Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated August 15, 2026
Only with offload — Poolside Laguna XS 2.1 spills onto CPU/system RAM on the Apple M3 (24 GB), so expect a large speed penalty.
| VRAM | 24 GB unified memory |
| Memory Bandwidth | 100 GB/s |
| Quant | VRAM needed | Fits 24 GB? | Max context |
|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 67.7 GB | ✗ No | — |
| Q8_0 | 36.8 GB | ✗ No | — |
| Q6_K | 28.8 GB | ✗ No | — |
| Q5_K_M | 25.1 GB | ✗ No | — |
| Q4_K_M | 21.6 GB | ✓ Yes | 8K |
| Q3_K_M | 15.8 GB | ✓ Yes | 32K |
| Q2_K | 12.6 GB | ✓ Yes | 32K |
VRAM needed assumes a 4K-token context with an f16 KV cache; “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 24 GB of unified memory. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.
Every Poolside Laguna XS 2.1 variant requires more VRAM than the Apple M3 provides (24 GB).
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (32 GB VRAM).
Poolside Laguna XS 2.1 needs ~20 GB but this GPU has 24 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.
Only with offload — Poolside Laguna XS 2.1 spills onto CPU/system RAM on the Apple M3 (24 GB), so expect a large speed penalty.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (32 GB VRAM) is the cheapest upgrade that fits it.
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