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// RUN — FITS
Can the Apple M4 Max 48GB run phi-3-small 7.4B?
Yes — here's how fast and up to what context, with real measured numbers.
phi-3-small 7.4B on the Apple M4 Max 48GB
| Quant | Fits? | Max context | Speed | Beyond context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | yes | 205k | 25.1-30.3 t/s | ~0.5-0.6 (slow) |
| Q8 | yes | 262k | 50.2-60.5 t/s | ~0.9-1.1 (slow) |
| Q4 | yes | 287k | 89.6-108 t/s | ~1.6-2 (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 M4 Max 48GB run phi-3-small 7.4B?▶
Yes. At Q4 it generates ~89.6-108 tok/s and fits up to 287k context; beyond that it spills to SSD swap and slows to ~1.6-2 tok/s.
How much context fits?▶
At Q4, up to about 287k tokens stay in fast memory; longer context spills to SSD swap and throughput collapses.