Are you sure about whine ? I have use both of them Max and Ultra right now, I have no issues 'Whine / Fan Noise'
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New Mac - iMac or Mac Studio
- Thread starter ShockTroop
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Yes, it’s not a uncommon problem. There is a huge thread on it in the Mac Studio forum. Consider yourself lucky. Note also that some people haven’t gotten the whine out of the box. Some have developed it several months later.
I do not have the problem but there are a significant number that do have it and it's a nuisance to return it and get another if it's BTO.
Ok, I have bought Max in April and Ultra in July for now I have no issues, hope it will behaves like that from now on
For what it's worth, I have a Dell S2721DGF 27" 1440p attached to my work provided M1 Mini, and it's really a nice display. I like the matte display surface, the 120hz I get from the HDMI is great too. The resolution is just great, the size of the menu bar & other UI elements is just right.
I'm also considering upgrading my personal 2012 mini with a Mac Studio, I'd be using this Dell monitor with it.
I'm also considering upgrading my personal 2012 mini with a Mac Studio, I'd be using this Dell monitor with it.
I think that people were reporting it around six months. My Studio is on all the time and I'll consider the issue closed for me if it's good after six months.
27" 1440p would make me unhappy for primary display. I have a 1440p 27" iMac and I'd say text quality is just OK at best.
My primary machine is a 3840x2560 28.2" screen + M1 Mac mini, and my secondary machine is a 2017 5K 27" iMac.
😭 It's like a terrible modern day version of Dickens. Mind you; I ran out of beer, so had to resort to G+Ts. Thsanks for all your kind thoughts at this difficult time.
It depends what you mean by 'minimal requirements'. I'd see that as just email, browsing, photo storage etc. Something you can do easily on a cheapo £200 laptop or tablet etc. I use Adobe CS, particularly LR, PS, PR, AU and AI on my iMac. I've also run 3D software on it. It's a pretty powerful, capable machine. I think many opinions on here are skewed because there's more nerds and less 'ordinary' users on such a forum as this. So, more people who will require more powerful computers. It's good to be mindful that this is not ever going to be a true representation of all the kinds of people who use Macs, just those who are geeky/nerdy enough to want to spend time on an internet forum. So, one person's 'minimal requirements' could be another person's 'full on megacomputer'. It's all relative and subjective, innit?
Western society is now generally more tech savvy; I considered myself a bit of a computer geek (never really a nerd though) say 15-20 years ago. Now, many people who I'd never consider geeky at all, are needing to use some pretty powerful computers to do their jobs (it's not all just emails and browsing outside of hardcore IT you know). One friend is an architect, and she has some mad custom PC with big fans and pipes coming out of it, apparently loads of graphics processing power for high end 3D rendering and that. She hasn't a clue what's inside the box, she only cares that it works. Conversely, my nephew is at Cambridge studying Computer Science, and uses a MBA with just 8Gb RAM. Yes, I know. Terrible, eh? He seems to know what he's doing though. So there, you have one normal person and one utter nerd, with very different 'minimal' requirements.
I decided some years ago that I didn't need mega power, and that stuff like iMacs were perfect for me. When I got my Mac Pro is 2006, I 'needed' something with some oomph, to run my apps, and an iMac/MacMini seemed a little inadequate. But as I said; society got more techy. So I'm no longer a 'Mac Pro type customer', I'm an 'iMac'. What I love about the AIO design is that you have no extra bits and pieces and cables everywhere. As computer tech has advanced, so my needs have changed, and now, a'consumer' device is ideal for me. I'm still doing pretty much all the same kind of things with it though. Tbh; an iMac is some way beyond 'minimal requirements'. It's not a £200 laptop or tablet...
Conflicted for the topic because on one hand I want to say if you want a 10 year machine the studio is your only option. But it probably is over powered for the current needs. What’s more, a 10 year machine isn’t realistic due to software limitations and support that apple bakes in. So then I’m tempted to say best bet is a Mac mini or iMac. Don’t spend a ton on machines these days unless your work supports it. For everyday needs ‘power’ just isn’t much of a factor these days.
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Personally I'd say you should go for the Mac Studio (no contest IMHO) for the following reasons:
1. The Mac Studio and the M1 iMac 24" aren't even in the same league when it comes to performance. The base Mac Studio comes with an M1 Max that has ~2x the CPU performance, ~4x the GPU performance and ~6x the memory bandwidth of the M1 in the iMac. If you care about performance and want this machine to last get the Mac Studio (even better if you really want to go wild you can get an M1 Ultra.)
2. I really don't recommend the 24" iMac in it's current form if you're someone who likes to keep their computers for a long time. 2011~2016 is what I'd call the golden age of iMacs, when they were easily one of the best values in the lineup. The current iteration however is basically just a 2020 MacBook Air with a 24" screen and slightly better IO. It's not that it's slow (it's not) but performance wise it occupies a completely different place than the 27" iMac's (which could at times be as fast/faster than Mac Pros) used to.
3. There is a lot of weird monitor snobbery in this thread but IMHO they're all crazy. A good 4K 27" that will work perfectly well for macOS can be had for ~$200 brand new. Yes Apple's displays are better, but pretending like you need a Studio Display to go with your Mac Studio is insane (and I say this as a former 5K Retina iMac and 14" MBP owner.)
A few other quick thoughts:
As others have noted an M1 Max (or even M1 Pro) MacBook Pro may also meet your needs if portability is something you'd be interested in.
Given that you've already waited 11 years, if you can you may want to wait a little bit more as much of the lineup is due for a refresh (particularly the Mac Mini and iMac at over/almost 24 months.) That said, whatever you buy it will be an enormous step up from your 2011 iMac (I had one of those a long time ago, they were good machines!)
Anyway good luck with your decision
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That is true, but that may be completely irrelevant. The OP is coming from a 2011 iMac, and doesn't appear to be doing anything CPU intensive unless the OP is a hardcore gamer or something. And even if the OP were a hardcore gamer, the Mac Studio wouldn't be a good fit either anyway. That's why I was suggesting the Mac mini. A Mac mini costs basically half as much as a Mac Studio. Tart up the M1 Mac mini (now) or M2 Mac mini (spring) with 16 GB RAM and a good monitor, and the OP would likely be satisfied for many years to come.
OP mentions gaming but as Apple have moved on to Apple Silicon so it'd be vaguely interesting to know what games (as they might rely on Intel), otherwise light computing can be handled by M1 or M2.
My suggestion as with @EugW is Mac mini with 16Gb RAM and as much storage as needed plus a monitor that will do. If gaming is a thing then M2 with 10 GPU cores might be worth waiting for.
I use 25 inch 1440p Dell monitors, would love an Apple Studio Display but I think they are pricey. Having said that they are pretty much the only game in town if 27" 5k with some sort of colour fidelity was needed - pity about the lack of local dimming zones.
Let's also not forget the infamous 14 inch M1 Pro MacBook Pros - if that bit more horsepower is needed (M1 Pro starts with 8 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores) then why not get one of those and add your choice of cheap monitor - if you can live with a small (but XDR) display.
I assume you are using them at native resolution, correct? I curious because I don't think I could hack the tiny default font size for a desktop macOS screen at 128 ppi. You probably have better eyes than I do though.
I assume you are using them at native resolution, correct? I curious because I don't think I could hack the tiny default font size for a desktop macOS screen at 128 ppi. You probably have better eyes than I do though.
I use one 25 inch QHD at native resolution, 2 27 inch 4k at native resolution and 1 27 inch 4k at 3,006 x (don't recall).QHD at 25 or 27 inches is fine with me. It's a bit on the large side but it's manageable.
I use Macs with Monterey and Ventura on those monitors - distance of about 2 feet and set at default for display - some text is a little small but I don't notice any jaggies. I wouldn't be keen on 1440p at 27", or in fact 4k at 27" to be fair. If I was to upgrade monitor sizes I'd have to go to 5k at 27" just for screen real estate.I assume you are using them at native resolution, correct? I curious because I don't think I could hack the tiny default font size for a desktop macOS screen at 128 ppi. You probably have better eyes than I do though.
I have a PC connected to at 27" Dell 1080p monitor - display scaling at 100% - and I have no complaints about that either.
I would certainly be up for trying a 4k large screen but as it's a doubling of a 1080p display I'm reluctant to lose the real estate.
If you reread OP's post they are buying for longevity so IMHO, it's not irrelevant at all, especially considering I forgot to mention the M1 Max comes with double the RAM (32GB vs the 16GB configurations being suggested.) The differences in performance/specifications may seem academic today for some people but they will become more apparent as the years go by. The M1, while an impressive chip, is more than two years old now and there is no doubt the M1 Max will age much better, especially if the OP wants to keep this machine for up to a decade (or even more than 3-4 years).
Honestly I think it's far too early to tell exactly how gaming on Apple Silicon will turn out.
I think the Mac Mini COULD be a good option depending on how it's updated in 2023.
I second the idea of a base 14" MBP if OP wants something midway between an M1 and an M1 Max in terms of horsepower. (BTW why is the 14" MBP "infamous"??? It's a great machine and with the M1 Pro battery life is great)
As I said earlier I also don't understand the whole monitor obsession I'm seeing in this thread. OP doesn't mention having a workflow that requires color accuracy so a cheap 4K 27" screen can fill the "Retina display" role just fine.
For what it is worth, I opted to get the base-spec Mac Studio and the Huawei Mateview 28" monitor and I think they are great. The USB on the monitor can sometimes be a little flaky (I have a webcam plugged into the monitor and it occasionally stutters, but doesn't do so when directly connected to the Mac Studio).
I also like that when plugged into my monitor my iPad also fills up the entire display (just a shame I cannot use dual display support on my model 😢.
The Mateview is often on offer with either money off, or as I purchased it, cash back. In hind-sight the Mac Studio is too much PC for me and I don't 'feel' a difference from my M1 Mac mini I previously had. If I could of gotten a good deal I would have likely opted for a Mac mini 16GB/512GB model and saved a bit of money.
I also like that when plugged into my monitor my iPad also fills up the entire display (just a shame I cannot use dual display support on my model 😢.
The Mateview is often on offer with either money off, or as I purchased it, cash back. In hind-sight the Mac Studio is too much PC for me and I don't 'feel' a difference from my M1 Mac mini I previously had. If I could of gotten a good deal I would have likely opted for a Mac mini 16GB/512GB model and saved a bit of money.
It's not that those MateView USB ports are flaky. It's just that they are slow. Remember, the monitor is USB-C, but not Thunderbolt. On our Macs those MateView USB ports only run at USB 2.0 speeds. If your webcam requires USB 3 speeds, that would explain the stuttering, esp. if it's a model that doesn't know to cap bitrates when on a USB 2 connection.
Which webcam do you have? For example, the Logitech Brio only supports 1080p30 over USB 2. To get 1080p60 or 4Kp30, you have to use USB 3. If your webcam needs USB 3, you need to either plug it directly into the Mac, or else run it through a hub that supports USB 3 speeds. I run my webcam off the MateView's USB port and get no stuttering, but that's because my webcam is only USB 2 anyway.
Here is my Samsung T7 SSD (non-Shield version) running through the Huawei MateView's USB-A port. As you can see, it maxes out at 40 MB/s = USB 2. This is a USB 10 Gbps SSD that can hit over 800 MB/s real world on a USB 3 port.
This is a Samsung T7 Shield SSD directly connected to my Mac mini M1's USB-A (5 Gbps).
This is the Samsung T7 Shield connected through my Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 Hub's USB-A (10 Gbps).
BTW, I run the monitor off the Plugable hub. The hub is connected by 40 Gbps Thunderbolt to the Mac mini M1.
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Thank you, this I was not aware of.
I knew it wasn't running over thunderbolt, but I had incorrectly assumed that it was USB3 ports. The webcam is the Razer Kiyo Pro - so this explains a lot.
Yeah, that is a higher performance USB 3 webcam. USB 2 like we get out of the Huawei MateView 28's USB ports is not recommended. I understand why you thought that though, because Huawei advertises those ports as USB 3.
Perhaps someone like @joevt or @Amethyst1 can explain the details regarding DisplayPort 1.2 vs. 1.4 over USB-C, compression, and number of lanes, etc.
For anyone who may be interested, in summary: The Huawei MateView 28.2" is a 4K+ 3840x2560 60 Hz 3:2 monitor that connects to Macs over USB-C Alt Mode and which can act as a USB hub with its two USB-A ports. These USB-A ports are spec'd as USB 3, but on our (Apple Silicon) Macs, the ports only work at USB 2 speeds.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems our Macs are requiring all four lanes in order to work with this monitor. (I believe this is a DisplayPort 1.2 monitor.)
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I'm in the same boat. I've got a 2019 i9 iMac with a 2 TB SSD and 128 GB RAM. The least expensive AS combo that would replace it would run $6800: $5200 for a 2 TB/128 GB Ultra plus $1600 for a 27" ASD (more if you include AC+, which my iMac has). Plus my own benchmark testing on my workflow (which is mostly SC-CPU performance-dependent) says the speed improvement I'd get would be small.
It doesn't make sense to spend that kind of money unless the performance improvement is striking, and the general rule of thumb is that requires at least a 2x increase in speed (which for me means SC speed). I'm going to wait a few more generations, until AS improves to that point, at which time I should be able to get that much RAM (or close to it) in a (much less expensive) M# Pro or M# Max. [Unless my job decides to pay for it...
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I’d suspect that total bandwidth is an issue when not running on thunderbolt 3. Remember that the display data has to go down the line too. I won’t do the maths now but imagine 5120 x 2880 x 24 bits per pixel x 60 times per second and then try to squeeze additional bits from a usb hub incorporated into a display while
contending with a webcam too. It kind of explains why there were bandwidth issues with the LG ultra fine monitors back in the day. Didn’t the 4K model only have USB-C?