What are the "pros and cons" of the Mac Studio? Is it for me?

To help you decide whether or not a Mac Studio model, whether a now discontinued "2022 M1" Mac Studio -- the Mac Studio "M1 Max" 10 CPU/24 GPU or "M1 Ultra" 20 CPU/48 GPU -- or a current "2023 M2" Mac Studio -- the Mac Studio "M2 Max" 12 CPU/30 GPU or "M2 Ultra" 24 CPU/60 GPU -- is right for you, a straightforward, objective "pros and cons" can be ideal.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Mac Studio)

For those interested in more detail, EveryMac.com also offers an in-depth comparison of the "2022 M1" and "2023 M2" Mac Studio models.

For those who prefer a quick "run down," the following can be everything you need to make a decision:

Pros:

• Good value relative to performance; substantially cheaper than the Intel Mac Pro (2019) and Apple Silicon Mac Pro (2023), yet the same speed or faster in many situations.
• Compact, well-built aluminum case.
• Lack of integrated or bundled display, keyboard, and mouse allows one to use existing peripherals or choose from a variety of third-party options, some of which cost substantially less than Apple's and can be reused with a new system later at no additional cost.
• Thunderbolt 4 ports provide fast external connectivity.
• Convenient front-mounted SD card slot and USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 ports.
• Extensive external display support.

Cons:

• Some Mac Studio models are not significantly faster than much cheaper Mac mini models, especially in single core tasks.
• RAM cannot be upgraded at all after purchase and although the internal SSD module(s) are removable, it may not be possible to upgrade, either.
• Requires one to have, or to purchase, a display, keyboard, and mouse.
• No eGPU support.
• No PCIe slots.
• Substantially more expensive than the Mac mini and many Windows PCs.

So, is a Mac Studio right for me?

Basically, the Mac Studio is the right choice for a desktop Mac if you can afford it, can put the high performance to good use, and have no need for internal expansion.

If price is more important to you than performance, the Mac mini would be a better choice. If you need performance and expansion, an Intel Mac Pro or Apple Silicon Mac Pro would be better, although the Apple Silicon Mac Pro also has expansion that is significantly more limited than its predecessors, as well.

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