Can I Run IBM Granite 4.1 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated April 29, 2026

Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models	48 GB
Memory bandwidth	546 GB/s
Form factor	Desktop
Operating system	macOS
Memory upgradeable	No — soldered

IBM Granite 4.1 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB): memory by quantization

Quant	Memory needed	Fits 48 GB?	Max context	Est. speed	Download
F16	62.6 GB	✗ No	—	—	60 GB
Q8_0	34.5 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~8.9 tok/s	31.9 GB
Q6_K	27.2 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~11.3 tok/s	24.6 GB
Q5_K_M	23.8 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~13 tok/s	21.3 GB
Q4_K_M	20.7 GB	✓ Yes	128K	~15 tok/s	18.1 GB
Q3_K_M	15.4 GB	✓ Yes	128K	~20.5 tok/s	12.8 GB
Q2_K	12.4 GB	✓ Yes	128K	~25.7 tok/s	9.9 GB

Which IBM Granite 4.1 sizes fit

Variant	Needs at Q4_K_M	Fits?	Est. speed
Granite 4.1 30B	20.7 GB	✓ Fits	~15 tok/s
Granite 4.1 8B	6.8 GB	✓ Fits	~47.5 tok/s
Granite 4.1 3B	3.5 GB	✓ Fits	~95.7 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.

Mac Studio M4 Max 64 GB limitations

• Memory is soldered; the configuration chosen at purchase is permanent.

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.
• 64 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.

FAQ

Can I run IBM Granite 4.1 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)?

Yes, comfortably — Granite 4.1 30B at Q8_0 needs about 34.5 GB of the 48 GB usable on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB), leaving ~13.5 GB spare and running at ~8.9 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 65,536 tokens of context.

Which quantization of IBM Granite 4.1 should I use on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)?

Q8_0 — it needs about 34.5 GB of the 48 GB available, downloads as roughly 31.9 GB, and runs at an estimated 8.9 tokens/sec with up to 64K of context.

What limits IBM Granite 4.1 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 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

• IBM Granite 4.1 on RTX 4090 desktop
• IBM Granite 4.1 on RTX 5090 desktop
• IBM Granite 4.1 on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256 GB
• IBM Granite 4.1 on RTX 3090 desktop

Other Models on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)

• InternLM 3 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)
• Llama 3.1 Family on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)
• Llama 3.2 Family on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)
• Llama 3.2 Vision on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)
• Llama 3.3 on Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB)

IBM Granite 4.1 on GPUs

• IBM Granite 4.1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
• IBM Granite 4.1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB
• IBM Granite 4.1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060
• IBM Granite 4.1 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

What This Model Is Good At

• Best local LLMs for reasoning
• Best local LLMs for rag
• Best local LLMs for research

Model & Tools

• IBM Granite 4.1 model page
• VRAM calculator
• Check your own hardware

← Can I Run It? | IBM Granite 4.1 model page | Check your hardware