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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M4 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5-1.5B?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
Qwen2.5-1.5B on the Apple M4 Max 36GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 424k | 120.5-145.4 t/s | ~2.2-2.7 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 448k | 241.1-290.7 t/s | ~4.4-5.3 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 458k | 430.5-519.2 t/s | ~7.9-9.5 (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 Qwen2.5-1.5B?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~430.5-519.2 tok/s and fits up to 458k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~7.9-9.5 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 458k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.