Mac Studio M2 Ultra, 2023

The Mac Studio "M2 Ultra" is built around a 3.68 GHz Apple M2 Ultra processor, which provides a 24-core CPU (16 performance, 8 efficiency), a 60-core GPU, and a 32-core Neural Engine. It also incorporates a dual Media Engine for demanding professional video workflows. This high-performance model comes with 64 GB of unified memory and a 1 TB SSD that can be physically removed. The front panel is equipped with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. The rear features four additional Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, 10-Gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It supports high-speed Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) wireless networking. The unit is sold without a display, keyboard, or mouse.

The Mac Studio M2 Ultra has been praised as a remarkable achievement in desktop computing performance. Professional reviews consistently highlight its exceptional multithreaded capabilities, with Geekbench 6 scores reaching over 21,000 in multi-core tests. Critics emphasize the improved GPU scaling from the M2 generation, with the 60-core GPU delivering significantly better performance than the M1 Ultra in graphics-intensive applications. The enhanced memory controller architecture allows for better utilization of all cores, addressing previous limitations where maximum performance required fully saturated memory. Reviewers note impressive performance in professional video editing, with 4K timeline scrubbing and complex effects processing handled effortlessly. The dual Media Engine provides substantial acceleration for video encoding and decoding tasks. Despite the massive performance capabilities, the system maintains remarkably quiet operation and excellent thermal management.