// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M2 Max 64GB run Llama 3.2 3B?

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

Llama 3.2 3B on the Apple M2 Max 64GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 758k 42.4-51.1 t/s ~1.1-1.3 (slow)
Q8 yes 807k 84.7-102.2 t/s ~2.1-2.6 (slow)
Q4 yes 829k 151.3-182.5 t/s ~3.8-4.6 (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 64GB run Llama 3.2 3B?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~151.3-182.5 tok/s and fits up to 829k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~3.8-4.6 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 829k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.