// RUN — FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Gemma 7B?

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

Gemma 7B on the Apple M3 Max 36GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 105k 11.9-14.4 t/s ~0.4-0.5 (slow)
Q8 yes 171k 23.9-28.8 t/s ~0.8-1 (slow)
Q4 yes 199k 42.7-51.5 t/s ~1.4-1.7 (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 36GB → Gemma 7B specs → Other hardware

FAQ

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Gemma 7B?▶

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~42.7-51.5 tok/s and fits up to 199k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.4-1.7 tok/s.

How much context fits?▶

At Q4, up to about 199k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.