Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) VS Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) offers significantly more SSD storage with 16000GB, compared to the 2000GB in the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus. Both products use NVMe SSDs, ensuring fast storage speeds, though the Mac Studio has a much larger storage capacity. In terms of physical dimensions, the Mac Studio is notably bulkier, measuring 196 mm in thickness, 94 mm in height, and 196 mm in width, with a weight of 3640 g. By contrast, the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus is much more compact and lightweight, with a thickness of 112 mm, height of 42 mm, width of 144 mm, and weight of 600 g. Additionally, the volume of the Mac Studio is 3611.104 cm³, far larger than the NUC’s 677.376 cm³, reflecting its larger physical footprint.

Overall, the Mac Studio is built for users who require more storage and a larger form factor, while the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus prioritizes portability with its smaller size and lighter weight.

Both products are equipped with NVMe SSDs, ensuring fast read and write speeds, but they differ greatly in storage capacity and physical dimensions.

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) and the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus differ significantly in CPU specifications. The Mac Studio has a higher Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 80W, compared to the 28W TDP of the NUC. This indicates that the Mac Studio may generate more heat and likely requires better cooling. In terms of CPU speed, the Mac Studio features 24 cores running at 3.7 GHz and 8 cores running at 3.4 GHz, while the NUC has 6 cores running at 2.2 GHz and 8 cores at 1.7 GHz. The Mac Studio's CPU configuration allows for a greater number of high-speed cores, which could lead to better overall performance for demanding tasks.

Both products have integrated graphics and support 64-bit computing, ensuring compatibility with modern software. However, neither product utilizes multithreading, meaning each core can handle only one thread at a time. The Mac Studio offers 32 CPU threads, twice as many as the 16 threads available on the NUC.

Overall, the Mac Studio's CPU offers more power with its higher TDP, faster core speeds, and larger number of threads, while the Asus NUC is more modest in terms of raw performance and power consumption.

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) and the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus both feature a 3 nm semiconductor size, ensuring efficient and modern graphics processing. However, they differ in the version of PCI Express (PCIe) they support. The Mac Studio uses PCIe 4, while the NUC supports the newer PCIe 5, which may offer higher data transfer speeds for compatible components.

When it comes to display support, the Mac Studio can handle up to 8 displays, which is double the 4 displays supported by the Asus NUC. This makes the Mac Studio a more suitable option for multi-display setups, such as in professional video or design work.

In summary, while both products are built with modern semiconductor technology, the Mac Studio has an advantage in display support, whereas the NUC benefits from the newer PCIe 5 standard.

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) and the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus both feature DDR5 memory, ensuring high-speed performance. However, they differ significantly in the amount of RAM. The Mac Studio is equipped with 512GB of RAM, whereas the NUC comes with 96GB of RAM. This substantial difference in memory means that the Mac Studio is better suited for memory-intensive tasks, such as video editing, 3D rendering, or running virtual machines.

Both systems use DDR5 memory, which is the latest generation of DDR memory, providing faster speeds and better energy efficiency compared to older DDR types. While the memory version is the same across both products, the total RAM capacity varies greatly, with the Mac Studio offering over five times the amount of RAM found in the NUC.

In summary, while both products offer DDR5 memory, the Mac Studio’s 512GB of RAM provides a significant advantage for users who require large memory capacities for demanding applications.

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) and the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus both offer solid connectivity options, but they differ in certain aspects. Both devices support Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4, and Wi-Fi 6E, but the NUC also includes support for the newer Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), which the Mac Studio does not support.

In terms of Bluetooth, the Mac Studio uses Bluetooth version 5.3, while the NUC uses the slightly newer Bluetooth version 5.4. Both systems support Bluetooth connectivity, so there is no major difference in this regard.

When it comes to USB ports, the Mac Studio has a total of 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports and 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C ports, with no USB 4 or Thunderbolt ports. The NUC, on the other hand, has a wider variety of ports, including 2 USB 4 40Gbps ports, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports, and 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, offering more flexibility for high-speed data transfer and external device connections. Additionally, the NUC features 2 HDMI ports, while the Mac Studio only offers 1 HDMI port. Both devices include an RJ45 port for wired Ethernet and a 3.5 mm audio jack, but neither has a VGA connector or an S/PDIF Out port.

The Apple Mac Studio 2025 (M3 Ultra) and the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus differ in several key miscellaneous specifications. The Mac Studio is classified as a desktop, while the NUC is classified as a laptop, indicating the form factor difference between the two devices. In terms of maximum memory, the Mac Studio supports up to 512GB of RAM, far exceeding the NUC's maximum of 96GB.

Both systems support the NX bit, which is used for security features like data execution prevention. Neither product supports ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory, so both devices are similar in that regard. Additionally, both systems use big.LITTLE technology, which enables efficient power usage by utilizing a mix of high-performance and low-power cores.

In summary, the Mac Studio offers a much higher maximum memory capacity, is a desktop, and shares similar features like the NX bit, ECC memory support, and big.LITTLE technology with the NUC, but the NUC is a more compact laptop form factor.