// RUN — FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5-7B?

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

Qwen2.5-7B on the Apple M3 Max 36GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 120k 13.4-16.2 t/s ~0.4-0.5 (slow)
Q8 yes 178k 26.8-32.3 t/s ~0.9-1.1 (slow)
Q4 yes 203k 47.9-57.7 t/s ~1.6-1.9 (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 → Qwen2.5-7B specs → Other hardware

FAQ

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5-7B?▶

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~47.9-57.7 tok/s and fits up to 203k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.6-1.9 tok/s.

How much context fits?▶

At Q4, up to about 203k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.