Can I Run Cosmos 3 on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 21, 2026

Yes — comfortably

Yes, comfortably — Cosmos 3 Nano at Q8_0 needs about 19.2 GB of the 36 GB usable on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB), leaving ~16.8 GB spare and running at ~29.6 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.

Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~29.6 tok/s

MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models36 GB
Memory bandwidth546 GB/s
Form factorLaptop
Operating systemmacOS
Memory upgradeableNo — soldered
Price$3,999 (lib/data/laptops.ts (street price), checked 2026-07-06)

Cosmos 3 on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB): memory by quantization

QuantMemory neededFits 36 GB?Max contextEst. speedDownload
F1634.2 GB✓ Yes16K~17 tok/s32 GB
Q8_019.2 GB✓ Yes16K~29.6 tok/s17 GB
Q6_K15.4 GB✓ Yes16K~36.6 tok/s13.1 GB
Q5_K_M13.6 GB✓ Yes16K~41.1 tok/s11.3 GB
Q4_K_M11.9 GB✓ Yes16K~46.4 tok/s9.7 GB
Q3_K_M9.1 GB✓ Yes16K~59.5 tok/s6.8 GB
Q2_K7.5 GB✓ Yes16K~70.4 tok/s5.3 GB

Which Cosmos 3 sizes fit

VariantNeeds at Q4_K_MFits?Est. speed
Cosmos 3 Super41.8 GB✗ Too large
Cosmos 3 Nano11.9 GB✓ Fits~46.4 tok/s
Cosmos 3 Edge4.1 GB✓ Fits~117 tok/s

What to watch out for

MacBook Pro M4 Max 48 GB limitations

Recommended setup

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

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

Can I run Cosmos 3 on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Yes, comfortably — Cosmos 3 Nano at Q8_0 needs about 19.2 GB of the 36 GB usable on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB), leaving ~16.8 GB spare and running at ~29.6 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.

Which quantization of Cosmos 3 should I use on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Q8_0 — it needs about 19.2 GB of the 36 GB available, downloads as roughly 17 GB, and runs at an estimated 29.6 tokens/sec with up to 16K of context.

What limits Cosmos 3 on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)?

Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.

Which runtime should I use?

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

Other Computers

Other Models on MacBook Pro 16" (M4 Max, 48 GB)

Cosmos 3 on GPUs

What This Model Is Good At

Model & Tools

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