// RUN โ€” FITS

Can the Apple M3 Max 48GB run Stable Code 3B?

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

Stable Code 3B on the Apple M3 Max 48GB

QuantFits?Max contextSpeedBeyond context
FP16 yes 551k 48.6-58.6 t/s ~1.2-1.5 (slow)
Q8 yes 594k 97.3-117.3 t/s ~2.4-2.9 (slow)
Q4 yes 612k 173.7-209.5 t/s ~4.3-5.2 (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 Stable Code 3B?โ–ถ

Yes. At Q4 it generates ~173.7-209.5 tok/s and fits up to 612k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~4.3-5.2 tok/s.

How much context fits?โ–ถ

At Q4, up to about 612k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.