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EveryMac.com
everymac.com › systems › by_processor › apple-m2-macs.html
Apple M2 Processor Mac Specs
Tech specs for all Macs with an Apple M2 processor (CPU). Dates sold, memory info, storage details, identifiers, configuration options and more.

system on a chip (SoC) by Apple for Macintosh computers

The icon for the Apple M2 ARM-based system on a chip used by Apple in its software, advertising et cetera.
The Apple M1
Apple M2 is a series of ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple, launched 2022 to 2023. It is part of the Apple silicon series, as a central processing unit … Wikipedia
Factsheet
General information
Launched June 24, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-06-24)
Designed by Apple
Factsheet
General information
Launched June 24, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-06-24)
Designed by Apple
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Apple_M2
Apple M2 - Wikipedia
October 13, 2025 - The M2 has four high-performance @3.49 GHz "Avalanche" and four energy-efficient @2.42 GHz "Blizzard" cores, first seen in the A15 Bionic, providing a hybrid configuration similar to ARM DynamIQ, as well as Intel's Alder Lake and Raptor Lake processors.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › IMac_(Apple_silicon)
iMac (Apple silicon) - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - The Apple silicon iMac is an all-in-one ... options—21.5 inches (550 mm) and 27 inches (690 mm)—the Apple silicon iMac comes in a single 23.5-inch (600 mm) (rounded to 24-inch) display size....
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/editors › spec'd out 2017 imac pro vs 2023 mac studio m2 max
r/editors on Reddit: Spec'd out 2017 iMac Pro vs 2023 Mac Studio M2 Max
December 21, 2023 -

Not sure which to keep, or if I should just keep both.

In 2020, I got a 2017 iMac Pro from my employer to WFH which they have since let me have.

I always have Adobe Premire, AE, and ME open at the same time. In AE I make minor changes to template projects created by art dep, but from time to time I do use it for some heavier edits.

For now I mainly edit with 4K footage and motion graphics in my timeline, and 90% of my work is short form content for Social platforms for major brands. I really can't remember the last time I worked on any single edit that was longer than 5 minutes. That being said, there are plenty of times where I am working on 8-15 difference assets and exporting 25-40 files in a day and it feels like by the time it's mid afternoon my iMac starts slowing down, which is why I thought about upgrading and prematurely pulled the triggar on a 2023 Mac Studio M2 Max because I found one being sold for $1800 ($2000 regular price) but now I don't really know how much of a better machine I'm getting with the Mac Studio, and if its indeed worth the ~2K I spent.

I also always have Google Chrome, Slack, Apple Music/Youtube playing, Trello app, Frame Transfer app all open in the background.

iMac Pro Specs:
Processor: 3.2 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon W
Memory: 64GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon Pro Vega 64 16GB
Storage: 2TB (of which only 300GB is used - all my work is on seperate SSDs/HDs)
Display: 27" 5K Retina

Mac Studio M2 Max Specs:
Processor: 3.68 GHz - 12 cores (8 performance/4 efficiency)
Memory: 32GB RAM
Graphics: Apple M2 Max 30 Core
Storage: 512GB
Display: Debating on POSSIBLY selling the iMac to purchase the new Mac Monitor (or just using my Thunderbolt display + my Dell 2560 x 1440 monitor for now)

So again, my main concern is that I may have bought a lesser or equal to computer even though I was looking for an upgrade in timeline playback, faster rendering, faster exporting, and being able to handle multiple applications at once.

Has anyone made a similar upgrade, or can provide some insight on important factors that I might not be thinking about to help me finalize my decision?

One of my first ever Reddit posts! I appreciate your time and would love to hear some feedback from the community!

Top answer
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provide some insight on important factors that I might not be thinking about to help me finalize my decision? What kind of validation testing did you do to ensure you need more compute? Sure your networking and attached storage speeds are consistent and solid? Passmark puts the M2 Max roughly twice as fast as the old Xeon you replaced in terms of raw CPU speed, but you took a hit on RAM. What is RAM usage like on the iMac Pro when things get heavy in the afternoon? I would have at least specced the same amount of RAM, but understand you were working with Apple refurb so limited options. Either way, if RAM is constantly filled to the point you are swapping into disk, you will notice to some extent. That said, these new macs have ~5X more memory bandwidth (400GB/s vs 85GB/s) so hopefully performance is equal. More RAM is always better. Consider returning this Studio and finding one with 64GB or more of RAM. The cost difference is trivial if you save a couple hours per day, and it will help a lot with multitasking. Hope it works out, but PM me if you run into issues with the RAM and are past the return period, I was eyeing the same computer to upgrade a 16GB M2 Mini :)
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If slowdowns are affecting your work, upgrading is a good choice. But 32gb of memory on the Mac Studio sounds light. Can you send it back if get one with 64? I've seen enough bugs on my Apple Silicon devices that I'd recommend keeping at least one Intel box around in the short term, whether that's a Windows machine or the iMac. Don't bother with the Apple Studio Display. It's super-expensive, but isn't a color grading monitor. You could get two 27 inch 10-bit monitors from other manufacturers and still have money left over from the cost of Apple's screen.
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Macworld
macworld.com › home › news
M3 iMac: Everything you need to know about Apple's all-in-one desktop
December 13, 2024 - The only other specs that are new are Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, which Apple brought to its other M2 Macs earlier in the year. The M3 iMac includes the same 1080p FaceTime HD camera in the M1 model.
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TechRadar
techradar.com › computing › laptops › macbooks
Apple M2 chip: price, specs, and performance
September 11, 2023 - The Apple M2 chip is definitely better than the Apple M1 chip, though the performance of the M1 vs M2 chip isn't as huge as the M1 was over the last Intel chip in the MacBook Air (2020). Since you can't upgrade the processor in an iMac or MacBook directly, upgrading to the M2 from the Apple M1 chip would require buying a whole new device.
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EveryMac.com
everymac.com › systems › apple › imac › index-imac.html
All Apple iMac Specs (1998-Current): EveryMac.com
Tech specs for all Apple iMac from the original to the latest (1998-Current). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, storage details, configuration options and more.
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Apple
apple.com › imac › specs
iMac - iMac Technical Specifications - Apple
See all the technical specifications for iMac with the M4 chip and 24-inch display.
Find elsewhere
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Tom's Guide
tomsguide.com › computing › computing hardware › cpus
Apple M2 chip — New features, specs and everything we know so far | Tom's Guide
March 30, 2023 - The fact that Apple has finally released the successor to 2020's industry-shaking M1 chip is exciting, especially if you're a Mac fan who's been eyeing a new 13-inch MacBook. The M2 chip is more of a mid-grade slice of Apple silicon that outperforms its M1 predecessor without matching the heights of the most tricked-out M1 Max.
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Apple
apple.com › ca › newsroom › 2023 › 01 › apple-introduces-new-mac-mini-with-m2-and-m2-pro-more-powerful-capable-and-versatile-than-ever
Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro — more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever - Apple (CA)
1 week ago - Designed to dramatically accelerate ... video codecs and can simultaneously play up to five streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 23 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps....
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Apple Support
support.apple.com › en-us › 111867
MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Tech Specs - Apple Support
Configuration tested: M2, 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, 1TB storage.
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Applemuseum
applemuseum.dk › apple_museum › 2010 › 07_imac › specs.html
Apple - iMac - Technical Specifications
iMac is designed with the following ... TFT active-matrix liquid crystal display with IPS technology · Resolution: 1920x1080 pixels · Typical brightness: 330 cd/m2 ·...
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Notebookcheck
notebookcheck.net › Apple-M2-Processor-Benchmarks-and-Specs.632312.0.html
Apple M2 Processor - Benchmarks and Specs - NotebookCheck.net Tech
June 29, 2022 - It offers 8 cores divided in four performance cores and four power-efficiency cores. The big cores offer 192 KB instruction cache, 128 KB data cache, and 16 MB shared L2 cache (up from 12 MB).
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Apple
support.apple.com › en-ca › 112423
iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support (CA)
Typical brightness: 290 cd/m2 · Typical contrast ratio: 800:1 · NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3 · Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI via adapter4 · Built-in iSight camera ·
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CpuTronic
cputronic.com › home › apple m series › apple m2: performance and specs
Apple M2: Detailed Specifications and Benchmark Ratings - CpuTronic
The CPU uses the Apple M-Socket socket. The main feachers of the CPU are: Performance-core Base Frequency - 3.5 GHz, Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency - 3.4 GHz, TDP - 15 W. This chip has integrated graphics.
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Amazon
amazon.com › imac-m2 › s
Amazon.com: Imac M2
Apple 2021 iMac with Apple M1 Chip with 8-core CPU (24-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Green (Renewed) · Apple 2023 iMac with Apple M3 Chip with 8-core CPU (24-inch, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage) Silver (Renewed) · Apple 2023 Mac Mini with Apple M2 Chip with 8-core CPU (8GB ...
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Apple
support.apple.com › en-ca › 112427
iMac (Early 2009) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support (CA)
Typical brightness: 290 cd/m2 (20-inch model); 385 cd/m2 (24-inch models) Typical contrast ratio: 800:1 (20-inch model); 750:1 (24-inch models) 20-inch and 24-inch model with 2.66GHz processor · NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3 ·
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MacRumors
macrumors.com › guide › m2
Apple M2 Chip: Everything You Need to Know - MacRumors
July 14, 2023 - Apple today unveiled new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models powered by its new M2 chip, and tech specs on Apple's website confirm that both notebooks officially support only a single external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz.
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Apple
support.apple.com › en-ca › 108054
Identify your iMac model - Apple Support (CA)
Use this information to find out which iMac you have, and where it fits in the history of iMac.
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Techable
apple.techable.com › home › imac
iMac - Techable.com
July 17, 2024 - Technical specifications for theiMac - Techable Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.