Can the Apple M2 Pro (32GB) run Qwen2.5 72B?

Apple M2 Pro (32GB) × Qwen2.5 72B8K context
NoDoes not fit in memory
Memory at Q4_K_M47.4 GB of 21.4 GB
Weights 44.1 GBKV cache 2.7 GBRuntime 0.6 GB
  1. FP16
  2. Q8_0
  3. Q6_K
  4. Q5_K_M
  5. Q4_K_M
  6. Q3_K_M
  7. Q2_K

No. Even at Q4_K_M, Qwen2.5 72B needs about 47.4 GB, but the Apple M2 Pro (32GB) has 21.4 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.

Run it on a rented GPU

On a cloud GPU with enough memory, the same command you'd use locally works:

ollama run qwen2.5:72b

At Q4_K_M it needs about 47.4 GB, so pick a GPU with at least 48 GB.

Run it in the cloud

Too big for the Apple M2 Pro (32GB)? Run Qwen2.5 72B on a rented GPU instead.

Rent a cloud GPU by the hour. No upfront cost, stop any time.

Memory needed by quantization

At 8,192 tokens of context. The black line marks the 21.4 GB the Apple M2 Pro (32GB) can use. macOS lets the GPU use about 21.4 GB of the 32 GB unified memory by default.

QuantQualityMemoryFits?Speed
FP16Full quality148.7 GBToo big—
Q8_0Near-lossless80.5 GBToo big—
Q6_KExcellent62.9 GBToo big—
Q5_K_MVery good55 GBToo big—
Q4_K_MGood, most popular47.4 GBToo big—
Q3_K_MNoticeably degraded38.8 GBToo big—
Q2_KHeavily degraded30.5 GBToo big—

Frequently asked questions

Can Apple M2 Pro (32GB) run Qwen2.5 72B?

No. Even at Q4_K_M, Qwen2.5 72B needs about 47.4 GB, but the Apple M2 Pro (32GB) has 21.4 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.

How much VRAM does Qwen2.5 72B need?

About 47.4 GB at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, and about 148.7 GB at full FP16 precision.

How fast is Qwen2.5 72B on the Apple M2 Pro (32GB)?

It does not fit in the Apple M2 Pro (32GB)'s memory, so most layers would run from system RAM and generation would be very slow.