// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M2 Max 96GB 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 96GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 1198k 42.4-51.1 t/s ~1.1-1.3 (slow)
Q8 yes 1246k 84.7-102.2 t/s ~2.1-2.6 (slow)
Q4 yes 1268k 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 96GB run Llama 3.2 3B?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~151.3-182.5 tok/s and fits up to 1268k 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 1268k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.