Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB vs Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB for local AI
The GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB holds 33 of the 39 open models here, and the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB holds 27. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB costs $1 less. On Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB is about 2.5× faster: 25 tok/s against 10, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB pays for itself sooner, in 44 years against 46 years at 500k tokens a day.
| Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3,499 | $3,500 |
| Memory | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 48 GB | 96 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 614 GB/s | 256 GB/s |
| Power under load | 145 Wstand-in | 150 W |
| Models that fit | 27 | 33 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 25 tok/s estimated | 10 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 44 years | Pays back in 46 years |
The 145 W beside the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB is a stand-in, not a figure for that machine: the data borrows it from the nearest hardware it does have, and the machine's own page names which and why. So the two figures above are not like for like, and the electricity in its pay-back here is priced from a borrowed number.
Run the numbers on the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB · or the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB
The same money, two different machines
These two cost within $1 of each other: $3,499 for the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB and $3,500 for the GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB. Apple makes one and GMKtec the other. Every other head-to-head on this site holds a piece of the hardware equal and asks what the price gap buys. This one holds the price, so the row that usually carries the answer is the row the two machines agree on, and everything under it is what the same money buys twice.
How much use it takes to pay back
Everything above is at 500k tokens a day. Pay-back moves with how much you actually run, so here are both machines on Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB pays back sooner at every level of use, so this is not a choice that turns on how hard you work it.
| A day's use | Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 436 years | 464 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 109 years | 116 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 22 years | 23 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 5.5 years | 5.8 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 13 months | 20 monthsits ceiling |
On Qwen3.8 27B the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB generates at most 14.3M tokens a day, so its figure at 20M tokens a day is for the most it can do, not for the whole of what was asked.
Run the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB at 20M tokens a day · or the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB
What the extra memory buys
The Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB holds 6 models the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB cannot at 32k of context. The strongest of them are what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ling 3.0 flashHaiku-class | 78 GB | 82 GB | 20 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3.5 122B-A10BHaiku-class | 78 GB | 79 GB | 20 tok/s estimated |
| gpt-oss-120bBelow every hosted tier | 63 GB | 65 GB | 37 tok/s measured |
| Mistral Small 4 (119B-2603)Below every hosted tier | 74 GB | 75 GB | 32 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3-Coder NextBelow every hosted tier | 48 GB | 49 GB | 54 tok/s estimated |
| Devstral 2 123BBelow every hosted tier | 75 GB | 87 GB | 2.2 tok/s estimated |
The extra memory buys context as well. Of the 27 models both machines hold at 32k, 4 run to a longer window on the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB: the weights are a fixed size and the KV cache is not, so what the weights leave spare is what a longer context grows into. Gemma 4 31B it reaches 256k there against 128k on the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB, each the longest window the calculator offers that the machine still holds it at.
The Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB is also head to head with another computer: Framework Desktop, 128GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 48GB · 128GB. With the machine it replaced: Mac Studio M4 Max, 64GB.
The GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB is also head to head with another computer: Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB · Mac Studio M5 Max, 128GB · DGX Spark, 128GB · MacBook Air M5 (15-inch), 16GB · MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB · Framework Desktop, 128GB. With a graphics card: RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, 96GB · Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 64GB.
The assumptions behind both columns
Both columns use the same usage: 500k tokens a day at 15:1 input to output, 32k of context, $0.17 per kWh, and today's API prices held flat. Speeds marked estimated are worked out from memory bandwidth rather than measured, and pay-back scales with them. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the Mac Studio M5 Max, 64GB runs · everything the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier