Can the Apple M4 Max (36GB) run Llama 3.1 70B?
- FP16
- Q8_0
- Q6_K
- Q5_K_M
- Q4_K_M
- Q3_K_M
- Q2_K
No. Even at Q4_K_M, Llama 3.1 70B needs about 46.1 GB, but the Apple M4 Max (36GB) has 24.1 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 llama3.1:70bAt Q4_K_M it needs about 46.1 GB, so pick a GPU with at least 48 GB.
New to this? Step-by-step setup for the Apple M4 Max (36GB)
Run it in the cloud
Too big for the Apple M4 Max (36GB)? Run Llama 3.1 70B on a rented GPU instead.
Rent a cloud GPU by the hour. No upfront cost, stop any time. Not sure whether to rent or buy? Compare the cost.
Memory needed by quantization
At 8,192 tokens of context. The black line marks the 24.1 GB the Apple M4 Max (36GB) can use. macOS lets the GPU use about 24.1 GB of the 36 GB unified memory by default.
| Quant | Quality | Memory | Fits? | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | Full quality | 144.5 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q8_0 | Near-lossless | 78.3 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q6_K | Excellent | 61.2 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q5_K_M | Very good | 53.5 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q4_K_M | Good, most popular | 46.1 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q3_K_M | Noticeably degraded | 37.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q2_K | Heavily degraded | 29.8 GB | Too big | — |
Measured speed from real Apple M4 Max (36GB) owners
Tokens per second that people measured on their own Apple M4 Max (36GB), next to our estimate.
No one has measured Llama 3.1 70B on the Apple M4 Max (36GB) yet. The speeds above are estimates. Run the benchmark and yours becomes the first real number on this page.
Have an Apple M4 Max (36GB)? Add your real speed
One command times Llama 3.1 70B in your own Ollama, shows you exactly what it would send, and asks before sending anything. No sign-up, no personal data.
macOS and Linux
curl -fsSL https://gpufit.dev/bench.sh | sh -s -- llama3.1:70bWindows (PowerShell)
$env:GPUFIT_MODEL="llama3.1:70b"; irm https://gpufit.dev/bench.ps1 | iexGPUs that run Llama 3.1 70B comfortably
Frequently asked questions
Can Apple M4 Max (36GB) run Llama 3.1 70B?
No. Even at Q4_K_M, Llama 3.1 70B needs about 46.1 GB, but the Apple M4 Max (36GB) has 24.1 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.
How much VRAM does Llama 3.1 70B need?
About 46.1 GB at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, and about 144.5 GB at full FP16 precision.
How fast is Llama 3.1 70B on the Apple M4 Max (36GB)?
It does not fit in the Apple M4 Max (36GB)'s memory, so most layers would run from system RAM and generation would be very slow.