Deals

Mac Studio, M5 Ultra (30-core CPU / 64-core GPU, or 36 / 80) vs DGX Spark, 128 GB (NVIDIA and OEM GB10 versions)

Specs checked 2026-10-15; prices re-checked 2026-10-20. Derived numbers are bounds, not measurements (rules). We make a Mac app (Akhna); read the Mac column with that in mind.

Specs

Mac Studio, M5 Ultra (30-core CPU / 64-core GPU, or 36 / 80)DGX Spark, 128 GB (NVIDIA and OEM GB10 versions)
Memory96, 256 or 512 GB; Apple lists 256 and 512 GB with the 36/80-core chip; the 512 GB option ships in 10-12 weeks (2026-10-30) spec [S1] [S12] [S62]128 GB LPDDR5x unified, 256-bit spec [S14]
Usable for the model, per option derived96 GB → 72.0 GB usable, ~128B at 4-bit
256 GB → 192.0 GB usable, ~341B at 4-bit
512 GB → 384.0 GB usable, ~683B at 4-bit
128 GB → 96.0 GB usable, ~171B at 4-bit
Bandwidth1,200 GB/s spec [S1]273 GB/s spec [S14]
Published computenot published; Apple: 'up to 4.3x the peak AI compute' of M3 Ultra (Apple's test), relative only spec [S2]'Up to 1 PFLOP FP4' (sparse FP4 per The Register); no FP16/BF16 peak published. StorageReview measured 99.8 TFLOPS BF16 on a matmul test (2025-10-14) - an achieved rate, not a peak spec [S14] [S16] [S19]
Power9 W idle / 385 W max for 36/80-core, 512 GB, 16 TB; 480 W enclosure max continuous spec [S1] [S7] (whole computer)GB10 TDP 140 W; 240 W external supply spec [S14] [S15] (whole computer)
SoftwareMetal, MLX; no CUDACUDA on Arm (aarch64 packages)
Prices$5,499: 30/64-core, 96 GB / 1 TB (2026-08-25) spec [S2]
$10,799: 36/80-core, 256 GB / 1 TB (Apple configurator: 512 GB/16 TB $29,799 minus the 256 GB and 1 TB steps) (2026-10-30) spec [S62]
$22,299: 36/80-core, 512 GB / 1 TB (Apple configurator: $29,799 minus the 1 TB step of $7,500) (2026-10-30) spec [S62]
$29,799: 36/80-core, 512 GB / 16 TB (top configuration) (2026-10-30) spec [S62]
$6,950: NVIDIA's own unit (Founders Edition) (2026-10-02) cited [S17]

Bandwidth ratio: 4.40x derived. For one user writing an answer, the decode ceiling scales with it (rule 1), as long as the model fits both.

Answer speed ceilings, tokens/s derived

Model (4-bit)Mac Studio, M5 Ultra (30-core CPU / 64-core GPU, or 36 / 80)DGX Spark, 128 GB (NVIDIA and OEM GB10 versions)
8B dense (Llama 3 8B shape), short context26761
8B dense (Llama 3 8B shape), 32,768 tokens13631
30B-A3B MoE (Qwen3-30B-A3B), short context646147
30B-A3B MoE (Qwen3-30B-A3B), 32,768 tokens23654
70B dense (Llama 3 70B shape), short context307
70B dense (Llama 3 70B shape), 32,768 tokens245
235B-A22B MoE (Qwen3-235B-A22B), short context97 (256 / 512 GB only)does not fit

Time to read a 16,000-token prompt derived

Neither maker publishes a dense FP16/BF16 peak, so no floor can be derived: prefill on these two has to be measured.

Where to look

Apple Mac Studio · NVIDIA DGX Spark (maker pages)

Sources

  1. [S1] Apple, Mac Studio tech specs
  2. [S2] Apple newsroom, new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra (2026-08-25)
  3. [S3] Apple, Mac Studio buy page
  4. [S4] Apple, MacBook Pro tech specs
  5. [S5] Apple, Mac mini tech specs
  6. [S7] Apple Support, Mac Studio power consumption and thermal output
  7. [S9] Daring Fireball, M5 Max Mac Studio base prices (2026-08-25)
  8. [S10] EveryMac, Mac Studio M5 Max 18-core CPU / 40-core GPU
  9. [S12] MacRumors, 512 GB M5 Ultra in October (2026-08-25)
  10. [S13] Macworld, M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini prices (2026-08-25)
  11. [S14] NVIDIA, DGX Spark product page
  12. [S15] NVIDIA docs, DGX Spark hardware overview
  13. [S16] The Register, GB10 workstations arrive (2025-10-13)
  14. [S17] The Register, $4,999 64 GB DGX Spark; 128 GB to $6,950 (2026-10-02)
  15. [S18] NVIDIA blog, DGX Spark 64 GB (2026-10-02)
  16. [S19] StorageReview, DGX Spark review (2025-10-14)
  17. [S21] Tom's Hardware, DGX Spark $3,999 to $4,699 (Feb 2026; headline read)
  18. [S22] AMD, Ryzen AI Max+ 395 specifications
  19. [S23] AMD blog, Variable Graphics Memory FAQ (2025-07-29)
  20. [S24] AMD, Ryzen AI Halo with Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495
  21. [S25] AMD blog, Ryzen AI Halo and Ryzen AI Max PRO 400 series (2026-05-20)
  22. [S26] AMD ROCm on Radeon and Ryzen, Linux support matrices (7.2.1)
  23. [S27] Framework, Desktop DIY Edition (prices, stock)
  24. [S28] Framework, Desktop overview
  25. [S29] Framework blog, 192 GB Framework Desktop pre-order (2026-09-30)
  26. [S31] Tom's Hardware, $3,999 Ryzen AI Halo (headline read)
  27. [S32] NVIDIA, RTX Blackwell GPU architecture whitepaper (Table 3)
  28. [S33] NVIDIA, GeForce RTX 5090 product page
  29. [S34] NVIDIA, GeForce RTX 4090 product page
  30. [S35] NVIDIA, GeForce compare page
  31. [S36] NVIDIA newsroom, RTX 50 series prices (2025-01-06)
  32. [S37] GPU Poet, RTX 5090 prices September 2026 (eBay listings)
  33. [S38] Wikipedia, GeForce RTX 40 series
  34. [S39] NVIDIA, RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell
  35. [S40] NVIDIA, RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell
  36. [S42] Llama 3 paper, Table 3
  37. [S43] Qwen3-30B-A3B model card
  38. [S44] Qwen3-30B-A3B config.json
  39. [S45] Qwen3-235B-A22B model card
  40. [S46] MLX docs, mlx.core.quantize
  41. [S47] mlx-lm README
  42. [S48] Rajbhandari et al., ZeRO
  43. [S49] Let's Data Science, RTX PRO 6000 price (2026-08-12)
  44. [S50] PCMag via Yahoo, $3,999 DGX Spark (2025-10-13)
  45. [S51] NVIDIA Developer Forums, 2/23/2026 price change (search result)
  46. [S52] Phoronix, Framework Desktop PRO 495 from $6,799 (2026-09-30)
  47. [S53] Let's Data Science, Strix Halo mini PC for $3,999 (2026-07-06)
  48. [S54] gpuprix, RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell US prices
  49. [S55] SHI, PNY RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (search result)
  50. [S56] Intel, Thunderbolt 5 technology brief
  51. [S57] EveryMac, Mac Studio M5 Ultra 30-core CPU / 64-core GPU
  52. [S58] Daring Fireball, configurations and pricing for new Mac minis and Mac Studios (2026-08)
  53. [S59] Framework, Desktop DIY (Max+ PRO 495) configurator: SSD extra or bring your own; Batch 2 ships November (read 2026-10-20)
  54. [S60] Borncity, Ryzen AI Halo 192 GB at Micro Center for $7,299 (2026-10-14)
  55. [S61] PCWorld, the RTX Spark laptops available at launch (2026-10-08)
  56. [S20] NVIDIA docs, RTX Spark porting guide, system overview
  57. [S62] Apple, Mac Studio configurator (36/80-core M5 Ultra, 512 GB, 16 TB: $29,799; option steps shown; ships 10-12 weeks; read 2026-10-30)

Accessed 2026-10-15; volatile prices re-checked 2026-10-20.