Apple - Mac Studio - M4 Max - 512GB SSD - Silver

I would have gone with a base Mac Mini M4 but for my use case I needed multiple monitor support for trading stocks. The most I appreciate about this machine coming from a desktop AMD AM4 platform is how power efficient and quiet it is. Another huge plus is that even under load it doesn't heat up the room. I priced out building a custom small form factor PC using AMD/Intel parts and the costs would have been almost the same as just buying the Mac Studio M4 Max for the same amount of (single core) performance (my stock trading programs are heavily single threaded) and monitor support that I wanted. The old argument getting more bang for your buck with x86 architecture machines isn't as clear cut as before. Also, with raising graphics card prices new and in the secondary market the value proposition isn't there for me (I don't game much anymore). So far my experience with the Mac Studio M4 Max has been wonderful. The machine never stutters and my trading applications are a lot more snappy then when I used them on my Windows 11 machine (it mostly has to do with the applications simply running better on Apple Silicon). I view this machine as an appliance and it just simply works is well worth the investment. It's a hassle free experience as compared to my AMD desktop where things would randomly fail or error. I had an opportunity to use Crossover 25 for Mac to help play Windows based games on Mac. The latest iteration provides a lot of performance improvements and more titles such as Red Dead Redemption II. Since this Mac Studio M4 Max has 32-GPU cores it gets very playable framerates across multiple titles. As long as you are not trying to play AAA newly launched titles or games that are online and require anti-cheat mechanisms it should be supported. Playing Windows games on a Mac is very feasible in 2025 and support for it is only going to get better moving forward. If the upfront costs of this machine is still pretty high to dissuade you then consider that the resell value of this machine a few years from now will still be very high as compared to reselling PC parts. Also, if you are using this machine to make money then it will pay for itself eventually with the time you save in either not having to wait for projects to render or not having to troubleshoot random component failures that costs you time. I only see myself upgrading from this machine maybe 2-3 years from now at minimum and will probably last me 4-5 years or something else comes out from Apple that is very compelling.

I purchased the Mac Studio M4 Max (36GB RAM, 512GB SSD) primarily for 4K video editing and coding, and all I can say is—this machine is incredible! Performance Coming from a MacBook Pro M2 Max (38-core GPU, 12-core CPU), I immediately noticed a huge leap in performance. The M4 Max makes editing high-bitrate 4K footage feel effortless, handling multiple layers, effects, and rendering without breaking a sweat. The responsiveness in video editing software like Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Adobe Premiere Pro is unmatched compared to my MacBook. Similarly, for coding, compiling large projects and running intensive workloads is noticeably faster. Whether it’s Xcode, Docker, or AI/ML workloads, the M4 Max powers through without any slowdowns. Storage – Don’t Overpay Apple! If you’re considering upgrading storage from Apple—don’t. The base 512GB SSD is fast, but internal storage upgrades are ridiculously overpriced. Instead, I opted for four 4TB Samsung SSDs, giving me a total of 16.5TB of ultra-fast external storage at a fraction of the cost. This setup works flawlessly for video editing, keeping large project files accessible without filling up internal space. Thermal Performance – Zero Overheating One of my biggest concerns with high-performance machines is thermal management, but the Mac Studio M4 Max stays impressively cool. Unlike some laptops that throttle under heavy loads, this desktop maintains consistent peak performance without overheating. Even during long video renders or complex AI model training, the system remains quiet and efficient. Verdict If you’re a video editor, developer, or power user, the Mac Studio M4 Max is an absolute beast. It’s significantly faster than my M2 Max MacBook Pro and provides desktop-level performance without compromise. Skip Apple’s storage upgrade and invest in high-speed external SSDs instead. Highly recommended!

I love how stable this thing is the amount of ports available, and somehow it plays wow classic with a more stable framerate and about the same fps than my desktop while drawing 500 watts less power (just 100w max) i think i will be using this instead of my space heater of a desktop in the summer! ive been picking around xcode and blender and it seems to handle those just fine - i havent put it thru its paces yet but wow classic barely stresses the thing so i imagine it will rip thru most workloads just fine! iphone mirroring works great although apple pay doesnt work unless you have the touch id keyboard. its silent and the fans rarely turn on while staying cool just thru natural convection. If you wanna play some games after work this is the device for you!