MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB vs AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB for local AI
The MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB holds 38 of the 55 current models here, and the Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB holds 37. The Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB costs $2,700 less, though the Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB is priced as the card alone, without the PC around it. On Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, the Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB is about 2.5× faster: 30 tok/s against 12, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB pays for itself sooner, in 84 years against 269 years at 500k tokens a day.
| MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB | AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3,999 | $1,299card only |
| Memory | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 48 GB | 31 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 307 GB/s | 640 GB/s |
| Power under load | 140 Wstand-in | 300 W |
| Models that fit | 38 | 37 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 12 tok/s estimated | 30 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 269 years | Pays back in 84 years |
The 140 W beside the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 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 MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB · or the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB
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 AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB 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 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB | AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 2,694 years | 836 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 673 years | 209 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 135 years | 42 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 34 years | 10 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 7.9 yearsits ceiling | 2.1 years |
On Qwen3.8 27B the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB generates at most 17.1M 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 MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB at 20M tokens a day · or the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB
What the extra memory buys
The MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB holds 1 model the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB cannot at 32k of context. That is what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripple 65B Previewnot yet placed | 39 GB | 41 GB | 5.6 tok/s estimated |
The extra memory buys context as well. Of the 37 current models both machines hold at 32k, 12 run to a longer window on the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB: 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 64k on the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB, each the longest window the calculator offers that the machine still holds it at.
The MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB is also head to head with another computer: Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB · Mac Studio M5 Max, 128GB · DGX Spark, 128GB · GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB · MacBook Air M5 (15-inch), 16GB · Beelink GTR9 Pro, 128GB · Minisforum MS-S1 Max, 128GB. With a graphics card: RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, 96GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 24GB · 48GB.
The Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB is also head to head with another card: RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell, 96GB · GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB · GeForce RTX 4090, 24GB · GeForce RTX 3090, 24GB · GeForce RTX 4080, 16GB · GeForce RTX 3060, 12GB. With a complete computer: Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB · Mac Studio M5 Max, 128GB · DGX Spark, 128GB · GMKtec EVO-X2, 128GB · MacBook Air M5 (15-inch), 16GB · Mac mini M6, 32GB.
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. The Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB is priced as the card alone, so add the PC around it before comparing it with a complete computer. All seven cards here are ranked by what each one holds. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 64GB runs · everything the AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700, 32GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier