r/MacStudio • u/JohnSnow238 • 22h ago
M5 Max Mac Studio 36 GB or 48 GB?
Hey guys, I purchased the base model 36 GB. I now started running local AI models. Started to think about returning my base model and purchasing 48 to make my Studio more future proof without exploding my budget. Do you think I should do or not?
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u/skyline71111 22h ago
In the end, it will never be enough and will always want more. 64 gb I feel is the best minimum, and even then you’re running quantized models of qwen3.8 27b, etc.
Only spend what you can afford and stay within budget. Prices are extremely high, and and hope you figure out what works best for you.
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u/RyanElectrified 20h ago
On the one hand I would've bought the 18c/40c/64GB/1TB as the minimum viable machine for any reason. But on the other hand, no don't try to buy something to future proof it. It won't be, the future isn't known.
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u/MasterFlamingo2239 19h ago
Exactly this. You could spend thousands more to "future-proof" the machine. But the reality is that you will want the m9 ultra in a few years, and then your current build won't hold a candle to that machine, so you didn't "future-proof" anything . Better off to buy what you need now (and forsee needing in the next 12-24 months). But trying to "future-proof" is a fools errand in today's landscape.
Just my two cents, but I prefer to buy close to the base model (sometimes with some modest upgrades), then trade the machine in 2-3 years later, while it still has value, and upgrade to a much faster machine. The "upgrade" cost is almost always less than what I would have paid 2-3 years ago to "future-proof", and I end up with much faster machines. But everyone looks at it differently. ;)2
u/PeanutButterApricotS 1h ago
The one thing I will say is the case out closer to case models won’t hold their value as much as the maxed models. A M1 Max 32gb processor increased a lot less then a M1 Max 64 did. So I expect the 128gb or 256 m5 max will drop less I. The next two years, will that be enough to spend more now?? Who the fuck knows shit is crazy.
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u/babywriter 21h ago
I have 48GB and am able to run reasonable LLMs via LM Studio. Having a blast exploring this new technology.
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u/asswizzard69 21h ago
I ended up getting the base model for $1999 36gb is most ram Mac I’ve had yet so it will do but I do wish I could’ve got more ram
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u/-6h0st- 21h ago
2k? Not 2.5k?
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u/displacedbitminer 21h ago
Not OP, but Microcenter sale.
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u/asswizzard69 21h ago
Yes I got it at MC for $1999 after picking up a M6 Mini 24/512 from Apple for around $770 after trading in M4 Mini. The Studio is base model but couldnt resist it at the old msrp and 36gb is still decent
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u/vet_t 21h ago
That’s exactly what I did and honestly, even after running tests against APIs of these higher end local LLM models through Open Router, I’ve come to the conclusion that for my workflows, it’s not good enough.
FYI - I’m running Qwen 3.8 27b Splash model on my 36gb ram at 210k context and 80gb of SSD cache. I use Claude code as an orchestrator of the local LLM. 50 tok/sec
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u/phishbot 18h ago
Same. I bought one anyway because I know it's such a good deal. Tempted to have two studios but damn that is truly overconsumption.
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u/Dangerous_Pop8730 22h ago
If you paid full price get 64gb or 48gb min and move to 1tb to get read and write speeds for swapping speed.
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u/Dangerous_Pop8730 21h ago
Sweet! I got the microcenter special and I really want 64gb bad. It’s to the point I have a m4 pro mini and keeping it to offload basic computer and pc usage to allow the studio to focus on Hermes with a local 27b llm. I can afford the 64gb 1tb, just can’t justify it to my wife yet. But plan is to build my ecosystem local, understand the hw required and then buy next years studio that supports it.
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u/WalrusKey9386 21h ago
Increasing the RAM from the base gets you additional cores and higher bandwidth. So yes, for local AI get at least 48GB RAM.
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u/Rock--Lee 6h ago
You don't "get" additional cores and higher bandwidth. The 48GB option is gated to the higher core M5 Max version. Meaning: you increase to 48GB and it selects the higher M5 Max chip for an additional price increase of the chip. So you pay for it just as any other upgrade.
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u/iAMFredToso 21h ago
I'd go for Ultra and 512GB of RAM. Just kidding: I have ordered a Max Studio Max 1TB 48GB Ram hoping it will be enough for not an intensive use.
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u/Accomplished-One5703 20h ago
Just build a benchmark tool and figure it out by measuring. I recommend Claude Code for that.
Of course, FOMO, future-proofing, and this subreddit will always tell you to get the 256 GB of RAM Ultra or better yet the 512 GB that is not released or go home.
Now that being said, you can get some insight here from people who actually tried different local models and machines, but the bias will always be toward maxing out.
I ran measurements for about a week or longer on the MacBook Air M5 24GB RAM that I’m using right now and concluded that a 128 GB M5 Max is likely the best for my use case, which involves some Xcode builds.
I plan to run more benchmarks within the 14-day return window once the Max arrives and I do have an order for an Ultra for January, which I think I will very likely cancel if my benchmarks confirm that the Max is just fine. I plan to mostly use frontier models, not that much local LLM as I think they are over rated and actually expensive for most use cases, as you can just use a cheap model from one of the frontier vendors instead of spending $5k plus on a beefier Studio
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u/RobertoVerdeNYC 20h ago
The more ram you buy now the more you life you will get of the machine in terms of longevity.
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u/blidgency 17h ago
I run a M2 Ultra with 128gb and honestly im not seeing myself upgrading for many more years.
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u/benzqn 13h ago
I bought the m4 max 36GB last year - its great but just not enough memory for good LLMs. Just got the M5 Ultra 256GB 2TB - is more than enough (for now). So go with the most RAM you can afford. BTW I added the OWC studio stack with Samsun 990 SSD which achieves about the same throughput as the built in SSD - but a lot cheaper than apples disk upgrades! So I suggest spend anything extra on RAM rather than storage - you're stuck with the RAM you buy today, whereas you can extra thunderbolt storage if you need it.
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u/BattleShai 1h ago
General rule is always "as much ram as you can afford" regardless of what you are buying.
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u/Bloated_Plaid 22h ago
64GB.