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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M3 Max 64GB run Qwen2-0.5B?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Qwen2-0.5B on the Apple M3 Max 64GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 841k | 272-328 t/s | ~6.8-8.2 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 848k | 544-656 t/s | ~13.6-16.4 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 852k | 971.4-1171.4 t/s | ~24.3-29.3 (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 64GB run Qwen2-0.5B?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~971.4-1171.4 tok/s and fits up to 852k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~24.3-29.3 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 852k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.