M5 Max vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Apple's workhorse is better than ever

Apple's M5 Max chip has finally made its way to the Mac Studio. Here's how the updated model compares to the original M1 Max variant.

Back in 2022, the Mac Studio debuted as a versatile desktop, geared toward creative professionals. Apple took the M1 Max chip from the MacBook Pro, put it in an oversized Mac mini enclosure, and we got the Mac Studio.

Four years later, little has changed, at least design-wise. The M5 Max Mac Studio effectively uses the same aluminum casing, with more or less the same assortment of ports.

Under the hood, however, the M5 Max and M1 Max chips are two very different beasts. With eight extra CPU cores, Neural Accelerators in each GPU core, and hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, the M5 Max Mac Studio can run laps around the M1 Max.

Here's exactly how the M5 Max Mac Studio stacks up against its 2022 counterpart.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Technical specifications

Specifications	M5 Max Mac Studio	M1 Max Mac Studio
Starting Price (launch)	$2,499	$1,999
Dimensions (inches)	7.7 x 7.7 x 3.7	7.7 x 7.7 x 3.7
Weight (pounds)	6.0	5.9
Processor	Apple M5 Max 18-core CPU	Apple M1 Max 10-core CPU
Graphics	32-core GPU 40-core GPU Neural Accelerators	24-core GPU 32-core GPU
Memory	36GB (32-core GPU) 48GB (40-core GPU) 64GB (40-core GPU) 128GB (40-core GPU)	32GB 64GB
Networking	Apple N1 wireless networking chip Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible Bluetooth 6 10 Gigabit Ethernet	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible Bluetooth 5.0 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Storage	512GB 1TB 2TB 4TB 8TB	512GB 1TB 2TB 4TB 8TB
Display support	Maximum of 5: Four displays at 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt 5, plus one up to 5K at 60Hz via HDMI	Maximum of 5: Four Pro Display XDRs (6K at 60Hz) via USB-C and one 4K 60Hz display over HDMI
Ports	HDMI Four Thunderbolt 5 Two USB-A Two USB 3 Type-C (front) 10Gig Ethernet SDXC (front) 3.5mm headphone jack	HDMI Four Thunderbolt 4 Two USB-A Two USB 3 Type-C (front) 10Gig Ethernet SDXC (front) 3.5mm headphone jack

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Design

Looking at them side by side, you could easily mistake the M5 Max Mac Studio for the M1 Max variant. Visually, the two are identical in practically every way.

Apple hasn't made any changes to the tried-and-true Mac Studio enclosure. That means both units still look like a 7.7-inch by 7.7-inch slab of aluminum. At 3.7 inches, the height hasn't been modified, either.

While the two computers look the same, you might be able to tell the difference by picking them up. The original M1 Max Mac Studio weighs 5.9 pounds, while the new-and-improved M5 Max variant is slightly heavier at exactly 6 pounds.

Weight aside, the selection of ports offered on both Mac Studio models is effectively the same. With either one, you get an SDXC card slot and two USB-C ports on the front.

The back of the Mac Studio still has two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and a headphone jack.

Appearance-wise, you're getting the same computer, regardless of the Mac Studio model you choose. In terms of performance, however, the M5 Max and M1 Max couldn't be further apart.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Performance

As with the original Mac Studio, the 2026 model offers the same M5 Max chip first used in the MacBook Pro. Apple's chip approach in that regard hasn't changed, but the hardware itself has evolved.

The 2022 Mac Studio, with its M1 Max chip, was equipped with a 10-core CPU, featuring 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores. For graphics processing, the M1 Max Mac Studio was available with a 24-core GPU or a more powerful 32-core GPU.

Memory bandwidth was limited to 400GB/s across all M1 Max configurations. The original Mac Studio was also equipped with a 16-core Neural Engine and Apple's Media Engine. The latter facilitates compatibility with H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW video formats.

The M5 Max Mac Studio, as anticipated, takes things even further. While the M1 Max contained a 10-core CPU, all variants of the M5 Max come with an 18-core CPU as standard.

That's eight extra processor cores, of course, but even the cores themselves are different.

Per Apple's new terminology, the M5 Max offers 12 "performance cores" and six "super cores." Apple says the latter are the world's fastest CPU cores.

The company claims the updated performance cores in the M5 Max are optimized for power efficiency. Additionally, the M5 Max chip, with its super cores, delivers up to 2.5 times higher multi-threaded performance than the M1 Max.

As for graphics processing, the M5 Max is offered with either a 32-core GPU or a 40-core GPU. Much like the CPU, the M5 Max Mac Studio is equipped with eight additional GPU cores, relative to the corresponding M1 Max variants.

The upgraded hardware of the M5 Max enables 2.2 times higher graphics processing performance compared to the M1 Max, according to Apple.

Aside from the higher core count, the GPU in the M5 Max also has two advantages over the M1 Max: hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Neural Accelerators.

Graphics-intensive triple-A games with advanced lighting effects will look better on the M5 Max thanks to its support for ray tracing. Neural Accelerators are also available in each GPU core of the M5 Max, which is a nice addition for AI-related workflows.

Memory bandwidth has also been increased with the M5 Max, which supports speeds of up to 614GB/s on the high-end models, or 460GB/s on the base configuration. Apple says the M5 Max delivers six times the peak GPU compute for AI performance, relative to the M1 Max.

All of this ultimately makes the M5 Max a great option for AI-related and graphics-intensive workflows.

Apple says that the M5 Max Mac Studio offers up to 10.7 times faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio relative to its M1 Max counterpart. There's also up to 7.4 times faster text-to-image performance between the generations.

In DaVinci Resolve Studio, Magic Mask performance is up to 5.3 times faster compared to the M1 Max Mac Studio, says Apple.

Additionally, the company claims basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW on the M5 Max Mac Studio is up to 3.5 times faster than on the M1 Max model.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Benchmarks

Geekbench 7 scores offer additional insight as to just how big a jump Apple has made from the M1 Max chip to the M5 Max.

In CPU performance testing, the M1 Max Mac Studio received a multi-core score of 14,611 points, with a single-core score of 2,143. In Metal GPU testing, the M1 Max is listed with a score of 117,078 points.

In the absence of an M5 Max Mac Studio benchmark, we used scores from the 16-inch MacBook Pro, equipped with the same chip.

The M5 Max CPU scored 33,387 points in multi-core testing, while single-core performance tests reached 3,569 points. As for Metal GPU testing, the M5 Max achieved 238,306 points.

Comparing the two chips reveals that the M5 Max achieved a 128.5% higher multi-core CPU performance score and a 66.5% higher single-core CPU performance score. The M5 Max Metal GPU performance score is similarly 103.5% higher.

In short, the M5 Max Mac Studio outshines its M1 Max counterpart in every aspect, performance-wise.

With the M5 Max's extra CPU cores, GPU cores, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, Neural Accelerators, increased memory bandwidth, and more, the results are hardly surprising.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Storage, ports, audio

As for storage options, there's not much of a difference between the original Mac Studio and its 2026 replacement. 512GB is still the base configuration, with optional upgrades to 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and even 8TB available for both models.

However, read and write speeds are significantly faster with the M5 Max Mac Studio, which Apple says is twice as fast as the previous Mac Studio generation.

For reference, the M1 Max delivers read speeds of around 5,000 MB/s, with write speeds of over 4,600 MB/s.

Connectivity-wise, we also see speed differences between the two models. On the back, the M5 Max Mac Studio features four Thunderbolt 5 ports with speeds up to 120 Gb/s.

With the M5 Max model, RDMA (remote direct memory access) lets you cluster multiple Mac Studios. Apple says a cluster of four M5 Max Mac Studio models delivers up to 3 times faster AI inference than a single unit.

Clustering isn't just limited to the newer models, however. You can cluster with earlier Mac generations, even Mac minis if you're that way inclined.

It's just that you won't benefit from the Thunderbolt 5 updates to RDMA and the GPU neural accelerators in the same way.

Meanwhile, the M1 Max variant has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, delivering up to 40Gb/s. It does not support RDMA, as the M1 Max variant lacks Thunderbolt 5.

With either model, though, you also get two USB 3 Type-A ports and a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and an HDMI port. These are all on the back of the Mac Studio, for both M1 Max and M5 Max variants.

The HDMI port and headphone jack are useful for connecting audio devices, even though both Mac Studio models ship with a built-in speaker.

In terms of display support, both Mac Studio models can be used with five external displays.

Four 6K screens at 60Hz can be used via the Thunderbolt port on both models. HDMI allows for an added 4K display at 60Hz on the M1 Max variant, or a 5K monitor at 60Hz on the M5 Max Mac Studio.

You can also stream audio via AirPlay to a HomePod. Alternatively, you can use AirPods, connected by Bluetooth.

The M5 Max Mac Studio supports Bluetooth 6, while the older M1 Max model only has Bluetooth 5.0. You won't hear much of a difference unless your headphones require the newer Bluetooth standard.

There's a similar difference regarding Wi-Fi, as the M5 Max Mac Studio gives users access to Wi-Fi 7, thanks to the Apple N1 chip. The original M1 Max Mac Studio only supports Wi-Fi 6.

This won't matter to most users, though.

On the front, both the M5 Max and M1 Max Mac Studio feature two USB-C ports, limited to 10Gb/s. An SDXC card slot rated for UHS-II is also present.

Though the Mac Studio has retained more or less the same array of ports, the M5 Max model offers clear advantages via higher read/write speeds and Thunderbolt 5.

As for connectivity, Bluetooth 6 and Wi-Fi 7 are welcome improvements, but nothing particularly impressive.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Pricing

The standard configuration of the M1 Max Mac Studio, with a 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, was priced at $1,999. The high-end model with a 32-core GPU required paying $200 more, bringing the total to $2,199.

For an extra $400, users could double the RAM of the M1 Max Mac Studio from 32GB to 64GB. It was also possible to upgrade the storage on the 2022 Mac Studio.

For an extra $200 at the time of purchase, users could upgrade the M1 Max Mac Studio storage to 1TB. With $400 on top of that, they could get 2TB of storage, or 4TB for $600 again. The highest possible 8TB option is an extra $1,200 on top of that.

In essence, the M1 Max Mac Studio could cost you anywhere from $1,999 to $4,999. However, those were the prices for brand-new units in March 2022.

The M5 Max Mac Studio, meanwhile, costs $2,499 in its most basic form, offering an 18-core CPU, a 32-core GPU, 512GB of storage, and 36GB of RAM. While all variants of the M5 Max have an 18-core CPU, it's possible to upgrade the GPU to a 40-core variant.

While Apple lists the chip upgrade as $300 alone, it's actually a $600 increase since the memory goes up to 48GB as well.

Storage upgrade options are the same as they were with the M1 Max Mac Studio, as Apple still offers the same capacities in 2026. The prices of RAM and storage upgrades, however, are significantly higher.

To add more RAM to an M5 Max Mac Studio, users will need to spend an extra $400 for 64GB at the time of purchase. Meanwhile, the 128GB RAM option will set you back an additional $2,000.

That's five times the cost of the 64GB RAM upgrade on the M1 Max Mac Studio.

512GB remains the starting capacity with all M5 Max variants of the Mac Studio. For an additional $300 at the time of purchase, users can upgrade their Mac Studio storage to 1TB.

With $500 more, users can get 2TB of storage, or 4TB for $1,000 more. The highest possible 8TB option is an extra $2,000 on top of that.

In essence, storage options are quite expensive compared to the 2022 M1 Max Mac Studio, as the upgrade from 4TB to 8TB costs $800 more than it did with the 2022 M1 Max model.

Even the 1TB option costs $100 more with the M5 Max Mac Studio, so it's clear the industry-wide chip shortage has taken its toll.

The new-and-improved M5 Max variant of the Mac Studio will cost users anywhere from $2,499 for the base configuration, up to an outrageous $8,899 for the top-of-the-line model. Surprisingly, the $8,899 price tag is more than it would have cost to buy four base-model M1 Max Mac Studios brand new.

Simply put, the M5 Max Mac Studio is a premium powerhouse, with pricing to match. The M1 Max model is no slouch, either, but it might not be worth buying anymore.

M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M1 Max Mac Studio: Just get the new model

With hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, eight additional CPU and GPU cores, Neural Accelerators in the GPU cores, more RAM, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thunderbolt 5, the M5 Max Mac Studio is the obvious choice.

The original Mac Studio remains unreasonably expensive on the used market, with prices for the base configuration averaging around $1,400. That's assuming you can even find one, as there don't seem to be a lot of M1 Max models on the used market at the time of writing.

Rather than paying near-retail prices for a four-year-old machine, the smart move is to just go with the M5 Max Mac Studio, even if you have to spend $2,499.

Though both computers support macOS Golden Gate, the M1 Max Mac Studio only has a few years of software updates left, at best, while the M5 Max variant is brand new. If you already have an M1 Max model, you should consider upgrading in the years ahead.

For triple-A gaming and AI-related workflows in particular, it doesn't make sense to go with an older M1 Max Mac Studio, unless you can get a really good deal on one.

Where to buy Apple's M5 Max Mac Studio and M1 Max Mac Studio

Apple's M5 Max Mac Studio can be ordered now at B&H Photo and Adorama, with prices starting at $2,499 and availability starting September 22.

Our comprehensive M5 Max Mac Studio Price Guide makes it easy to compare prices and shop the latest offers on the 2026 desktops.

Deals on refurbished M1 Max Mac Studio configurations can be found at Mac of All Trades, with prices as low as $1,189.99. Open-box and pre-owned models are also available on eBay, with prices starting at $1,400 at press time.