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Can the Apple M2 Max 96GB run CausalLM 34B β?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
CausalLM 34B β on the Apple M2 Max 96GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 61k | 4-4.8 t/s | ~0.1-0.1 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 193k | 7.9-9.5 t/s | ~0.2-0.2 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 250k | 14.1-17 t/s | ~0.4-0.4 (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 96GB run CausalLM 34B β?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~14.1-17 tok/s and fits up to 250k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~0.4-0.4 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 250k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.