// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M2 Max 32GB run BGE-M3 Embedding?

Yes โ€” here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.

BGE-M3 Embedding on the Apple M2 Max 32GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 406k 406-489.6 t/s ~10.1-12.2 (slow)
Q8 yes 411k 811.9-979.1 t/s ~20.3-24.5 (slow)
Q4 yes 414k 1449.9-1748.4 t/s ~36.2-43.7 (slow)

Estimate (memory-bound). Beyond "max context" the KV cache spills to SSD swap and speed drops to the "beyond" figure.

FAQ

Can the Apple M2 Max 32GB run BGE-M3 Embedding?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~1449.9-1748.4 tok/s and fits up to 414k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~36.2-43.7 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 414k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.