// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Idefics2?

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

Idefics2 on the Apple M3 Max 36GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 114k 12.8-15.4 t/s ~0.4-0.5 (slow)
Q8 yes 175k 25.5-30.8 t/s ~0.9-1 (slow)
Q4 yes 202k 45.5-54.9 t/s ~1.5-1.8 (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 Idefics2?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~45.5-54.9 tok/s and fits up to 202k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.5-1.8 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 202k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.