Mac Studio M2 Ultra, 2023

This configure-to-order Mac Studio features the 3.68 GHz Apple M2 Ultra processor, integrating a 24-core CPU (16 performance, 8 efficiency), a powerful 76-core GPU, and a 32-core Neural Engine. A dual Media Engine offers hardware acceleration for intensive video tasks. The standard configuration for this build includes 64 GB of unified memory and a 1 TB SSD, which is physically removable. Front I/O consists of two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. The rear panel is equipped with four more Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, 10-Gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also features Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) connectivity. The Mac Studio is sold as a standalone unit, requiring separate peripherals.

The maxed-out Mac Studio M2 Ultra with 76-core GPU represents the pinnacle of Apple's 2023 desktop performance and has received outstanding reviews from professional critics. The additional GPU cores provide substantial performance improvements in graphics-intensive applications, with some reviewers noting near-perfect scaling in optimized software like Blender. Professional video editors praise its ability to handle multiple 8K streams and complex real-time effects without breaking a sweat. The 76-core GPU demonstrates particular strength in 3D rendering, where it can compete with dedicated workstation graphics cards while consuming significantly less power. Critics consistently highlight the remarkable achievement of packing such massive computational power into a compact, quiet desktop form factor. The improved M2 Ultra architecture shows much better core utilization compared to the M1 generation, making the full 76 GPU cores accessible to applications without requiring maxed-out memory configurations.