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Can the Apple M3 Max 48GB run SciBERT?
Yes โ here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
SciBERT on the Apple M3 Max 48GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 633k | 1236.4-1490.9 t/s | ~30.9-37.3 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 635k | 2472.7-2981.8 t/s | ~61.8-74.5 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 635k | 4415.6-5324.7 t/s | ~110.4-133.1 (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 48GB run SciBERT?โถ
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~4415.6-5324.7 tok/s and fits up to 635k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~110.4-133.1 tok/s.
How much context fits?โถ
At Q4, up to about 635k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.