Apple’s most expensive Mac Studio configuration now costs $29,799 before tax, after the company made its long-promised 512GB unified-memory option available on Wednesday, October 28. The maximum-priced M5 Ultra desktop combines a 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 512GB of memory and 16TB of solid-state storage. It is built for demanding professional workloads, not ordinary home computing.

The configuration begins at $6,799 with the top M5 Ultra chip and 96GB of memory. Raising memory to 512GB adds $15,500, bringing the machine to $22,299 with its standard 1TB SSD. Upgrading storage to 16TB costs another $7,500. The final price excludes a monitor and accessories. By comparison, the entry-level Mac Studio with M5 Max starts at $2,499.

Apple’s official August 25 introduction of the Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra.

Why does a desktop need half a terabyte of memory?

Apple is pitching the M5 Ultra Mac Studio to AI researchers, visual-effects studios and developers handling data too large for conventional desktop systems. Its unified memory is accessible to the CPU and GPU, and Apple rates memory bandwidth at 1.2TB per second. A larger memory pool can keep substantial AI model weights locally rather than repeatedly moving them between devices or remote servers.

Apple claims the M5 Ultra offers up to 4.3 times the peak AI compute performance of M3 Ultra, although that is a company benchmark rather than a guarantee for every application. Filmmakers and scientists may also use the available memory for large scenes, simulation datasets and high-resolution footage. A higher memory capacity does not automatically make every task faster.

BitcoinVersus.Tech previously covered four Mac Studios linked to run a trillion-parameter AI model and Apple’s smaller Mac mini for local AI. Those examples highlight how Apple is trying to compete for work otherwise run on larger servers, but cloud subscriptions and dedicated GPU systems may still make more financial sense for many users.

The price is a major jump from the $14,099 maximum reported for the 2025 M3 Ultra model, though the processor generation and pricing differ. According to 9to5Mac, early orders of the 512GB configuration were estimated to arrive from late November to early December. The question for buyers is whether private, always-available local compute justifies spending nearly $30,000 on a single desktop.

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