MacOS SU users: Is there a new Mac Studio in your future?

Corner Bar
21

I’d put money on that being the case for sure > how much is always the burning question!

Speed improvements aside, the thing that makes a real world difference for me is:

  1. Significantly improved battery life on the laptop (another rabbit hole of comparison data)
  2. Reduced heat on the laptop = the fans no longer spinning up ALL THE TIME.

I’d have probably bought this new laptop just for those two points even if the speed was the same! :money_with_wings:

22

The single-core M1 results are impressive. Your current machine (iMac 4Ghz QuadCore i7) has a single-core geekbench result of 1105. The M1 clocks at around 1750 (depending on the hardware) so you should technically get an immediate performance boost from the M1. Not much difference in single-core performance between M1 and M1 ultra (1750 vs 1790) so shouldn’t see much improvement in SU or layout as both only utilise single-core.

2 Likes
23

My 2014 iMac died on me a couple of weeks ago. It‘s in the shop - it will be reborn but kt will take time and so what to buy? It was just when the Mac Studio launched. And - it just didn‘t cut it for me. I love my Macs and I want to LOOK at a Mac when I am working with it. That Studio Display feels like an out of this world idea. I want an iMac M1 Max 27 inch. Or a Mac Studio and an iMac Style 999€ display. :slight_smile:

So I did something that felt odd at first but turned out very well for my Sketchuping needs. I bought a 2017 iMac Pro. 2100 €. And as I am switching back and forth between the iMac Pro and my Macbook M1 Max I hardly ever feel let down by the iMacs performance when it comes to Sketchup. Both perform approximately as good. So. I dunno. If you are mainly a Sketchup guy. The M1 is not a must buy after all. At least not on the desktop side.

1 Like
24

Thanks for the comparison napperkt!
I also very much want (and was waiting for) a new iMac 27" 5K (or 32" 6K) M1 machine … but that isn’t happening (at least anytime soon). The MI 24" iMac just doesn’t do it. We got the Mac Studio and Studio Display instead … not exactly what I want.
Note that the Studio Display is NOT a mini-LED display, so it isn’t quite the latest and best that it could be. See the MacBook Pro laptop displays (which ARE mini-LED) for comparison. If Apple would throw an M1 Pro chip into a Mac mini with a few more ports, that would be about right for me …
BTW, this might interest you: Luke Miani just today posted a video on his YouTube channel showing how to convert old 2014 - 2017 5K 27" iMac’s into full function monitors, for about $700.