Written by
Vain Rowe
Apple has released various Mac lineups, including MacBook mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Studio. Each Mac lineup holds its own features and highlights and you can choose the optimum lineup based on your preferences.
However, you may get confused about Mac Studio and Pro since they are both high-end lineups configured with advanced hardware and stunning chips among all Mac models. Be easy, this post from iBoysoft guides you to know the details of Mac Studio VS Mac Pro so you can pick a suitable one for implementing your work.
Mac Studio VS Mac Pro: the battle of the optimum
With the release of the latest Mac Pro, Apple's transition to Apple Silicon among all Mac lineups has declared a beautiful end since then. Being featured with the same chip -- Mac Ultra chip, Mac Studio and Mac Pro still have their own differences, now let's explore them in detail.
Compared with the starting price of Mac Pro being $6999, Mac Studio starts at $1999 when it is built with an Apple M2 Mac chip. Yet when Mac Studio comes with an M2 Ultra chip, its starting price can go up to $3999.
Let's see what's different on Mac Studio and Mac Pro in detail:
| Mac Studio | Mac Pro | |
| Memory upgrade | Integrated, non-upgradeable design with sealed casing | Modular design with openable casing and potential for SSD upgrades |
| Expansion Slots | Seven PCI Express expansion slots (six available slots; one slot comes with Apple I/O card installed) | |
| Fans | Two impeller fans | Three impeller fans |
| Chips | Apple M2 Max or M2 Ultra chip | Apple M2 Ultra chip |
| CPU | Up to 24-core CPU | 24-core CPU |
| Ethernet | 10Gb Ethernet | Dual 10Gb Ethernet |
| Thunderbolt ports | Up to six Thunderbolt 4 ports | Eight Thunderbolt 4 ports |
| USB ports | Two USB-A ports | Three USB-A ports |
| HDMI port | One HDMI port | Two HDMI ports |
| Rack-mounted version | Rack-mounted version available | |
| SD card slot | SDXC card slot (UHS-II) – | |
| Price | Starts at $1,999 | Starts at $6,999 |
| GPU | Up to 76-core | Up to 76-core |
| Memory | Up to 192GB of unified memory | Up to 192GB of unified memory |
| Storage | ||
| System on Chip | M2 Ultra chip: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores Up to 76-core GPU 32-core Neural Engine 800GB/s memory bandwidth M2 Max chip: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores Up to 38-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 400GB/s memory bandwidth | 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores Up to 76-core GPU 32-core Neural Engine 800GB/s memory bandwidth |
| Media Engine | M2 Ultra chip: Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Two video decode engines Four video encode engines Four ProRes encode and decode engines M2 Max chip: Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode engine Two video encode engines Two ProRes encode and decode engines | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Two video decode engines Four video encode engines Four ProRes encode and decode engines |
| Display | Support for up to eight 4K displays, six 6K displays, or three 8K displays (sold separately) | Support for up to eight 4K displays, six 6K displays, or three 8K displays (sold separately) |
| Audio | Speaker 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones HDMI port supports multichannel audio output | Speaker 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones HDMI port supports multichannel audio output |
| Keyboard and Trackpad | Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad (sold separately) Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad (sold separately) | Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad |
Some users prefer Mac Pro for its seven PCIe expansion slots adding the likes of digital signal processing cards, serial digital interface, and additional networking. More significantly, Mac Pro allows users to upgrade the SSD storage while Mac Studio offers no storage upgrade option.
If you have requirements for multiple Ethernet ports, more than 6 Thunderbolt ports, or more than two USB-A ports for lots of peripheral connections, only the Mac Pro meets your needs. Otherwise, you'd better off paying for the Mac Studio configured with the M2 Ultra chip for an available $3000 saving.
Conclusion
If you still are confused about the differences between a Mac Pro and Mac Studio, you've clicked on the very article. This post explores their differences in every aspect and presents them in a visual table, allowing you to know them effortlessly.
I believe that you can choose the one that fits you the most after reading the info and details provided by this article.
