I’ve been looking into Mac Studios for a couple years now and the general consensus is that they are absolutely capable for working in audio production and, more specifically, working with VST’s, sample libraries, instrument tracks, etc. Now that we have the M3 Ultra cpu on its way in, since I don’t fully know the answer to this question, it’s gotten me wondering. Which option would be best for this workflow: the 28 core or the 32 core cpu? After a brief google search, it’s generally stated that more cores = better performance, which makes sense to me but I wanted to check and make doubly dang sure it’s worth pursuing/forking over the cash for the higher tier cpu.
I am also thinking about this mac studio setup. So, really interesting to know the answer…
in general the physical cores makes the MAC´s perform better in audio. Many people did say that the M2 was better performing than the M3.
I just recently got my first MAC which is a M4 so I am no expert, I just tell you what I learned watching Youtube and reading forums.
but in tests on several DAW´s it seems that Reaper and Cubase are the only DAW´s that use all the cores on MAC, while the rest only use the physical cores and that is why many people were very disappointed with the M3 over the M2.
these tests I saw autum 2024, if it is still true I do not know. Atleast I know that Cubase is absolutely performing top of the class on MAC compared to other daw´s
I ordered a Mac Studio M1 Max the day they were announced/released. It runs Cubase great. I used to use Ableton Live, but the way it handles cores caused it to get bogged down on high track counts with 1 or 2 plugins on each of them. Cubase has never given me a single issue on this Mac. I wouldn’t fret too much over it. Which ever chip you get should be enough… let your wallet be your guide… I doubt you’ll regret it, regardless of which you ultimately decide to purchase
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Using all the cores in a good way is a challenge a DAW. For the creative part of the work I think the 16 Core M4 MAX is better since I think it will have a better low-latency performance with it’s faster cores. But rendering big libraries the M3 ultra might be a better choice if you can accept higher latencies. (To be specific: high latency is > 10ms)
If your choice is between the M3 Ultra with 28 core vs 32 core, get the 32 core. Spend the money and be done with it. 
Mx model comparison isn’t just “cores,” its “efficiency cores vs performance cores” with the added dependency that your apps can (generally) utilize them. I won’t get into too much of a diatribe on it, but I would beware the YouTube Producers showing you the difference in performance by loading 100 tracks of the same thing over multiple processor and system types. A vast majority of those guys don’t have a clue what they are actually talking about, and you don’t have 100 of the exact same track anyway. That’s all I’ll say on that
Here’s what I DON’T see in these discussions. I’m not just running my “audio workflow in Cubase.” That may be what I’m “concentrating” on, and that may be WHY I purchased the system, but that’s not all that is RUNNING.
I recommend you scope your system with the understanding that you are going to have to run a LOT of vendor helpers and background processes. Just a quick example - my general rig consists of Apollo x8’s and SSL UC/UF controllers. I’ve got an NI S88 and Roli Seaboard 2. I use Arturia products, and other vendor products too. Since I’m using UA Console, I leverage UA Midi Remote to control it with my UF8. You can see where I’m going. Before I even LAUNCH Cubendo, I’ve got ALL this running in the background and taking up processing power:
UA helpers and drivers
SSL 360
UA Midi Remote
iLock
NI hardware agents, host integration, NTK daemons
Roli hardware driver
Rogue Amoeba helpers
Artuia ASC
Slate digital helpers
Sonarworks helpers
Steinberg helpers
and the list goes on. I disable many of these, and have even gone out of my way to ensure bloatware dependancies like UA Connect don’t run, but in some cases you can’t effectively work and/or run your plugins when you do this unless you REALLY pay attention.
Lastly, think of all the products, plugins, and instruments that you’ve seen go by just in the last year. Think of all the MacOS updates and feature-sets that are included. Think of advancements in AI and virtualization. More importantly, think of what you did in the last 1 or 2 years that you knew you would do 2.5 years ago. My guess is that you (nor I) were right about what was coming. Don’t just plan for what you’re doing now, plan for what may happen in the future.
I did this exact thing when I purchased my MBP M3 Max with 128GB of ram and an 8TB NVMe SSD. It was NOT cheap. But here I am over a year later and there’s nothing on the market that I need to upgrade my rig to use. I may replace my iMac Pro Intel Xeon 8-core “backup” rig with the new M3 Ultra Studio, but that’s my choice and not one made from not scoping my system properly to begin with.
If I were you, I would buy the 32 core and as much RAM as you can afford. There’s some other advice in this thread that is not necessarily true, but if you get the 32-core it won’t matter 
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Completely forgot to respond haha. Thanks for the responses! I shall go straight for the 32 core, 256gb ram cuz why not? Give myself some wiggle room 
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are you confusing ‘P’ physical core with ‘P’ Performance cores?
All software uses the physical cores…
Cubase and Reaper use performance ‘P’ cores and economy ‘E’ cores , unlke some others.
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what ever these call them 
M4 Pro MacBook Pro: HUGE Leap for Music Production | M4 Pro vs M3 Pro vs M2 Pro vs M1 Pro
this is what I am referring to.
Yeah, he does a pretty good job of designing his test structure. I actually contacted him to let him know he’s ignoring per-track threading and optimization differences between DAWs but he didn’t reply. I don’t know if it’s an “inconvenient truth” or not, but it’s a non-trivial consideration, and I would think he would at least mention it.
This is why I went with the M3 Max though, and the reason why I think a general approach of “paying explicit attention to both the number and ratio of performance cores to efficiency cores” when purchasing. You can’t change when Ableton will support efficiency cores, so the higher the performance cores the better (in general) in that case. You also don’t want to look just at “cores” because though the M1/M2 have 8 cores, there’s only 4 performance cores. The M3 Max is 12P/4E and has been the gem of the lot for me.
That M3 Ultra Studio is actually looking pretty sweet.
it’s even more expensive if you live in the UK!!!
USA prices are cheap in comparison 
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That’s with 512GB of RAM and a 16TB NVMe SSD. The one I “want” is still $8k though, which is a lot. How much more is that build in the UK?
equivalent of $18,384 in the UK
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Holy cow. That is insane!!
Is that with the power cord or is that extra? If it’s extra it could double the price, knowing Apple.
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