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Mac Studio vs RTX 5090 in Australia
Prices checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:07 am AEST · how we check
Today the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB is A$11,449 at Apple AU (in stock) and the RTX 5090 is A$10,999 at Scorptec (in stock). The RTX 5090 costs A$450 less (4%). For local AI, the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB gives models 192 GB at 1,200 GB/s and the RTX 5090 32 GB at 1,792 GB/s, so the RTX 5090 generates text about 1.6× faster on models both can hold. The Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB runs 5 models we track that the RTX 5090 can't at 4-bit.
Mac Studio: we compare the Mac Studio M5 Ultra (80-core GPU) 256GB, the Mac Studio config closest in price to an RTX 5090. Every config is listed further down.
Side by side
Apple AU · in stock
Scorptec · in stock
of 256 GB unified
of 32 GB VRAM
Which new models each one runs
The newest open models we track that at least one of them can hold, at the usual 4-bit quant with an 8k context. Speeds are bandwidth-based estimates. 5 of the 10 newest models are too big for both.
Every Mac Studio config we price
Mac Studio M5 Max (40-core GPU) 48GB+
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Australia, the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB or the RTX 5090?
The RTX 5090: A$10,999 at Scorptec against A$11,449 for the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB (Apple AU), checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:07 am AEST. We re-check both every day.
Is the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB faster than the RTX 5090 for local AI?
No. On models that fit in both, text generation speed mostly follows memory bandwidth: 1,200 GB/s vs 1,792 GB/s. Our reference test gives 179 vs 290 tok/s (measured / measured).
Which runs bigger AI models?
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB, with 192 GB usable vs 32 GB. Models only it can hold at 4-bit include Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9B (MoE), Qwen3.8 Flash-Next (MoE), Mistral Medium 3.5 128B.
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