// RUN — FITS

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

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond 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.