M5 Ultra: one 512GB Studio or a 256GB + 96GB setup?
With orders for the 512GB configuration getting closer, and looking at the current prices, I’m starting to wonder about my options.
If the upgrade from 256GB to 512GB ends up costing $5,500 or more, that’s roughly the price of another M5 Ultra with 96GB and a 1TB SSD ($5,499 before tax).
So I’m considering keeping the 256GB Studio as a dedicated AI server and buying the 96GB model as my main computer. The agent harness and tools would run on my everyday Mac, connected to the model server over Ethernet.
I’d like the AI to keep working on tasks while I use my computer for work, photo editing and some video editing, without having to stop everything or unload models.
I know 256GB + 96GB doesn’t give me the same flexibility as 512GB on one machine. My main model and its context would still have to fit on the 256GB server. Clustering would be something to experiment with later.
Anyone here running their model on one Mac and their agent harness on another? Any noticeable latency or issues with tool calls? Has having a dedicated AI machine been worth it?
At a similar total cost, which setup would you choose?
Thanks !
Translate and refined by AI.