Mac Studio - M1 Max base model impressions (Awesome!)

[netnothing]

Just wanted to share my impressions of the Mac Studio - M1 Max base config ($1999) as well as my first experience with running on Apple Silicon.

I am a web developer that also does some Photoshop work and some smaller Premiere Pro projects. I certainly don't need a lot of horsepower, but I also prefer desktops vs. laptops. I was coming from a 2017 27" iMac with the i7 4.2 GHz - 40 GB of RAM. I decided that the base Mac Studio and Studio Display would be a perfect replacement and picked them up this weekend. I was a little nervous with going from 40 GB to 32 GB of memory - but decided to do some testing. Boy am I impressed with this machine.

I've attached a screenshot of Activity Monitor while I was exporting a Premier Pro project. This machine is a beast, even at the base model! I can't believe how well Apple has optimized macOS while running on Apple Silicon.

I had the following apps open:

• Mail
• Outlook
• Reeder
• Chrome
• Safari
• Edge
• Music
• Podcasts
• BBEdit
• Transmit
• Preview
• Word
• Excel
• Photos
• Tweetbot
• Telegram
• Activity Monitor
• CrashPlan
• KeepassXC
• Lightroom Classic
• Illustrator
• Evernote
• After Effects
• Acrobat DC
• Media Encoder
• iMovie
• Firefox
• Integrity
• Photoshop - with 3 large 500 MB PSDs
• Premiere Pro - exporting a 20 minute 1080p video in max quality

As you can see from the Activity Monitor, this machine handled everything perfectly. All cores maxed. No swap used. During the export I was able to fully use the machine with no slowdowns.

This export which took 30 minutes on my iMac, only takes 10 minutes on the Mac Studio.

Just an awesome machine! If you are at all hesitant on the base model, especially because of memory, don't be! As long as your workflow doesn't NEED extra memory, this machine rocks! Coming from any Intel machine, I think most people will be really happy. Yes, if you do more video than me, you'll want to bump up specs, but for those that are like me and most of the work is on the lighter side - this machine is perfect!

Also it's dead silent. I don't hear a thing in my setup. During the export the fans didn't budge vs. the iMac which would sound like a jet taking off. My OWC exclosure with a Notura fan and my Comcast gateway are louder ;-)

Also - the Studio Display is gorgeous!

EDIT:
Both my iMac and the Mac Studio have a 512 SSD. The speeds on the Mac Studio are way faster:

iMac: Read 1,400 MB/s, Write 1,780 MB/s
Mac Studio: Read 4,680 MB/s, Write 5,380 MB/s

 

[bigfatipod]

thanks, I appreciate the review. I'm coming from a 2012 mini and think this may be the machine to splurge on jump to next.

 

[netnothing]

thanks, I appreciate the review. I'm coming from a 2012 mini and think this may be the machine to splurge on jump to next.

You're welcome. I was hoping to have that slightly different take than most. I'm not a heavy photo or video editor - so I don't need TONS of power. My iMac was still doing pretty good, but did notice that things just were slowing a bit. Was anxiously waiting to see what they were going to do to replace the 27" iMac with Apple Silicon so I could jump in.

I'm really happy with my setup, and think you would be as well coming from the 2012 mini.

 

[basher]

Just wanted to share my impressions of the Mac Studio - M1 Max base config ($1999) as well as my first experience with running on Apple Silicon.

I am a web developer that also does some Photoshop work and some smaller Premiere Pro projects. I certainly don't need a lot of horsepower, but I also prefer desktops vs. laptops. I was coming from a 2017 27" iMac with the i7 4.2 GHz - 40 GB of RAM. I decided that the base Mac Studio and Studio Display would be a perfect replacement and picked them up this weekend. I was a little nervous with going from 40 GB to 32 GB of memory - but decided to do some testing. Boy am I impressed with this machine.

I've attached a screenshot of Activity Monitor while I was exporting a Premier Pro project. This machine is a beast, even at the base model! I can't believe how well Apple has optimized macOS while running on Apple Silicon.

I had the following apps open:

• Mail
• Outlook
• Reeder
• Chrome
• Safari
• Edge
• Music
• Podcasts
• BBEdit
• Transmit
• Preview
• Word
• Excel
• Photos
• Tweetbot
• Telegram
• Activity Monitor
• CrashPlan
• KeepassXC
• Lightroom Classic
• Illustrator
• Evernote
• After Effects
• Acrobat DC
• Media Encoder
• iMovie
• Firefox
• Integrity
• Photoshop - with 3 large 500 MB PSDs
• Premiere Pro - exporting a 20 minute 1080p video in max quality

As you can see from the Activity Monitor, this machine handled everything perfectly. All cores maxed. No swap used. During the export I was able to fully use the machine with no slowdowns.

This export which took 30 minutes on my iMac, only takes 10 minutes on the Mac Studio.

Just an awesome machine! If you are at all hesitant on the base model, especially because of memory, don't be! As long as your workflow doesn't NEED extra memory, this machine rocks! Coming from any Intel machine, I think most people will be really happy. Yes, if you do more video than me, you'll want to bump up specs, but for those that are like me and most of the work is on the lighter side - this machine is perfect!

Also it's dead silent. I don't hear a thing in my setup. During the export the fans didn't budge vs. the iMac which would sound like a jet taking off. My OWC exclosure with a Notura fan and my Comcast gateway are louder ;-)

Also - the Studio Display is gorgeous!

Excellent review, since I'm having the same A-mazing experience. From the amount of memory to the silent operation, my experiences are the same as yours.

I had the same concern about memory, but it is turning out not to be an issue. I think the machine will last quite a while. The only thing I can see, right now, as a reason to replace the Mac Studio in the future would be OS support. Not sure how far out that is, but it'll happen when it happens.

I paired mine with with a Studio Display. Very pleased with the visual display and sound quality. Albeit, the camera could use a little work. In Zoom conferences, my image is slightly washed out. Like Apple has been quoted, "an update will fix the camera issue(s)."

The Mac Studio has been, by far, the best system I've owned to date. And I've owned a lot in 40+ years of being in technology.

 

[BotchQue]

Thanks for the info, and very good to hear the fans were silent with all that happening.
The Man In The Brown Shorts™ just brought mine yesterday, but I have about a month's wait until I get my display.

 

[netnothing]

Thanks for the info, and very good to hear the fans were silent with all that happening.
The Man In The Brown Shorts™ just brought mine yesterday, but I have about a month's wait until I get my display.

If you have an Apple store near you - keep checking! I just stumbled onto having my local store have both the Mac Studio and Studio Display in stock on Saturday. Friday they showed pickup in May for both - and they are back to that today. So I think stores get stock all the time, so you just have to keep checking. Good luck!

 

[roland.g]

My issue is that my 2014 Mac Mini and my 2018 MBP (both 16GB RAM) both seem to be using 10-14GB at all times running Safari, Mail, Spark (for Gmail) Music, TV App for library streaming, ScanSnap, and a couple other minor programs. Now I do tend to have 3-5 windows and 5+ tabs open per window in Safari. And of course if I run Pixelmator, Photoshop, iMovie (considering getting FCP) then I have to close a lot of stuff. But mind you all this is home user and not pro stuff. And yet I’ve been hesitant to get an M1 Mini due to the same 16GB RAM ceiling and have considered the Studio for which the multi core CPU and GPU is just overkill for me but not the RAM, sadly no 32GB desktop other than the Studio. So I might get rid of the MBP and get a Studio to replace my aging Mini.

 

[basher]

Thanks for the info, and very good to hear the fans were silent with all that happening.
The Man In The Brown Shorts™ just brought mine yesterday, but I have about a month's wait until I get my display.

In regards to fan noise, I used an iPhone app called Decibel Meter. I took a measurement with my phone near the keyboard and the Mac Studio off. Then I powered up the Mac Studio and took another measurement. With the Mac Studio on the sound level went up ~ 2db.

I might add that the Mac studio would be about 12 inches to the right-rear of the keyboard.

The Mac Studio is x1_000_000 more silent than the 2017 27" iMac(core i7 4.2GHz) that it replaces.

 

[netnothing]

My issue is that my 2014 Mac Mini and my 2018 MBP (both 16GB RAM) both seem to be using 10-14GB at all times running Safari, Mail, Spark (for Gmail) Music, TV App for library streaming, ScanSnap, and a couple other minor programs. Now I do tend to have 3-5 windows and 5+ tabs open per window in Safari. And of course if I run Pixelmator, Photoshop, iMovie (considering getting FCP) then I have to close a lot of stuff. But mind you all this is home user and not pro stuff. And yet I’ve been hesitant to get an M1 Mini due to the same 16GB RAM ceiling and have considered the Studio for which the multi core CPU and GPU is just overkill for me but not the RAM, sadly no 32GB desktop other than the Studio. So I might get rid of the MBP and get a Studio to replace my aging Mini.

Yeah I don't know what magic Apple is doing, but I was shocked when I ran that test to see not only memory pressure only go into the yellow, but also for it to not use any swap! If I did this on my iMac with 40 GB of RAM, I can guarantee that the machine would start swapping, not to mention become slow while using other apps.

As I've used it day to day, I keep checking and my workflow just doesn't have any problems with the 32 GB. My test above was not normal usage - more I just throwing a bunch of stuff at it to see how it would do.

 

[basher]

Yeah I don't know what magic Apple is doing, but I was shocked when I ran that test to see not only memory pressure only go into the yellow, but also for it to not use any swap! If I did this on my iMac with 40 GB of RAM, I can guarantee that the machine would start swapping, not to mention become slow while using other apps.

As I've used it day to day, I keep checking and my workflow just doesn't have any problems with the 32 GB. My test above was not normal usage - more I just throwing a bunch of stuff at it to see how it would do.

I wonder if the better experience is due to faster memory compression due to the M1 Max chip.

 

[netnothing]

In regards to fan noise, I used an iPhone app called Decibel Meter. I took a measurement with my phone near the keyboard and the Mac Studio off. Then I powered up the Mac Studio and took another measurement. With the Mac Studio on the sound level went up ~ 2db.

I might add that the Mac studio would be about 12 inches to the right-rear of the keyboard.

The Mac Studio is x1_000_000 more silent than the 2017 27" iMac(core i7 4.2GHz) that it replaces.

I have an OWC 4 bay enclosure with 4 - 4 TB hard drives in it that sits behind my desk (behind the display). That thing had the worst OWC fan in it - whoosh, whoosh. I replaced it with a Noctua fan and it's at least quieter - I hear it, but no more whooshing. Next to it is a Comcast XB6.

Both of those I hear over the Mac Studio or Studio Display fans. I can only hear the Mac and display fans if I get right up close to it.

 

[netnothing]

Also the SSD speeds are much improved:

Both my iMac and the Mac Studio have a 512 SSD. The speeds on the Mac Studio are way faster:

iMac: Read 1,400 MB/s, Write 1,780 MB/s
Mac Studio: Read 4,680 MB/s, Write 5,380 MB/s

 

[izzle22]

This is very good to hear as mine arrives today. Only upgrade I have is a 1TB drive. I've been worried about fan noise and sleep issues.

 

[roland.g]

I wonder if the better experience is due to faster memory compression due to the M1 Max chip.

So that is one issue with the M1 Mac Mini at 8 or 16GB of RAM vs the Mac Studio M1 Max at 32GB of RAM.

the M1 in the Mini unified memory has a bandwidth of 68.25GB/s while the M1 Max has a memory bandwidth of 400GB/s. I'm assuming the 400GB/s is true for the M1 Max regardless of the 32GB or 64GB configuration.

Also apparently the M1 Pro in the MBP that can be configured at 16 or 32GB of RAM has 200GB/s memory bandwidth.

I'm not sure entirely how the increased memory bandwidth in the M1 Max (and M1 Pro) SoCs translates performance-wise but I can't imagine the 6x (or 3x) bandwidth compared to the M1 in the Mini and iMac doesn't go unnoticed.

Those sort of specs are why the M1 Mini isn't as appealing anymore and I would have loved to see a higher priced Mini (or third tier and lower price Studio) with the M1 Pro configurable to 32GB and offering 200GB/s memory bandwidth. Since Apple didn't do that and relegated the M1 Pro only to the MacBook Pro the divide between the Mini and Studio is even greater.

 

[FSmertz]

I have an OWC 4 bay enclosure with 4 - 4 TB hard drives in it that sits behind my desk (behind the display). That thing had the worst OWC fan in it - whoosh, whoosh. I replaced it with a Noctua fan and it's at least quieter - I hear it, but no more whooshing. Next to it is a Comcast XB6.

Both of those I hear over the Mac Studio or Studio Display fans. I can only hear the Mac and display fans if I get right up close to it.

If you are referring to the OWC Thunderbay enclosure (and it is noisy), which model Noctua fan did you install? You've given me hope.

 

[netnothing]

If you are referring to the OWC Thunderbay enclosure (and it is noisy), which model Noctua fan did you install? You've given me hope.

I have the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad:

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad - RAID 5

The ideal four-bay enclosure for content workflows where speed, capacity, performance, and flexibility are paramount. Supports RAID 0,1,4,5.

www.owcdigital.com

Its fan was so loud and whoooshing, it drove me nuts.

I ordered this:
Noctua NF-A9 FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (92mm, Brown)

Noctua NF-A9 FLX, Premium Quiet Fan, 3-Pin (92mm, Brown)

The NF-A9 is a highly optimised, premium quality quiet 92mm fan. Featuring Noctua’s AAO (Advanced Acoustic Optimisation) frame as well as sophisticated aerodynamic design measures such as Flow Acceleration Channels, the NF-A9 further improves the renowned quiet cooling performance of the award-wi...

www.amazon.com

Replaced easily in the case. I'm using the included Ultra Low Noise adapter which reduces the speed from 1600 to 1050rpm. I'm running 4 - 4TB WD Blue drives since 2018 without any issues. Again, I can hear the fan still....but now it's a nice low(er) constant fan noise as opposed to the louder whooshing noise the original fan made.

Sooner or later I'll upgrade the entire thing for SSD, just haven't gotten there yet.

You should be able to see what fan yours has and match that to something good like a Noctua. I know some Thunderbays came with a Noctua. Mine originally came with a crappy Runda fan.

Feel free to PM if you have any other questions.

 

[roland.g]

This is very good to hear as mine arrives today. Only upgrade I have is a 1TB drive. I've been worried about fan noise and sleep issues.

No current availability in my area on a base Max. April 20th. But when I change the drive to the 1TB option it slips 5 weeks to late May. Of course had I ordered much sooner that date would be sooner. Problem is I'm likely another week out on deciding.

 

[izzle22]

No current availability in my area on a base Max. April 20th. But when I change the drive to the 1TB option it slips 5 weeks to late May. Of course had I ordered much sooner that date would be sooner. Problem is I'm likely another week out on deciding.

Yes I had the same issue. I really need the 1TB drive as I have over 500gb of music I want to store on the machine, not an external drive. I've had my studio display for weeks without anything to hook up to it. Been waiting on my Studio. Supposed to arrive by end of day. I'm pretty excited but also anxious with all the talk of fan noise and coming out of sleep issues.

 

[roland.g]

Yes I had the same issue. I really need the 1TB drive as I have over 500gb of music I want to store on the machine, not an external drive. I've had my studio display for weeks without anything to hook up to it. Been waiting on my Studio. Supposed to arrive by end of day. I'm pretty excited but also anxious with all the talk of fan noise and coming out of sleep issues.

I've had a couple of those 8TB Seagate Backup Plus w. Hub drives from Costco for a while. I use one as my iTunes drive and one for Time Machine. With my movie library the iTunes drive is 2TB.

And I have a Samsung USB-C T3 or T5 500GB as my Photos library drive since my 2014 Mini is a 256 and even without iTunes or Photos has 20-50GB free space. The Photos library is 200GB.

But I'm considering getting the Studio, selling my MBP which I don't use (use my 2020 iPad Air 4 more) and relegating the old Mini to a headless iTunes server. Only consideration is that makes Time Machine a pain. Do I keep the current TM drive connect to the old Mini and get a new drive for the Studio or do I use the current drive for both and change the connected machine on occasion (like when I add new iTunes content to the Mini) to update the backup from that machine.

 

[iSuzan]

I can compare my private Intel i9 iMac 27" 2019 48GB RAM with my office M1 MBP 16" 32 GB RAM.

All I can say: the M1 MBP is "THE MACHINE". It is nearly unreal how well it runs.

Now I am really fighting with myself if I should replace the iMac with the new Studio M1 Max. But the iMac is only from 2019 and still a nice machine. Except the fan. The fan is noisy and runs often.

 

[Dutch60]

Nice to read this thread and good to read that your experiences with the Studio are so positive.
As iSuzan I' m on a 2019 27" iMac....i9 /64GB RAM /Pro Vega 8 GB.
I consider that new Studio Max with these specs:
10-core CPU, 32-core GPU / 64GB RAM / 2 TB SSD. I mostly work on images/photography. Beside that, I like to have some extra so future proof. Would buy an Eizo monitor to get the best out of my images.
Same as you, iSuzan, I' m fighting (a little) with myself; iMac still works fine ofcourse and it' s not old at all. But that means that I could possibly still get a good price for it. On the other hand, I could well work with my iMac for a couple of years more. So yes, partly GAS (and I don' t suffer ).
You talk about "THE MACHINE" and that the Studio works unreal well. Can you explain more? How did your comparison work out?
Thnxs.

 

[zebullon290276]

In regards to fan noise, I used an iPhone app called Decibel Meter. I took a measurement with my phone near the keyboard and the Mac Studio off. Then I powered up the Mac Studio and took another measurement. With the Mac Studio on the sound level went up ~ 2db.

I might add that the Mac studio would be about 12 inches to the right-rear of the keyboard.

The Mac Studio is x1_000_000 more silent than the 2017 27" iMac(core i7 4.2GHz) that it replaces.

Hi ! Could you please post a photo of your setup that i can see the distance between display, mac studio, keyboard and your chair ?
If my future setup look like yours, and according to your feedback about noise, i will order a mac studio.
I'm very scared by all those people saying the mac studio MAX is noisy/loud/annoying in another post.

Thank you very much

 

[basher]

Hi ! Could you please post a photo of your setup that i can see the distance between display, mac studio, keyboard and your chair ?
If my future setup look like yours, and according to your feedback about noise, i will order a mac studio.
I'm very scared by all those people saying the mac studio MAX is noisy/loud/annoying in another post.

Thank you very much

 

[zebullon290276]

Great ! I should have nearly the same setup, a little smaller 😬

 

[zebullon290276]

Yes I had the same issue. I really need the 1TB drive as I have over 500gb of music I want to store on the machine, not an external drive. I've had my studio display for weeks without anything to hook up to it. Been waiting on my Studio. Supposed to arrive by end of day. I'm pretty excited but also anxious with all the talk of fan noise and coming out of sleep issues.

Hi ! Do you finally get your mac studio delivered ? If so, do you have the same feedback as @basher concerning fan noise ? (woosh AND whisling)

Thank you