// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run ESM1-85M?

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

ESM1-85M on the Apple M3 Max 36GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 469k 1198.6-1445.4 t/s ~40-48.2 (slow)
Q8 yes 470k 2397.2-2890.7 t/s ~79.9-96.4 (slow)
Q4 yes 471k 4280.7-5162 t/s ~142.7-172.1 (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 ESM1-85M?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~4280.7-5162 tok/s and fits up to 471k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~142.7-172.1 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 471k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.