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Illustrative build · sample prices

Mac Studio M5 Max

No build, no noise. The base Mac Studio runs 27B-class models at Q4 and sits silently on a desk.

Mac Studio
  • Data checked: 2026-10-12. Review interval shown below. Prices need review after 30 days; specifications and benchmark collections after 90 days. Dates describe the recorded check, not a live retailer quote.

    • Verified Checked against the primary source (for example the model’s config.json on Hugging Face).
    • Sourced Taken from a cited source; not yet independently checked.
    • Estimate Calculated with the published formulas; not a measurement.
    • Sample Placeholder data for layout; not a real figure.
    • Not yet measured No public, citable score found for this benchmark yet. We never fill the gap with a guess.

    Verified metadata is not a measured performance result. Only cited runs matching model, device, quant and recorded context can replace speed estimates. Estimates assume one stream and F16 KV cache, with a ±25% uncertainty band. A published run applies only to its recorded runtime and conditions; missing settings are unknown.

    Evidence labels · Freshness policy · Calculation methodology

$2,499
complete-system parts, USDSample
11.7tok/s
Gemma 3 27B ITEstimate
150W
at load; 12 W idle
12.7months
illustrative break-even against a $200/month plan

Includes the listed system parts. Excludes tax, shipping, peripherals, maintenance, financing and resale. Sample parts prices may differ from current hardware catalogue prices. Electricity assumes 150 W whole-system load for 4 h and 12 W idle for 20 h daily, 30 days at $0.15/kWh. Power is unmeasured.

Parts list

Price is sourced (Apple, Aug 2026); base memory and bandwidth are sample.

Part
Item
Price, USD
SystemMac Studio M5 Max (base configuration)$2,499Sourced

No affiliate links yet. Prices will be timestamped per retailer once tracking starts.

Expected speed

Reference models, default quant, 8k context.

Model
Verdict
tok/s
Gemma 3 27B ITFits11.7Estimate
Qwen3 14BFits20.0Estimate
gpt-oss-20bFits90.4Estimate

Break-even card

Electricity $3.78/month (150 W × 4 h + 12 W idle × 20 h, $0.15/kWh).

Plan
Price / month
Months to break even
ChatGPT Plus$20154.1
Claude Pro$20154.1
Google AI Pro$19.99154.2
Claude Max (5×)$10026.0
ChatGPT Pro 100$10026.0
Google AI Ultra (5×)$99.9926.0
Claude Max (20×)$20012.7
ChatGPT Pro 200$20012.7
Google AI Ultra (20×)$199.9912.7
ChatGPT Pro 500 (top tier)$5005.0

Break-even = hardware ÷ (plan − electricity). It ignores capability: a local model is not a frontier model. Adjust the numbers.