Which new Mac Studio for LR/Photoshop?

[Eric Brody]

Today Apple released the new Studio Machines. Some of the nomenclature is confusing but basically it seems there are two chips, the M4 MAX and the M3 ULTRA. They can each be configured with different levels of CPU and GPU, RAM and storage. I suspect any of them will be pretty impressive.

I use a Sony A7RV. I process my files in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop with an Intel 2020 iMac with an i9, 64GB RAM, and 4 TB of storage. I have a RAID 5 array in an OWC Thunderbay (Thunderbolt 3) for my archive.  I've figured out I likely do not need 4TB of internal storage, 2TB is plenty with the current external options. My final files after all my manipulations are in the 1-2GB range. I do straight photography, and use AI only for things like removal and masking, not generating things that do not exist in the original.

I'm excited by these new computers and would love to hear from those more knowledgeable than me which configuration is likely to give the best performance for my use situation.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[degrub]

If you are not having hardware issues, current performance is acceptable,  and can wait for the next cycle in 12-18 mo., i would.

[digitaldog]

Your Intel 2020 is pretty slow in Adobe app's even compared to an M1 let alone the monstor M3 Ultra. And within the foreseeable future, you can say goodby to macOS supporting Intel. You've got time, and you could go big (and espensive) or look at older M chips at a bargain.

[MDL_SD]

I use a MacBook Pro with an M1 Max, maximum memory, and cores.  Compared to friends Intel Macs my laptop screams. 

Historically Adobe was not optimizing multiple cores, if that is still the case it would presumably not be worth the expense of going to the Ultra.  I would encourage you to scour the web to get an idea of how effectively Adobe is now using multiple cores.  Historically 64GB was plenty of memory, but you may want more now?

You have a handle on how much SSD you need.

[digitaldog]

https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-silicon/vs/m1-max-m2-max-m4-max-compared---how-high-end-apple-silicon-has-evolved?utm_medium=rss
M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max compared - how high-end Apple Silicon has evolved

[mcbroomf]

I'd suggest keeping my eye on the Art Is Right YT channel.  This is the last comparison video he did a few months ago.  I'd expect the MBP M4 Max chip devices to have similar performance to the M4 Max Studio.  I'd expect him to order an M3 Ultra Studio to test pretty soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2W6Hx5mxWs&list=PLjlr8rlxl_q4aVEJ3WD5lXBZJoEe_t_hS&index=2

[bobfriedman]

I have a Mac Studio M1-Ultra... and I was going to purchase a Mac Studio M4-Ultra... but to my surprise it is an M3-Ultra...

I am waiting to see how this play out.

[Chris Kern]

I have a Mac Studio M1-Ultra... and I was going to purchase a Mac Studio M4-Ultra... but to my surprise it is an M3-Ultra...

Reportedly the reason there's no Mac Studio M4 Ultra option is that Apple's M4 chip does not have what the company calls an UltraFusion interconnect: the gizmo that would enable the merger of two M4 Max dies into a single processor.

[Manoli]

Reportedly the reason there's no Mac Studio M4 Ultra option is that Apple's M4 chip does not have what the company calls an UltraFusion interconnect: the gizmo that would enable the merger of two M4 Max dies into a single processor.

ArtIsRight questions that in his video (1:10).
His latest video Mac Studio Upgrade M3 ULTRA & M4 MAX, does this make sense? - recommended.

ArsTechnika article : Apple announces M3 Ultra

[mcbroomf]

ArtIsRight questions that in his video (1:10).
His latest video Mac Studio Upgrade M3 ULTRA & M4 MAX, does this make sense? - recommended.

ArsTechnika article : Apple announces M3 Ultra

The M3 Max was definitely reported (many months ago) as having no interconnect (and I read the same at the time, ie that there would be no M3 Ultra due to this for last year .. .not this year).  So it's interesting that Apple have decided to make a new M3 Max variant (although no new product with an M3 Max); that also supports Thunderbolt 5 and has the interconnect, rather than just make an M4 Max with an interconnect and use a pair for an M4 Ultra.  We can speculate with the best (?) of them  ... low yields of M4 Max chips, reserving the M4 Ultra for a Mac Pro?  It will be interesting to see the performance of the M3 Ultra when it's out there.  $14k for the highest config ... sheesh!

[Manoli]

It will be interesting to see the performance of the M3 Ultra when it's out there.  $14k for the highest config ... sheesh!

Watched the Apple blurb but frankly unless one is working in motion, program compiling or DNA sequencing (luv'd that one) we may be getting (for Lr/Ps) processor maxed out. Hard to see the advantages of going for an 'Ultra' versus a 'Max'.

The old adage though still holds, IMO, best future proofing is to max out memory. An M4M 16/30, with 128gb unified memory (the max possible) for $2,499 should cover most still photography needs - but I'd add an additional ¢200 for a 1TB SSD drive, minimum.

Art made the point in his video that upgrade priority (aka best bang-for-the buck) is
1/ Memory (RAM)
2/ Chip family
3/ SSD storage size
4/ Chip variants

I wouldn't disagree.

[digitaldog]

https://www.macworld.com/article/2630622/dont-trust-those-early-geekbench-m3-ultra-benchmarks-just-yet.html

As reported, the benchmarks for a Mac 15,14 running an M3 Ultra with a 32-core CPU and 256GB of RAM are 3221 (single-core) and 27749 (multi-core). Those are impressive numbers, of course, but comparable to our own numbers for the M4 Max in MacBook Pro, which measured 3804 (single-core) and 25343 (multi-core).
We expect the single-core score to be lower since it’s an M3 vs an M4, but the multi-core score should theoretically be a lot higher than an 8 percent gain. The M3 Ultra has 24 performance cores versus just 12 on the M4 Max. While it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison—the M3 and M4 chips are built on different 3nm architecture generations—it’s still surprising to see such low scores. So what’s going on?

[digitaldog]

Also interesting:

The difference between the CPU of the M3 Ultra and M4 Max chips isn’t huge, but what about the GPU? A new benchmark test reveals how much faster the M3 Ultra is for graphics processing.
As expected, the numbers are quite impressive and make M3 Ultra the Apple Silicon chip with the most powerful GPU yet.

https://9to5mac.com/2025/03/07/heres-how-much-faster-the-m3-ultras-gpu-is-compared-to-m4-max/

[Eric Brody]

I just picked up my M4 Max Studio (64GB RAM/2TB SSD, 16CPU/40GPU) a few days ago. As has been the case in the past, the transfer is anything but smooth, albeit fast, even with the two machines connected with a Thunderbolt 4 cable and the migration assistant app. Fortunately, most of the issues are relatively minor, such as re-entering passwords and reviewing settings in LR Classic and Photoshop. There were some minor problems with Carbon Copy Cloner too. I was also able to put my OWC docks in the closet as the ports on the back are sufficient, a much neater desk!

I decided to use my 13 year old NEC PA271W monitor with 14k hours. Happily, with the addition of a USB-A USB-B cable, I was able to profile it with my Spectraview II puck and the Spectraview II software to a Delta E of 0.4 and there's a pretty good print-screen match; I saved some serious money over getting a new monitor as well.

The only AI I do is masks in Lightroom Classic and some corrections in Photoshop. I've never added anything to my images with AI, eg "put a penguin in this landscape" and likely never will. It's too soon to tell how much the speed improvements over my previous 2020 iMac with an i9 will be but I'm pleased so far.

It really is a great time to be a photographer, whatever level of interest and expertise one has.

Thanks for all the helpful comments, this is a great group!

Eric

[digitaldog]

Interesting article today that sums up the options in part:

The M4 Max will shine in single-core CPU-dependent workloads. If you’re heavily into photo editing, you won’t notice a big performance difference when comparing the M4 Max vs. the M3 Ultra Mac Studios. In such cases, saving money and opting for the M4 Max model makes more sense.
For photography-oriented workloads, the M4 Max’s faster CPU cores will benefit you more.
https://www.cultofmac.com/buying-guides/mac-studio-m3-ultra-vs-m4-max