[jnovek]

You are correct, for me TTFT is about 50% longer on an M1 Ultra than on a GPU, but you can also get an M1 Ultra Studio with 32GB for < $2000.

I’m wrong about the prices, but $4k-$5k for a GPU is way out of hobbyist range where a computer that I can use for other stuff is accessible.

[angoragoats]

$3k for a 5090 fits your criteria and is in the same category of "you can use it for other stuff" (gaming), and is going to run circles around the M1 Ultra Mac Studio.

Or you can spend ~$2k on a pair of 3090s, which gives you 48GB of memory and will also be significantly faster than the M1 Ultra.

IMO there is no situation in 2026 where buying a 32GB M1 Ultra is the right move.

edit: for the folks brave enough to try them there are also additional aftermarket/modded options; I've seen both 4080 Super cards upgraded to 32GB of memory, and 4090 cards upgraded to 48GB. The former comes in at $2k-2.5k and would still be faster than the M1 Ultra.