If you’re interested in Apple’s newest compact powerhouse, the Mac Studio, you might have noticed a strange discrepancy. There are two versions of the little desktop replacement. One uses Apple’s M1 Max processor, the other the new M1 Ultra chip.

If you peer a little closer at Apple’s official specs list, you’ll see quite a weight difference between the two. The M1 Max machine weighs in at 2.7kg. The M1 Ultra version? 3.6kg. That’s a 900-gram difference. Turns out, there’s a serious reason for the weight change.

The Mac Studio is cool

Both models, internally, are almost entirely identical. Apple’s newest processor doesn’t add the extra weight, but making certain it doesn’t burst into flames does. The extra weight comes from swapping the standard aluminium heatsink for something a little more high-performance.

Apple spokesperson Alex Bender, speaking to The Verge, explained, “They have the same 370W power supply. The additional weight is due to M1 Ultra having a larger copper thermal module, whereas M1 Max has an aluminum heatsink.”

The choice isn’t very unexpected. When we first saw the Mac Studio, we remarked that its entire design seemed dedicated to preventing a fire from breaking out. It’s possible that Apple’s made larger changes to the heatsink than simply swapping in a copper module, but that’ll have to wait till these machines are on sale. And someone with enough money feels like cracking a couple open and peering inside. We’re sure it’ll be instructive. Preventing meltdown from a 20-core processor stuffed into a 20cm² box is an impressive engineering feat on its own.

Source: The Verge