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Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB vs NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB

For running models locally, priced in Germany. At 128k context the first runs 37 models fully in memory, the second 42.

In short

The NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB has more memory for models: 128 GB against 96 GB. At 128k context the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB runs 42 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB 37; only the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB holds DeepSeek V4 Flash. On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB is about 3.2× as fast as the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB (estimated, median across models). In Germany the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB costs 5.999 € at eBay and the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB 8.313 € at eBay: the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB is 2.314 € cheaper.

Updated . Speeds are estimates; how they are worked out.

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB

5.999 €

eBay

Add to build
NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB

8.313 €

eBay

Add to build

Specifications

SpecMac Studio M3 Ultra 96GBNVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB
ChipApple M3 Ultra (80-core GPU)GB10 Grace Blackwell
Memory bus1024-bit256-bit
Memory bandwidth819 GB/s273 GB/s
FP16 compute28 TFLOPS62 TFLOPS
SoftwareMetalCUDA
Unified memory96 GB128 GB
GPU can use by default72 GB119 GB
GPU can use, tuned88 GB122 GB
Operating systemmacosdgx-os
ProcessorM3 Ultra 32-core20-core Arm (GB10)
Storage1000 GB4000 GB

What each runs

Estimated decode speed with the most precise quant that fits each one est.

ModelMac Studio M3 Ultra 96GBNVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB
DeepSeek V4 Flashwon't run6tok/sUD-Q2_K_XL
GLM 5.3 Flashwon't run10tok/sUD-Q2_K_XL
Qwen 3.8 Flash Nextwon't run3tok/sUD-Q4_K_XL
Qwen 3.8 27B14tok/sQ8_05tok/sQ8_0
MiniMax M2.7won't run3tok/sUD-Q2_K_XL
Qwen 3.5 122B-A10B41tok/sQ3_K_M9tok/sQ6_K
Qwen 3.6 27B14tok/sQ8_05tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 Coder Next49tok/sQ6_K14tok/sQ8_0
Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B44tok/sUD-Q3_K_M8tok/sUD-Q6_K
gpt-oss 120B40tok/sMXFP413tok/sMXFP4
Gemma 4 31B12tok/sQ8_04tok/sQ8_0
Mistral Small 4 119B51tok/sUD-Q3_K_M11tok/sUD-Q6_K
Qwen 3.6 35B-A3B55tok/sQ8_017tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 27B14tok/sQ8_05tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 26B-A4B45tok/sQ8_014tok/sQ8_0
GLM 4.5 Air10tok/sQ2_K3tok/sQ6_K
Qwen3 Next 80B-A3B56tok/sQ6_K16tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B55tok/sQ8_017tok/sQ8_0
GLM 4.7 Flash26tok/sQ8_08tok/sQ8_0
Devstral Small 2 24B11tok/sQ8_04tok/sQ8_0
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B76tok/sUD-Q6_K_XL24tok/sUD-Q6_K_XL
Kimi Linear 48B-A3B75tok/sQ8_024tok/sQ8_0
gpt-oss 20B57tok/sMXFP418tok/sMXFP4
Qwen3 Coder 30B-A3B20tok/sQ8_06tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 32B8tok/sQ8_02tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 12B35tok/sQ8_011tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 9B38tok/sQ8_012tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 3 27B13tok/sQ8_04tok/sQ8_0
Mistral Small 3.2 24B11tok/sQ8_04tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B8tok/sQ8_02tok/sQ8_0
Llama 3.3 70Bwon't run1tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 14B15tok/sQ8_05tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 14B14tok/sQ8_05tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B19tok/sQ8_06tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 8B19tok/sQ8_06tok/sQ8_0
Phi-4 14B13tok/sQ8_04tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 4B60tok/sQ8_019tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 8B20tok/sQ8_06tok/sQ8_0
Granite 4.2 8B17tok/sQ8_06tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 E4B44tok/sQ8_014tok/sQ8_0
LFM2.5 8B-A1B43tok/sQ8_014tok/sQ8_0
Llama 3.1 8B22tok/sQ6_K7tok/sQ6_K

Questions

Which is better for local AI, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB or the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?
Choose the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB to run bigger models. Choose the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB for speed. Choose the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB to spend less.
Which can run bigger models, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB or the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?
At 128k context the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB runs 42 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB 37; only the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB holds DeepSeek V4 Flash.
Which is faster for local AI, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB or the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?
On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB is about 3.2× as fast as the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB (estimated, median across models).
What is the price difference between the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB and the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?
In Germany the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB costs 5.999 € at eBay and the NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB 8.313 € at eBay: the Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB is 2.314 € cheaper.

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