Mac Studio Q

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Adamcski

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Adam
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Sorry, may be a silly question.

The MAC studio - can you use any wireless mouse / keyboard and any monitor or do they have to be apple?

I have a Logitech master something or other mouse and keyboard and may get an Asus pro art monitor. Would these work with a Studio?

Would be this spec:

Apple M2 Max with 12‑core CPU, 30‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
32GB unified memory
1TB SSD storage
Front: Two USB-C ports, one SDXC card slot
Back: Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one 10Gb Ethernet port, one 3.5mm headphone Jack

Just over £2k
 
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I recently bought a M2 Pro Mini Mac and I’m using a 3rd party keyboard, mouse and mini. No issues.

I went for a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, both Logitech.

The MAC studio should be the same.
 
You can use any mouse keyboard and monitor although a Mac layout for the keyboard is recommended.

Monitor wise it will need to be able to connect using usb-c or hdmi or by means of sone sort of adapter/converter.
 
If you use a windows keyboard you will have to remap some windows keys to the Mac command and option keys, I think Logitech does do a Mac version though.
TBH the Mac keyboards are a pleasure to use, and they last for ages without a charge.
 
Cheers folks.

A mate of mine has just sent me the below config for a desktop for around the same price asking why I would want the MAC..

Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - WHITE
Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (Up to 5.2GHz) 30MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6)

Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (4 x 16GB

Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR

1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)

1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 360 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
Tenda AX5400 WiFi 6E (802.11ax) (6GHz) BT 5.2

USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account

Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Browser
Google Chrome™

Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)

Home Installation
Technician Assisted Installation + Wi-Fi + Surf Control + Data Transfer


Price: £2,133.00 including VAT and Delivery


Now I know naff all about PC / MAC stuff. I've tried to get my head around it and got an ASUS laptop in the sales last year, but this would be for the home office and I still need a monitor as I have one of those little old square PC screens lol
 
I would still get the Mac over the Pc, its big and bulky but it will warm your room up :)

You could save quite a bit with the M1 version which I have, there is very little difference between M1 and M2 to the extent you would probably not notice in real world scenarios.

I have the M1 Studio with 32 gig and it flies through everything I use it for.
 
Looked on Apple refurbished UK and they have a M1 spec studio as follows:

Originally released March 2022

32GB unified memory

1TB SSD¹

Front: Two USB-C ports, one SDXC card slot

Back: Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one 10Gb Ethernet port, one 3.5mm headphone jack

Cost with apple care is £1958 new one is £2218 with the apple care
 
What will you be using the Mac or PC for? Is a lower spec Mini Mac unsuitable?
 
It would be PS and LR / Affinity and that's about it, bar basic word documents (even then I have laptops I can do that on). We don't have a desktop in the house now so was going to get one for the home office.

I'd want an element of future proofing, especially if I went Mac as I can't upgrade the parts. So a Mac mini with 32gb and 1TB SSD is £1829....
 
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Adamcski said:
It would be PS and LR / Affinity and that's about it, bar basic word documents (even then I have laptops I can do that on). We don't have a desktop in the house now so was going to get one for the home office.

I'd want an element of future proofing, especially if I went Mac as I can't upgrade the parts. So a Mac mini with 32gb and 1TB SSD is £1829....
Click to expand...

I don’t have Affinity but my Mini Mac with a M2 Pro chip is great with LR/PS. I also wanted to future proof which is partly why I went with the M2 Pro over the M2. Also the price of adding RAM and extra SSD to the M2 was almost the same as that of the M2 Pro. I did look at the Studio but the price and the internet searches suggested it wasn’t necessary for my needs.

Extra Mac SSD is very expensive, I added much cheaper SSD by using external drives.

However, there is no right answer and we all have different needs/wants.

I am sure you will be over the moon with a Mac Studio.

Enjoy.
 
Brentor said:
I don’t have Affinity but my Mini Mac with a M2 Pro chip is great with LR/PS. I also wanted to future proof which is partly why I went with the M2 Pro over the M2. Also the price of adding RAM and extra SSD to the M2 was almost the same as that of the M2 Pro. I did look at the Studio but the price and the internet searches suggested it wasn’t necessary for my needs.

Extra Mac SSD is very expensive, I added much cheaper SSD by using external drives.

However, there is no right answer and we all have different needs/wants.

I am sure you will be over the moon with a Mac Studio.

Enjoy.
Click to expand...
May I ask what monitor you paired it with?
 
Adamcski said:
Cheers folks.

A mate of mine has just sent me the below config for a desktop for around the same price asking why I would want the MAC..

Case
CORSAIR 4000D RGB AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE - WHITE
Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (Up to 5.2GHz) 30MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI D4 (LGA1700, DDR4, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6)

Memory (RAM)
64GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3600MHz (4 x 16GB

Graphics Card
16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR

1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3500 MB/R, 3100 MB/W)

1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 360 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler

Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Card
ONBOARD LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
Tenda AX5400 WiFi 6E (802.11ax) (6GHz) BT 5.2

USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account

Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Browser
Google Chrome™

Warranty
3 Year Platinum Warranty (3 Year Collect & Return, 3 Year Parts, 3 Year labour)

Home Installation
Technician Assisted Installation + Wi-Fi + Surf Control + Data Transfer


Price: £2,133.00 including VAT and Delivery


Now I know naff all about PC / MAC stuff. I've tried to get my head around it and got an ASUS laptop in the sales last year, but this would be for the home office and I still need a monitor as I have one of those little old square PC screens lol
Click to expand...
Because that will be absolutely massive, throw out enough heat to power a small town and use about 3 times the energy of the Mac. I'm not a Mac user, but if I was in the market for a new photo editing machine at the moment I wouldn't consider anything else to be honest.
 
Adamcski said:
It would be PS and LR / Affinity and that's about it, bar basic word documents (even then I have laptops I can do that on). We don't have a desktop in the house now so was going to get one for the home office.

I'd want an element of future proofing, especially if I went Mac as I can't upgrade the parts. So a Mac mini with 32gb and 1TB SSD is £1829....
Click to expand...
A Mac Mini would be more than suitable for your requirements, especially with the bump to 32GB.
 
Adamcski said:
May I ask what monitor you paired it with?
Click to expand...
I first tried a ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV Professional Monitor
but decided I would prefer 4K, so changed for a BenQ PD2705U 27” 4K Monitor for Mac.
 
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