// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 36GB run Unicorn?

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

Unicorn on the Apple M3 Max 36GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 54k 9.3-11.2 t/s ~0.3-0.4 (slow)
Q8 yes 121k 18.5-22.4 t/s ~0.6-0.7 (slow)
Q4 yes 151k 33.1-39.9 t/s ~1.1-1.3 (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 Unicorn?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~33.1-39.9 tok/s and fits up to 151k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.1-1.3 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 151k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.