// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 48GB run Megatron-LM (355M)?

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

Megatron-LM (355M) on the Apple M3 Max 48GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 625k 383.1-462 t/s ~9.6-11.5 (slow)
Q8 yes 631k 766.2-923.9 t/s ~19.2-23.1 (slow)
Q4 yes 633k 1368.2-1649.9 t/s ~34.2-41.2 (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 48GB run Megatron-LM (355M)?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~1368.2-1649.9 tok/s and fits up to 633k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~34.2-41.2 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 633k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.