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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run phi-3-medium 14B?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
phi-3-medium 14B on the Apple M3 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 18k | 7.3-8.8 t/s | ~0.2-0.3 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 103k | 14.6-17.6 t/s | ~0.5-0.6 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 141k | 26-31.4 t/s | ~0.9-1 (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 phi-3-medium 14B?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~26-31.4 tok/s and fits up to 141k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~0.9-1 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 141k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.