Apple’s move to ARM-based M-series chipsets not only meant that it would have greater control over the hardware but also to reduce reliance on Intel, a company that was displaying next to no progress in making its processors more efficient to the point of being used in the more compact machines. The transition to the Apple Silicon encouraged the production of the current-generation Mac Studio, and when armed with the M3 Ultra, it delivers unrivaled performance while running exceptionally cool.
In fact, one person who owns an entire cluster of Apple’s newest compact workstations showed off the efficiency of these machines compared to the power consumption of a network switch. On idle, the Mac Studio can contribute substantially to a smaller electricity bill, though the initial investment will be quite a mouthful.
When running idle, the Mac Studio cluster consumes between 32W and 34W, making it less than half the amount of the network switch
Content creator and developer Alex Ziskind deployed a Mac Studio cluster consisting of four machines neatly stacked on top of one another on what appears to be a tower-shaped rack. Since all four machines are equipped with an Ethernet port, Ziskind has used a network switch, which is likely to run a multitude of commands through a single network. Here, we are thoroughly impressed with the power efficiency of the M3 Ultra-powered Mac Studio units because, from the wall, these workstations consume between 32-34 watts of power.
The network switch that all of these Mac Studio units are connected to actually utilizes more juice from the wall, with Ziskind showing that the communications accessory can consume 81.9W, making it more than twice as much as those four computers combined. While idle power consumption is thoroughly impressive, the Mac Studio can undoubtedly increase that figure as soon as some load is applied to it, but even then, it is significantly lower than the competition.
power consumption at idle with Mac Studio cluster pic.twitter.com/7DdnJN1bLx
— Alex Ziskind (@digitalix) March 15, 2025
For instance, when running HandBrake, the top-end version of the M3 Ultra uses 77.3 watts of power, making it 55 percent less than AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X, which consumed the least amount of power from all the x86 desktop CPUs tested at 172.6W. Despite these impressive efficiency metrics, the M3 Ultra is the fastest Apple Silicon ever produced, recording a 29 percent improvement in Geekbench 6’s multi-core score compared to the M2 Ultra and outpacing the more power-hungry desktop processors.
It can immediately be assumed that the Mac Studio has been tweaked from the factory to operate silently, with the fan only ramping up when a taxing load has been applied, and those who intend to make a mount like the video above will surely appreciate the efficiency advancements of the M3 Ultra.
News Source: Alex Ziskind
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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