From The Verge · Antonio G. Di Benedetto · · 3m
Apple's M5 Ultra Mac Studio dominates benchmark tests
Apple's new $12,300 Mac Studio with M5 Ultra chip crushes performance benchmarks, but the reviewer needs months to truly test its limits.
In brief
Apple's new $12,300 Mac Studio with M5 Ultra chip crushes performance benchmarks, but the reviewer needs months to truly test its limits. The M5 Ultra Mac Studio is roughly 30 percent faster than last year's M3 Ultra in CPU tests and 63 percent faster in GPU rendering, making it a machine built for AI developers and…
Mac Studio M5 Ultra arrives
Apple's new Mac Studio with M5 Ultra chip starts shipping today with up to 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, and prices reaching $12,299. It's designed for AI developers and high-end visual effects studios, not typical content creators.
Specs that defy comparison
The review unit has 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, 256GB RAM, and 4TB storage. Standard benchmarks aren't adequate for testing a machine this powerful, so the reviewer will need extended time to properly evaluate it.
“Frankly, our usual benchmarks aren't cutting it.”
Design unchanged since 2022
The Mac Studio keeps the same compact design from 2022, with ultra-fast ports on both front and back. The new M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips are the main upgrades from last year's M4 Max and M3 Ultra models.
M5 Max starts at $2,499
The M5 Max model includes 18 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores, 36GB RAM, and 512GB storage. It's also available in the MacBook Pro, where the same specs cost $4,099 but with more storage.
M5 Ultra starts at $5,499
The base M5 Ultra configuration includes 30 CPU cores, 64 GPU cores, 96GB RAM, and 1TB storage. The top-tier model tested here costs $12,299 with double the cores and quadruple the storage.
30 percent faster than M3 Ultra
In synthetic CPU tests, the M5 Ultra is about 30 percent faster than last year's M3 Ultra. Graphics tests show more variation, with some like Geekbench 7 OpenCL also hitting 30 percent gains.
“The M5 Ultra Mac Studio is around 30 percent faster than our similarly configured M3 Ultra in both single-core and multicore synthetic CPU tests.”
GPU rendering jumps 63 percent
Cinebench GPU rendering tests show a 63 percent performance increase over the M3 Ultra. The M5 Ultra's graphics performance is particularly impressive compared to previous generations.
“a heftier GPU rendering test like Cinebench scored 63 percent higher.”
Storage speeds are extraordinary
The M5 Ultra's storage speeds are exceptional. A 4K video export in Premiere Pro that creates a 1.7GB file completes in about 40 seconds, and Blender's classroom test renders faster than tying shoes.
“The storage speeds are off the proverbial charts.”
AI capabilities need serious testing
Apple claims the M5 Ultra is a monumental step for AI. The reviewer plans to test local AI and large language model workloads but hasn't found generative AI particularly useful for his work so far.
Busy testing season ahead
Google is launching new Googlebook laptops today, and Microsoft has an event next week featuring Nvidia's RTX Spark initiative. The reviewer faces a packed schedule testing multiple new computers simultaneously.
Full review coming soon
The reviewer has only had the M5 Ultra for a few days and ran standard benchmarks but hasn't seriously challenged the machine. A comprehensive review will take several months to complete.
“I've only had my hands on the new Mac Studio as well as a pair of the latest Mac Minis for a handful of days.”
What to remember
The M5 Ultra Mac Studio is roughly 30 percent faster than last year's M3 Ultra in CPU tests and 63 percent faster in GPU rendering, making it a machine built for AI developers and visual effects studios rather than typical creators.
