AI Workstations Guide Update: Mac Studio M5 Max and M5 Ultra Added
updateaiapplenvidia
I've refreshed the AI Workstations (GPU+CPU Combos) guide and renamed it around the term I now use for the category.
These systems pair a CPU and GPU with shared unified memory, so local inference can draw on far more memory than a single graphics card carries. I keep them in this guide rather than the ranking tables because they compete against a full multi-GPU build, not against one card.
What's new
- Mac Studio M5 Max and M5 Ultra. Apple announced both on August 25, 2026, with shipments starting September 22. I cover the M5 Max configurable to 128GB of unified memory and the M5 Ultra configurable to 256GB and 512GB. Configurations at 512GB follow in late October. No independent benchmarks exist yet, so I treat vendor figures as claims for now.
- Dated price history. The guide's price table now shows May 2026 alongside September 2026, so shifts over time stay visible in one place.
- Coverage additions. I added the RTX Spark N1X ahead of its October 2026 arrival, and I updated the DGX Station GB300 to reflect that it is now shipping.