Can I Run Bonsai 27B on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 128 GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 15, 2026

Yes — comfortably

Yes, comfortably — 1-bit Bonsai 27B at Q8_0 needs about 31.2 GB of the 96 GB usable on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 128 GB), leaving ~64.8 GB spare and running at ~9.8 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 262,144 tokens of context.

Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~9.8 tok/s

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MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 128 GB) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models	96 GB
Memory bandwidth	546 GB/s
Form factor	Laptop
Operating system	macOS
Memory upgradeable	No — soldered

Bonsai 27B on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 128 GB): memory by quantization

Quant	Memory needed	Fits 96 GB?	Max context	Est. speed	Download
F16	56.5 GB	✓ Yes	128K	~5.4 tok/s	54 GB
Q8_0	31.2 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~9.8 tok/s	28.7 GB
Q6_K	24.7 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~12.5 tok/s	22.1 GB
Q5_K_M	21.7 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~14.3 tok/s	19.1 GB
Q4_K_M	18.8 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~16.6 tok/s	16.3 GB
Q3_K_M	14.1 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~22.5 tok/s	11.5 GB
Q2_K	11.4 GB	✓ Yes	256K	~28.1 tok/s	8.9 GB

Which Bonsai 27B sizes fit

Variant	Needs at Q4_K_M	Fits?	Est. speed
1-bit Bonsai 27B	18.8 GB	✓ Fits	~16.6 tok/s
Ternary Bonsai 27B	18.8 GB	✓ Fits	~16.6 tok/s

What to watch out for

This model does not publish its full attention configuration, so the KV-cache share of these figures is inferred from its parameter count rather than computed exactly.
Memory on this machine is not upgradeable, so the configuration you buy is the ceiling for every model you will ever run on it.

MacBook Pro M4 Max 128 GB limitations

Unified memory is soldered — the 128 GB decision is permanent and cannot be upgraded later.
Sustained decode speed on battery is materially below the plugged-in figures quoted here.

Recommended setup

Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput

How these numbers are calculated

Memory need = quantized weights + KV cache at 8,192 tokens (f16) + 0.8 GB runtime overhead.
128 GB unified memory at 546 GB/s, shared between CPU and GPU.
macOS reserves a share of unified memory for the system, so not all of it is available to a model.
Throughput is a memory-bandwidth roofline estimate, not a measurement. It is labelled "estimated" everywhere it appears.
KV cache is inferred from the parameter count because this model does not publish its full attention configuration.

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