Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated August 15, 2026
Yes, but it is tight
Yes, but it is tight — GPT-OSS 20B at Q6_K needs about 17.6 GB of the 18 GB usable on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB), leaving only ~0.4 GB before the runtime starts swapping. Expect ~8.8 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 8,192 tokens of context.
Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q6_K · Estimated speed: ~8.8 tok/s
| Usable memory for models | 18 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 273 GB/s |
| Form factor | Laptop |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Memory upgradeable | No — soldered |
| Price | $1,999 (lib/data/laptops.ts (street price), checked 2026-07-06) |
| Quant | Memory needed | Fits 18 GB? | Max context | Est. speed | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 41.2 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 40 GB |
| Q8_0 | 22.5 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 21.3 GB |
| Q6_K | 17.6 GB | ✓ Yes | 8K | ~8.8 tok/s | 16.4 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 15.4 GB | ✓ Yes | 32K | ~10.1 tok/s | 14.2 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 13.3 GB | ✓ Yes | 64K | ~11.8 tok/s | 12.1 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 9.7 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~16.3 tok/s | 8.5 GB |
| Q2_K | 7.8 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~20.7 tok/s | 6.6 GB |
| Variant | Needs at Q4_K_M | Fits? | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-oss 120B | 73.9 GB | ✗ Too large | — |
| GPT-OSS 20B | 13.3 GB | ✓ Fits | ~11.8 tok/s |
Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput
Yes, but it is tight — GPT-OSS 20B at Q6_K needs about 17.6 GB of the 18 GB usable on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB), leaving only ~0.4 GB before the runtime starts swapping. Expect ~8.8 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 8,192 tokens of context.
Q6_K — it needs about 17.6 GB of the 18 GB available, downloads as roughly 16.4 GB, and runs at an estimated 8.8 tokens/sec with up to 8K of context.
Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.
Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput