Apple Mac Studio with M1 Max Chip, 10-core CPU, 24 Core GPU, 512GB SSD MJMV3X/A

I have been considering replacing an aged i7 iMac for a while now and after much research decided to take the plunge and order the Mac Studio. The machine does not come with keyboard or mouse and you will need an old fashioned wired variety to set the machine up. You can then swap to wireless versions. You will also need a monitor and with multiple ways of connecting (including HDMI) this is not an issue. I still had an older Apple thunderbolt display and wanted to use this primarily. You need to buy an adaptor to do this as the older thunderbolt leads will not plug in directly to the Mac Studio thunderbolt ports. Starting up the Mac Studio is much the same as previous Macs and after installing my software and apps I decided to do some real world tests on the Mac ... MoreI have been considering replacing an aged i7 iMac for a while now and after much research decided to take the plunge and order the Mac Studio. The machine does not come with keyboard or mouse and you will need an old fashioned wired variety to set the machine up. You can then swap to wireless versions. You will also need a monitor and with multiple ways of connecting (including HDMI) this is not an issue. I still had an older Apple thunderbolt display and wanted to use this primarily. You need to buy an adaptor to do this as the older thunderbolt leads will not plug in directly to the Mac Studio thunderbolt ports. Starting up the Mac Studio is much the same as previous Macs and after installing my software and apps I decided to do some real world tests on the Mac Studio for performance, as speeding up workflow is important to me. I mainly use Final Cut Pro X to edit videos with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for imaging. I was certainly not disappointed with my initial results. This machine with it's M1 processing just works so well with intensive video and image projects and in many cases cuts the work flow down significantly. I found that rendering video and exporting video files is much quicker and in some cases pretty instant. I did find that my older G Drive HDD seemed to be the slow cog in the works and so decided to replace with a thunderbolt SSD. After testing with the new SSD I found additional significant speed advantages, and would recommend anyone to upgrade their external drives to obtain the maximum benefits. Some people will think the costs are too high with Apple products but from my experience it is well worth the investment for longevity. I still have Apple iMacs from 2010 and they are working on a daily basis! How many Windows computers would still be working over that period! I always enjoy working on an Apple Macs, and this new beast of a machine certainly lives up to it's name. Viva Mac Studio, another great computer from Apple.

64 GB of Ram

My late 2014 iMac was still going strong but being limited to Big Sur operating system and 16 GB of ram left Photoshop images with lots of layers really struggling. This new computer using an Eizo 27 monitor is a noticeable improvement. 64 GB of ram and M1 speed really helps. The unit is quiet and the USB-c and SD card ports on the front are so convenient. A very smooth transition from my old computer - especially considering the backup interface with Carbon Copy Cloner and Backblaze with 4 external hard drives. Highly recommended.

A Satisfyingly Superb Apple Desktop!

If you're looking for a future-proof desktop, then the 32GB, M1 Max Processor Studio is ideal in every way. It's a compact piece of solid aluminium which looks great on your desk. It has an ample number of ports, those at the back for permanently attached accessories, and those at the front for easy access for those occasionally attached. It wakes instantly from sleep with a touch sensitive Apple keyboard or Watch. If you purchase one, why not go the whole hog and also purchase the new Studio Display. Connection requires the one supplied cable, and all the Display functions are available from the keyboard. It's a superb set up and, if purchased from John Lewis, comes with a two year guarantee. Thoroughly recommended - well worth the money.

Amazing

I'm in the MAC-world for decades, started with the MAC PRO 3.1. I'm in the audio business doing heavy multitrack-recordings every day, and the keyword here is rendering. If I compare the MAC Studio to my previous MAC Mini M1 (8GB, 256GB), I see a huge improvement: the MAC Mini M1 also rendered multitracks (3-16 tracks) flawlessly but with short stops in between. I saw the CPU at it's limit. The MAC studio renders fast and without any stops. Of course the MAC studio has a lot higher price tag. But when you take the price of the MAC Mini M1, 16GB RAM/512GB and double the RAM to 32GB, the difference is not that huge anymore. Of course, this is not a "gamer pc", so a comparison with those would be silly. MAC is for work, specially in art, video and music.

Fan Whine

I love my Mac Studio, and I was afraid to order it because of the fan whine that people had been complaining about on various forums. Initially, my Mac Studio did not have it. All I could hear was the barely audible whir of the fan noise. Six weeks later, the fan whine has presented itself and it is quite annoying in a quiet room. Buyer beware. It doesn't seem like all fans do this, but those that do in a quiet room, you'll find yourself wanting ear plugs. I thought I had escaped it since it didn't present initially, but guess not. Seems like a few others have reported the whine noise presenting itself after a short period. I still like the Mac Studio, but I would not have purchased it had I known the fan noise would develop a whine six weeks later.

Fast

It is all you need to know...fast. This would not be what you would buy if you were new to Macs. If, like me, you are already committed to Macs and are looking to replace an older & slower machine, this does exactly what you want. For fairly complex photo and video processing it is really quick. Its other feature is connectivity. It has more output/connection sockets than most other Macs, so if you hate the idea of the Cloud and you want to use a couple of external hard drives and/or maybe you don't like wasting batteries on cordless mice & keyboards, then the number of connection ports is handy. So, apart from its speed, multitasking and connectivity, it's just like any other Mac. I like it & I consider it worth the price tag.

Major upgrade from iMac

This is a major upgrade from my 2015 iMac, used for video editing and motion design. I tested a 4k green screen composited (RED footage) video render that previously took 12 hours in Premiere on my iMac on this machine and it took one hour. ONE. A 51 minute After Effects render was cut down to 44 seconds. I'm almost mad that I can't bill as much for render time anymore. Running dual Apple Studio Displays off this machine, and it just rolls through footage like it's nothing. So incredibly happy that B&H has pre-specced models in stock rather than having to wait months for an Apple store order.

Super Mac

I had been messing around with Mac Minis and Imacs trying to set up a reliable large storage system dedicated to music production and finally gave up trying to upgrade to get it all to work .I went for the MacStudio because my budget did not stretch to 4.5-5 k. and it all works, super fast.I went for the 4TB hub which gives me all the storage I need, along with running up to seven ext. hard drives too. I had to mess a bit with sample rates but its all smooth now.Very happy at last, I can get on with making music.SteadyComps just finished remote installing Parallells and Windows 11 for me, all part of the bundle.Super service.I would recommend this company for anyone interested in getting bang for buck.

The ultimate Mac for Creators & Developers

There isn't a more powerful Mac available (with Apple Silicon) apart from the M1 Ultra version of this very machine. The M1 Max version I purchased is more than overpowered for the considerable amount of different tasks I throw at it. It's an absolute beast in terms of performance yet you'll be shocked when you see how small it is - not a great deal larger than the Mac Mini. I've not heard the fan come on in anger, it just sits there running cool and efficiently, at one stage, I had a couple of virtual machines and a whole load of development apps open and working hard and it all ran super-fast and responsive like it always does. You won't be able to easily upgrade internal SSD space (or RAM) so make sure you choose wisely as to the size you think you will need ... MoreThere isn't a more powerful Mac available (with Apple Silicon) apart from the M1 Ultra version of this very machine. The M1 Max version I purchased is more than overpowered for the considerable amount of different tasks I throw at it. It's an absolute beast in terms of performance yet you'll be shocked when you see how small it is - not a great deal larger than the Mac Mini. I've not heard the fan come on in anger, it just sits there running cool and efficiently, at one stage, I had a couple of virtual machines and a whole load of development apps open and working hard and it all ran super-fast and responsive like it always does. You won't be able to easily upgrade internal SSD space (or RAM) so make sure you choose wisely as to the size you think you will need although I've just added USB C storage as it's plenty fast enough for my needs but 4K and above video producers might need to consider the larger SSD size. Highly recommended, has solved all the multiple monitor issues I was experiencing with my previous M1 Mac Mini.

Very quick

This replaced a Mac mini M1. It's very quick. The memory (64GB for the version I purchased) makes opening up very large Word/PDF documents a breeze. Photoshop editing is quick as well with multiple layers. Only downside is the fan noise. It's not loud, but it's definitely audible in a quiet room. Also has a bit of the whine that I've read other users complain about in forums. When my AC or my air filter is on, I can't hear it at all. When they're off, I can hear it from a few feet away. I ended up mounting this under my desk which helped a lot with the fan noise. For some reason the fans idle at 1300 rpm instead of 1100 rpm. Apple obviously set this for a reason, but the CPUs run just fine and don't need 1300 rpm to be cooled. Maybe Apple adjusts this in the future.