Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB vs NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB)
Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB · NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB)
Verdict
- throughputAcross the 8 models both machines can run, aggregate decode throughput is within 10% — close enough that the difference is smaller than the uncertainty in the underlying benchmarks.
- capacityBoth machines run all 8 compared models, so this is a pure speed and cost decision rather than a capability one.
- costAt 8 hours a day, the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB has approximately 90% lower total monthly cost ($118 against $1,182), for a C corporation in United States (federal).
- powerThe NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB) draws 1350 W under load against 225 W for the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB — a 6.0× difference that shows up in the electricity line and in how loud and hot the room gets.
- evidenceEvery throughput figure in this comparison is estimated. Treat the ranking as indicative and the margins as unreliable.
- recommendationThroughput is close enough to be a wash, so this comes down to cost and capacity: the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB is cheaper to own, and capacity differences above decide which models you can run at all.
Every statement above is generated from the calculations on this page by fixed rules — no prose is written for individual comparisons. If the numbers change, the verdict changes with them.
Hardware
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB | NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price estimate | $11,350 * | $90,082 * |
| Memory | 512 GB | 748 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 1,200 GB/s | 7,100 GB/s |
| Achieved bandwidth | 1,052 GB/s (88%) | 1,065 GB/s (15%) |
| Nominal power | 310 W | 1600 W |
| Measured load power | 225 W | 1350 W |
| Idle power | 14 W | 180 W |
| Architecture | unified memory | unified memory |
Model performance8 models run on both
MiniMax M3GLM-5.3 FlashDeepSeek-V3.2DeepSeek-V4 FlashHunyuan Hy3Qwen3 235B-A22BQwen3.8 Flash NextQwen3.5 122B-A10B
| Model | Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB | NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB) | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax M3 427.04B (23B active) | ~49.4–71.1 t/s Q4_K_M | ~29.3–42.1 t/s Q8_0 | Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB +69% |
| GLM-5.3 Flash 321.323B (18B active) | ~36.6–52.7 t/s Q8_0 | ~37.1–53.3 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
| DeepSeek-V3.2 685.397B (37B active) | ~33.8–48.6 t/s MLX 4-bit | ~31.8–45.8 t/s Q4_K_M | Tie (6%) |
| DeepSeek-V4 Flash 304.18B (13B active) | ~49.8–71.7 t/s Q8_0 | ~50.4–72.6 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
| Hunyuan Hy3 298.786B (21B active) | ~31.6–45.4 t/s Q8_0 | ~32–46 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
| Qwen3 235B-A22B 235.094B (22B active) | ~30.2–43.5 t/s Q8_0 | ~30.6–44 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
| Qwen3.8 Flash Next 180B (6B active) | ~101–145 t/s Q8_0 | ~102–147 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
| Qwen3.5 122B-A10B 125.086B (10B active) | ~63.6–91.6 t/s Q8_0 | ~64.4–92.6 t/s Q8_0 | Tie (1%) |
Differences under 10% are reported as a tie: they are smaller than the spread between published benchmarks of the same configuration, so calling a winner would be false precision. Rows where a model fits on only one machine are decided by capacity, not speed.
Economics — United States (federal), C corporation, 8h/day
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512 GB | NVIDIA DGX Station GB300 (748 GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price estimate | $11,350 | $90,082 |
| Reclaimable VAT | $0 | $0 |
| Net cash at purchase | $11,350 | $90,082 |
| Monthly depreciation | $132.41 | $1,321.20 |
| Monthly electricity | $1.38 (10 kWh) | $10.20 (73 kWh) |
| Tax programme | §179 100.0% | §179 100.0% |
| Tax-programme benefit | $2,383 | $18,917 |
| Monthly economic cost | $118.37 | $1,182.12 |
| Total over 5 years | $7,102 | $70,927 |
Tax assumptions last verified 2026-09-07. Federal planning estimate only, not tax advice. State and local income tax, sales/use tax and incentives are excluded. It assumes 100% business use, a Section 179 election, enough business income to use it, and that the full annual limit remains available.