Can I Run MiniMax M2.5 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated February 15, 2026
Yes — comfortably
Yes, comfortably — MiniMax M2.5 230B at Q2_K needs about 79.9 GB of the 144 GB usable on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB), leaving ~64.1 GB spare and running at ~5.6 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 131,072 tokens of context.
Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q2_K · Estimated speed: ~5.6 tok/s
Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB) — what it gives a model
| Usable memory for models | 144 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 800 GB/s |
| Form factor | Desktop |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Memory upgradeable | No — soldered |
MiniMax M2.5 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB): memory by quantization
| Quant | Memory needed | Fits 144 GB? | Max context | Est. speed | Download |
|---|
| F16 | 464.3 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 460 GB |
| Q8_0 | 248.7 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 244.4 GB |
| Q6_K | 192.9 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 188.6 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 167.3 GB | ✗ No | — | — | 163 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 143.2 GB | ✓ Yes | 8K | ~3.1 tok/s | 138.9 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 102.4 GB | ✓ Yes | 64K | ~4.3 tok/s | 98 GB |
| Q2_K | 79.9 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~5.6 tok/s | 75.6 GB |
What to watch out for
- Q2_K is the only quantization that fits, and it is a heavily degraded one — expect noticeably worse output than the same model at Q4_K_M. A smaller model at Q4 is usually the better trade.
- 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 M2 Ultra 192 GB limitations
- Superseded by the M3 Ultra, which is why it is often the better used buy for large-model work.
- 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.
- 192 GB unified memory at 800 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 MiniMax M2.5 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Yes, comfortably — MiniMax M2.5 230B at Q2_K needs about 79.9 GB of the 144 GB usable on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB), leaving ~64.1 GB spare and running at ~5.6 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 131,072 tokens of context.
Which quantization of MiniMax M2.5 should I use on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Q2_K — it needs about 79.9 GB of the 144 GB available, downloads as roughly 75.6 GB, and runs at an estimated 5.6 tokens/sec with up to 128K of context.
What limits MiniMax M2.5 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 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 Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
MiniMax M2.5 on GPUs
What This Model Is Good At
Model & Tools
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