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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 64GB run Pythia-2.8b?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Pythia-2.8b on the Apple M3 Max 64GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 771k | 48.6-58.6 t/s | ~1.2-1.5 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 813k | 97.1-117.1 t/s | ~2.4-2.9 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 832k | 173.5-209.2 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 64GB run Pythia-2.8b?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~173.5-209.2 tok/s and fits up to 832k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~4.3-5.2 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 832k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.