// RUN — FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 128GB run Gemma 4 12B?

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

Gemma 4 12B on the Apple M3 Max 128GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 547k 11.3-13.7 t/s ~0.3-0.3 (slow)
Q8 yes 621k 22.7-27.3 t/s ~0.6-0.7 (slow)
Q4 yes 653k 40.5-48.8 t/s ~1-1.2 (slow)

Estimate (memory-bound). Beyond "max context" the KV cache spills to SSD swap and speed drops to the "beyond" figure.

→ All models on the Apple M3 Max 128GB → Gemma 4 12B specs → Other hardware

FAQ

Can the Apple M3 Max 128GB run Gemma 4 12B?▶

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~40.5-48.8 tok/s and fits up to 653k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1-1.2 tok/s.

How much context fits?▶

At Q4, up to about 653k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.