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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M4 Max 36GB run CausalLM 34B β?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
CausalLM 34B β on the Apple M4 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | no | — | — | — |
| Q8 | no | — | — | — |
| Q4 | yes | 44k | 19.3-23.2 t/s | ~0.4-0.4 (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 M4 Max 36GB run CausalLM 34B β?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~19.3-23.2 tok/s and fits up to 44k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~0.4-0.4 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 44k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.