Can I Run StarCoder 2 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated February 28, 2024
Yes — comfortably
Yes, comfortably — StarCoder 2 15B at Q8_0 needs about 17.9 GB of the 144 GB usable on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB), leaving ~126.1 GB spare and running at ~24.2 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.
Confidence: high · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~24.2 tok/s
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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 |
StarCoder 2 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB): memory by quantization
| Quant | Memory needed | Fits 144 GB? | Max context | Est. speed | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 32.5 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~13.4 tok/s | 31 GB |
| Q8_0 | 17.9 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~24.2 tok/s | 16.5 GB |
| Q6_K | 14.2 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~30.5 tok/s | 12.7 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 12.5 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~34.7 tok/s | 11 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 10.8 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~39.8 tok/s | 9.4 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 8.1 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~53.1 tok/s | 6.6 GB |
| Q2_K | 6.6 GB | ✓ Yes | 16K | ~65 tok/s | 5.1 GB |
Which StarCoder 2 sizes fit
| Variant | Needs at Q4_K_M | Fits? | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarCoder 2 15B | 10.8 GB | ✓ Fits | ~39.8 tok/s |
| StarCoder 2 7B | 5.7 GB | ✓ Fits | ~73.9 tok/s |
| StarCoder 2 3B | 2.9 GB | ✓ Fits | ~134.8 tok/s |
What to watch out for
- 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- Superseded by the M3 Ultra, which is why it is often the better used buy for large-model work.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 computed from this model's published attention configuration.
FAQ
Can I run StarCoder 2 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Yes, comfortably — StarCoder 2 15B at Q8_0 needs about 17.9 GB of the 144 GB usable on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB), leaving ~126.1 GB spare and running at ~24.2 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.
Which quantization of StarCoder 2 should I use on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)?
Q8_0 — it needs about 17.9 GB of the 144 GB available, downloads as roughly 16.5 GB, and runs at an estimated 24.2 tokens/sec with up to 16K of context.
What limits StarCoder 2 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)
- Aya 3B (Tiny Aya) on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
- VibeThinker on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
- Yi 1.5 Family on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
- Aya Expanse on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
- BitNet b1.58 on Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 192 GB)
StarCoder 2 on GPUs
- StarCoder 2 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
- StarCoder 2 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
- StarCoder 2 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
- StarCoder 2 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
What This Model Is Good At
Model & Tools
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