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Ask HN: Should I buy mac studio M4 max or macbook M5 pro?

5 points by akarshhegde18 3mo ago

As a developer building projects with AI coding agents, I need to have the system running day and night. Do you think buying mac studio is worth it?

jammcq 3mo ago
I like the Studio but currently, Apple is limiting the ram to 64GB. The Macbook Pro with M5 you can get 128GB of ram. I've got an M1 studio and i'm looking to upgrade when the M5 studio comes out. Hopefully they'll offer it with at least 128GB of ram. Also, it's my understanding that when the MBP is under heavy load and the CPU is heating up, the system will throttle down the performance so it doesn't overheat, whereas the Studio has a bigger heatsink and fan to let it run full throttle.
- akarshhegde18 3mo ago
  64GB is good for me for now, I'll wait for the M5 upgrade
mattbrewsbytes 3mo ago
> I need to have the system running day and night Buy a server or rent a VPS. Take the cost of either of the Apple options and divide by 36 months and get the biggest server you can for that monthly price.
- akarshhegde18 3mo ago
  Why 36 months?
  - slipwalker 3mo ago
    i am assuming he is suggesting a 3 year depreciation cycle for the equipment, quite common on enterprises.
    - akarshhegde18 3mo ago
      Makes sense. I'll ask sonnet 5 to help me out with the comparison
piyushk95 3mo ago
[flagged]
al_borland 3mo ago
Completely ignoring the chips, I generally prefer a desktop for anything that's going to be running all the time. There are rumors that the Mac Studio will be getting an M5 update this year. If you can wait, it might be worth waiting a bit. https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/25/m5-ultra-mac-studio-2026/ https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/25/m5-ultra-mac-studio-202...
- akarshhegde18 3mo ago
  The memory size looks insane! Is that even real? But they had the 512GB version in M3 Ultra so highly likely that it is
runjake 3mo ago
Depends on your specific needs. What are your needs and use cases? The M4 Max has more GPU cores, but the maximum amount of memory you can get is only 64 GB. The M5 Pro, on the other hand, is faster at single core, has fewer GPU cores, but can go up to 128 GB memory. Rumors are that the Mac Studio is getting updated to M5 in Fall or Winter 2026, if you can wait.
kristianp 3mo ago
There was a calculation done, but it had some serious flaws. There are some other discussions of this topic on HN too. Apple Silicon costs more than OpenRouter (williamangel.net) 355 points by datadrivenangel 44 days ago | 311 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48168198 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48168198
- akarshhegde18 3mo ago
  Thanks for the share, really good read!

5 points by akarshhegde18 3mo ago

As a developer building projects with AI coding agents, I need to have the system running day and night. Do you think buying mac studio is worth it?

jammcq 3mo ago

I like the Studio but currently, Apple is limiting the ram to 64GB. The Macbook Pro with M5 you can get 128GB of ram. I've got an M1 studio and i'm looking to upgrade when the M5 studio comes out. Hopefully they'll offer it with at least 128GB of ram. Also, it's my understanding that when the MBP is under heavy load and the CPU is heating up, the system will throttle down the performance so it doesn't overheat, whereas the Studio has a bigger heatsink and fan to let it run full throttle.

akarshhegde18 3mo ago
64GB is good for me for now, I'll wait for the M5 upgrade

mattbrewsbytes 3mo ago

> I need to have the system running day and night Buy a server or rent a VPS. Take the cost of either of the Apple options and divide by 36 months and get the biggest server you can for that monthly price.

akarshhegde18 3mo ago
Why 36 months?
- slipwalker 3mo ago
  i am assuming he is suggesting a 3 year depreciation cycle for the equipment, quite common on enterprises.
  - akarshhegde18 3mo ago
    Makes sense. I'll ask sonnet 5 to help me out with the comparison

piyushk95 3mo ago

[flagged]

al_borland 3mo ago

Completely ignoring the chips, I generally prefer a desktop for anything that's going to be running all the time. There are rumors that the Mac Studio will be getting an M5 update this year. If you can wait, it might be worth waiting a bit. https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/25/m5-ultra-mac-studio-2026/ https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/25/m5-ultra-mac-studio-202...

akarshhegde18 3mo ago
The memory size looks insane! Is that even real? But they had the 512GB version in M3 Ultra so highly likely that it is

runjake 3mo ago

Depends on your specific needs. What are your needs and use cases? The M4 Max has more GPU cores, but the maximum amount of memory you can get is only 64 GB. The M5 Pro, on the other hand, is faster at single core, has fewer GPU cores, but can go up to 128 GB memory. Rumors are that the Mac Studio is getting updated to M5 in Fall or Winter 2026, if you can wait.

kristianp 3mo ago

There was a calculation done, but it had some serious flaws. There are some other discussions of this topic on HN too. Apple Silicon costs more than OpenRouter (williamangel.net) 355 points by datadrivenangel 44 days ago | 311 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48168198 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48168198

akarshhegde18 3mo ago
Thanks for the share, really good read!