Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB Opens for Orders at $22,299

Apple opened orders on Oct. 28 for the Mac Studio M5 Ultra with 512GB of unified memory, priced from $22,299 in the U.S., according to 9to5Mac and MacRumors, with deliveries due in late November to early December.

The option appeared in Apple's online Mac Studio configurator, 9to5Mac reported. The outlet reported that 512GB is a $15,500 upgrade over the 96GB base of the top M5 Ultra, the version with a 36-core CPU and an 80-core GPU, which Apple's store lists from $6,799. The $22,299 machine pairs that chip with 512GB and a 1TB SSD; with 16TB of storage the total reaches $29,799, 9to5Mac said. MacRumors noted that the M5 Max Mac Studio stays capped at 128GB.

What Is New in the 512GB Mac Studio Option

The Mac Studio with M5 Ultra itself is not new. Apple announced it in August and has sold it since Sept. 22, from $5,499 for a 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU, 96GB and 1TB. Apple said in August the 512GB configuration would come in late October; MacRumors says it arrived right on schedule, and 9to5Mac says Apple had promised an October option and has now revealed its price. Apple's spec sheet now lists 96GB as configurable to 256GB or 512GB, with 512GB only on the 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU chip. What changed on Oct. 28 is the price and the ability to order.

Why 512GB Matters for Local AI Models

For running a large language model on one desk-side machine, memory capacity decides which models fit at all, and memory bandwidth sets how fast each token comes out. Apple lists 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth for both M5 Ultra versions, which is Apple's rating, not a measured result, so the 512GB tier adds capacity, not rated bandwidth, and no one has measured speed on a 512GB unit. The $15,500 upgrade is the price of that room.

The rivals bracket it. NVIDIA's DGX Spark has 128GB of LPDDR5X unified memory at 273 GB/s, NVIDIA's spec page says, and lists at $6,950 for the 128GB, 4TB model on NVIDIA's marketplace, where it was out of stock on Oct. 21; HotHardware reported up to $6,995, and 64GB partner systems start at $4,999. A step up, the DGX Station that Voltgrid profiled in its DGX Station product file has 748GB of coherent memory, 252GB of it HBM3e on the GPU, and a 1,600 W system power rating. Most of its OEMs publish no list price; ServeTheHome heard prices around $100,000. The 512GB Mac Studio sits between the two on capacity and on price.

Apple's newer chip does not change this picture. As Voltgrid reported in its Apple M6 specs file, M6 is Apple's entry-level Mac chip and tops out at 32GB of unified memory at up to 170GB/s, so a buyer who needs hundreds of gigabytes on a Mac still has to buy an M5 Ultra.

Why Memory Bandwidth Limits Local Model Speed

A language model generates text one token at a time, and each token needs the model's weights read from memory again. Capacity decides whether a model fits at all; bandwidth decides how fast those weights stream past the processor.

Apple lists 1.2TB/s for the M5 Ultra whether it carries 96GB or 512GB. NVIDIA lists 273 GB/s for the 128GB DGX Spark, and 7.1 TB/s for the 252GB of HBM3e on the DGX Station. The 512GB Mac Studio therefore buys room, not rated speed, and Apple lists a maximum continuous power of 480 W against 1,600 W for the Station.

What Is Not Confirmed Yet

No independent lab has published measurements of a 512GB M5 Ultra unit, so how fast it runs the largest models that fit in that memory is not yet measured. Apple has not said why 512GB orders ship several weeks after orders opened. The next milestone is the first deliveries in late November to early December, and with them the first third-party tests.