Apple's Mac Studio is a ridiculously powerful computer for pro users, and unfortunately it's also an expensive one. But if you go down to Argos today you can get it for an incredibly low price of just £1,499. That's the lowest price I've seen anywhere, £500 less than its original price and £600 cheaper than Apple's current version.
This is the M1 Max model, which is from 2022 – and it's still an excellent buy in 2023, especially at this price. While it's a powerful machine it's almost silent in operation, and if you're looking for a Mac to run huge Logic or Final Cut projects it's definitely worth considering.
What Mac Studio deal is Argos offering?
Argos is also selling the newer 2023 M2 Max version, but that's the same price as Apple: £2,099. And while the M1 Max isn't as powerful, it's £600 cheaper right now and I'm not sure the M2 version is worth spending the extra money on unless you're really going to push its processor to the absolute limits.
I think most of us wouldn't. I'm running massive Logic projects on a M-powered Mac mini that doesn't have anything close to the spec of this M1 Max, and it doesn't even break a sweat. And the spec here is very high indeed: that 10-core M1 Max processor, 32GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD. Pro users tend to want plenty of ports, and this Mac has all the key ones you could need as well as Wi-Fi 6 and an SDXC card reader slot.
We haven't reviewed this specific Studio, but many of the things we said in our Mac Studio (M2) review apply just as much to this model: it's "designed for users that push their Macs harder, with video, audio and 3D processing" and it's a couple of thousand quid cheaper than the Mac Pro. It's also better suited to demanding apps than a similarly specced Mac mini: "The Mac Studio still fits neatly under your monitor so takes up no more space on your desk, plus the extra thermal architecture inside means that even if that chip is worked enough to heat up, it will stay cooler."
I'm a big fan of desktop Macs, especially ones where you can add one of the best monitors – or several of them – rather than sticking with a built-in screen. If this deal had been available when I was shopping for my new Mac, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat.
