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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run BART-large?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
BART-large on the Apple M3 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 459k | 251.1-302.7 t/s | ~8.4-10.1 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 465k | 502.1-605.5 t/s | ~16.7-20.2 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 468k | 896.6-1081.2 t/s | ~29.9-36 (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 M3 Max 36GB run BART-large?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~896.6-1081.2 tok/s and fits up to 468k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~29.9-36 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 468k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.