reliability, fan noise, audio speakers, cooling and now performance, but none of that helps you if you can’t run your software natively on the device.
Like the fierce adoption of USB-C a few years back, hopefully the benefits Apple has shown with SoC pushes quickly forward a full ARM version of Windows sooner rather than later, and we can welcome Bootcamp to M chip Macs. That seems like a huge transition though, and certainly won’t be as aggressive as Apples 2 years timeline.
So it could be years before Bootcamp is a reality again, if ever. Which sort of forces some of their userbases hands, I think.
It’s a massive feature to lose with the current gen Macs, and it honestly does have me for the first time looking at a Windows machine.
Macs really are unequalled when it comes to build design, reliability, fan noise, audio speakers, cooling and now performance, but none of that helps you if you can’t run your software natively on the device.
Like the fierce adoption of USB-C a few years back, hopefully the benefits Apple has shown with SoC pushes quickly forward a full ARM version of Windows sooner rather than later, and we can welcome Bootcamp to M chip Macs. That seems like a huge transition though, and certainly won’t be as aggressive as Apples 2 years timeline.
So it could be years before Bootcamp is a reality again, if ever. Which sort of forces some of their userbases hands, I think.
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If you're interested, high performance PC brand XMG recently announced the XMG Studio, which is designed for high performance audio and video production workflows based on Alder Lake i9-12900K and Nvidia RTX3090
> https://videocardz.com/press-releas...ith-up-to-core-i9-12900k-and-geforce-rtx-3090
> https://videocardz.com/press-releas...ith-up-to-core-i9-12900k-and-geforce-rtx-3090
I personally like PCs to run cool and quiet and that generally works better with larger cases with large, slow, quiet fans. The 2018 Mac mini turned me off to the idea of SFF PCs.
You can build a small mini PC running a 12900K + RTX 3090 piece in a very small form factor that runs just as good, if not better then the studio.
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This person sounds like me when i started using a Dell XPS 13" 9380 in May, 2019.
but in waaaaay fewer words.....
Took me 29 second to launch a baseball game after touching the power button.
The beauty, solidly comfort of the laptop and the fact that i could
and did upgrade the SSD was the clincher.
The issue is the power efficiency of the Studio. The Studio's performance falls short of the hype it's had from rabid fanbois, but one thing is undoubted - and that is even with Apple's infamously crap cooling engineering (The recent Pro, iMac Pro and iMac are all an utter disgrace compared to more powerful pro Windows workstations), they can't screw up the Studio since the M1 architecture is so power efficient in comparison...
...right now at least.
And that's it really. While it's not incredibly challenging to buy or put together a small form factor PC that packs more power than the Studio, it's going to be a tough act to make it as silent under the same kind of duty cycle.
Personally I don't really get the desire for SFF PC's in a professional context, even in a designed office. Desktops are easily stashed under the desk, and a larger form factor is so much more flexible.
...right now at least.
And that's it really. While it's not incredibly challenging to buy or put together a small form factor PC that packs more power than the Studio, it's going to be a tough act to make it as silent under the same kind of duty cycle.
Personally I don't really get the desire for SFF PC's in a professional context, even in a designed office. Desktops are easily stashed under the desk, and a larger form factor is so much more flexible.
A YouTuber explained it like this:
The Mac Studio is often used in a studio where you record audio or video and so you want everything as quiet as possible. Then there are those of us that just like a quiet environment. It's not hard to build a PC that runs cool and quiet - if you have a big enough case, and a lot of fans that move air somewhat slowly. And if you pick parts that don't crank the frequency to excessive levels. I buy the non-K Intel parts to do that.