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Can the Apple M2 Max 32GB run Minitron 8B?
Yes โ here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Minitron 8B on the Apple M2 Max 32GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 82k | 16.4-19.8 t/s | ~0.4-0.5 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 145k | 32.8-39.5 t/s | ~0.8-1 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 173k | 58.5-70.6 t/s | ~1.5-1.8 (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 Minitron 8B?โถ
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~58.5-70.6 tok/s and fits up to 173k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.5-1.8 tok/s.
How much context fits?โถ
At Q4, up to about 173k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.