Can I Run DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B on Apple M1?
Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026
These figures are for DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B, a distill of Qwen2.5-14B — not the full DeepSeek R1. The full DeepSeek R1 (671B) needs about 405 GB of weights at Q4_K_M and is a different model.
Yes, comfortably — DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B at Q4_K_M needs 10.6 GB at 8K context (8.5 GB weights + 2.1 GB KV cache/overhead), leaving ~1.4 GB of the Apple M1's 12 GB usable memory, at ~4 tok/s (est.), with room for up to 16K context.
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Apple M1 Specs
| VRAM | 16 GB unified memory |
| Memory Bandwidth | 68 GB/s |
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B on the Apple M1: VRAM by quantization
| Quant | VRAM needed | Fits 16 GB? | Max context | Whole PC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 30.1 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q8_0 | 17 GB | ✗ No | — | Build for this |
| Q6_K | 13.6 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q5_K_M | 12.1 GB | ✗ No | — | Build for this |
| Q4_K_M | 10.6 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | Build for this |
| Q3_K_M | 8.1 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | — |
| Q2_K | 6.7 GB | ✓ Yes | 32K | — |
Assumes an 8K-token context with an f16 KV cache. A longer window needs more; a quantized KV cache needs less. “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 16 GB of unified memory. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.
Context costs VRAM too. At Q4_K_M on the Apple M1: 8K 10.6 GB · 32K 14.6 GB ✗ · 128K 30.7 GB ✗. Past 32K it no longer fits 16 GB — a q8_0 KV cache buys roughly half of that back, which the calculator will price for you.
No compatible GPU? DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B on 16 GB of system RAM, CPU only: runs, but it is tight.
DeepSeek R1 Sizes That Fit the Apple M1 (at 8K context)
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B | Q4_K_M · 10.6 GB at 8K context · ~4 tok/s (est.) |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B | Q4_K_M · 6.7 GB at 8K context · ~7 tok/s (est.) |
DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-14B needs ~11 GB but this GPU has 16 GB. Rent a RTX 4090 (24 GB)-class GPU by the hour instead of buying one:
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Cloud rates verified 2026-07 — estimates, and marketplace prices vary. Buying price is GPU MSRP only, not a full PC.
FAQ
Will DeepSeek R1 run on the Apple M1?
Yes, comfortably — DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B at Q4_K_M needs 10.6 GB at 8K context (8.5 GB weights + 2.1 GB KV cache/overhead), leaving ~1.4 GB of the Apple M1's 12 GB usable memory, at ~4 tok/s (est.), with room for up to 16K context.
Which DeepSeek R1 variant fits best on the Apple M1?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B at Q4_K_M quantization needs 10.6 GB at 8K context (8.5 GB weights + 2.1 GB KV cache/overhead), estimated ~4 tokens/sec, up to 16K context.
Every DeepSeek R1 size on the Apple M1
| Size | VRAM at 8K | Verdict | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek R1 (671B) | 406.5 GB | Does not fit | — |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B | 22.3 GB | Does not fit | — |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 8B | 6.7 GB | Runs | ~7 tok/s |
DeepSeek R1 on Other GPUs
- DeepSeek R1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
- DeepSeek R1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
- DeepSeek R1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
- DeepSeek R1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super
- DeepSeek R1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
Popular Models on the Apple M1
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← Can I Run It? | DeepSeek R1 Model Page | Apple M1 GPU Page | VRAM calculator | Check Your Hardware