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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run CLIP (ViT L/14@336px)?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
CLIP (ViT L/14@336px) on the Apple M3 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 460k | 275.7-332.4 t/s | ~9.2-11.1 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 466k | 551.4-664.9 t/s | ~18.4-22.2 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 468k | 984.6-1187.3 t/s | ~32.8-39.6 (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 M3 Max 36GB run CLIP (ViT L/14@336px)?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~984.6-1187.3 tok/s and fits up to 468k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~32.8-39.6 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.