Can I Run Llama 3.1 Family on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)?
Autor: Jakub Rusinowski · Ostatnia aktualizacja: 23 lipca 2024
Yes — comfortably
Yes, comfortably — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q8_0 needs about 10.4 GB of the 48 GB usable on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB), leaving ~37.6 GB spare and running at ~15.8 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 131,072 tokens of context.
Confidence: high · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~15.8 tok/s
See what else this hardware can run →
lub porównaj w Vast.ai od $0.35/godz. (typical low · varies)
Jako partner Amazon zarabiamy na kwalifikujących się zakupach. Linki do chmurowych GPU są linkami polecającymi — możemy otrzymać prowizję bez dodatkowych kosztów dla Ciebie.
Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB) — what it gives a model
| Usable memory for models | 48 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 273 GB/s |
| Form factor | Mini PC |
| Operating system | macOS |
| Memory upgradeable | No — soldered |
Llama 3.1 Family on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB): memory by quantization
| Quant | Memory needed | Fits 48 GB? | Max context | Est. speed | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 17.9 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~8.8 tok/s | 16 GB |
| Q8_0 | 10.4 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~15.8 tok/s | 8.5 GB |
| Q6_K | 8.4 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~19.8 tok/s | 6.6 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 7.5 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~22.5 tok/s | 5.7 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 6.7 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~25.7 tok/s | 4.8 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 5.3 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~34 tok/s | 3.4 GB |
| Q2_K | 4.5 GB | ✓ Yes | 128K | ~41.4 tok/s | 2.6 GB |
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 mini M4 Pro 64 GB limitations
- M4 Pro memory bandwidth is half the M4 Max's, so large models that fit will still generate roughly half as fast.
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 273 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 Llama 3.1 Family on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)?
Yes, comfortably — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q8_0 needs about 10.4 GB of the 48 GB usable on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB), leaving ~37.6 GB spare and running at ~15.8 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 131,072 tokens of context.
Which quantization of Llama 3.1 Family should I use on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)?
Q8_0 — it needs about 10.4 GB of the 48 GB available, downloads as roughly 8.5 GB, and runs at an estimated 15.8 tokens/sec with up to 128K of context.
What limits Llama 3.1 Family on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 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
Other Models on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
- Llama 3.2 Family on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
- Llama 3.2 Vision on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
- Llama 3.3 on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
- Llama 4 on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
- Llama 4.5 on Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64 GB)
Llama 3.1 Family on GPUs
- Llama 3.1 Family on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
- Llama 3.1 Family on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB
- Llama 3.1 Family on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060
- Llama 3.1 Family on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
What This Model Is Good At
Model & Tools
← Can I Run It? | Llama 3.1 Family model page | Check your hardware