Purchasing Mac Studio - want fast, reliable system

[susannahl23429837]

I'm a graphic designer, using mostly Illustrator, but also Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects, Acrobat. My current 32 GB RAM is not enough memory for my vector-heavy Illustrator files – I get file-swapping and crashes. MicroSoft Outlook is the thing that often shuts down the system!

 I’m looking at buying the Mac Studio with Apple M4 Max chip, 14c CPU, 32c GPU, 16c Neural Engine. Unlike with the iMac, you cannot upgrade the memory post-purchase, so I have to decide now how much memory to get. 48, 64 or 128 GB?

I would love some feedback from anyone similar using this system.

I've attached my current computer's specs and the Mac Studio I'm considering. Thanks!

[Bobby Henderson]

I don't use a Mac Studio, so I couldn't tell you from specific experience there. OSX has somewhat better memory management than Windows. On the PC side I would tell people shopping for a graphics desktop or notebook to get something with no less than 64GB of RAM. And that's on top of other considerations, such as a good dedicated graphics board rather than a weaker integrated chip that siphons system RAM.

If 32GB of RAM isn't enough on your current system I'd probably get at least 64GB of RAM (if not more) with a Mac Studio system -especially since the memory is soldered into the motherboard. I prefer memory modules that can be removed and upgraded.

[susannahl23429837]

Bobby – Thanks for the reply. Yes I’m only considering OSX. And yes, I do not see any option for a graphics card. But the Mac support agent said that the Studio is the right choice for high-end graphics. I don’t do video, which requires the even high-level chip. They say that I don’t need to upgrade from 32GB because the machine is much more powerful than what I have, but I’m doubtful.

[Bobby Henderson · Accepted solution]

I personally would only buy a Mac-based system if I wanted to use an application that was exclusive to the Mac platform, such as Final Cut Studio. My workflow requires Windows-based systems since some of the industry-specific software I use is available only on that platform.

I think it's easier to get more performance bang for your buck on the PC side. Far more choices are available in categories from entry level to very high end. The hazard with Windows-based systems is all the models loaded with bloatware. I don't like PCs sold in retail stores for that reason. I usually read a lot of product reviews before buying a new system.

The Mac Studio has a sort of integrated graphics solution, but it's not the same as what's seen in entry level Windows systems. The M3 Ultra has both the CPU and GPU chips joined together into the same component. There are certain performance advantages to that approach.