Apple M3 Ultra — Local LLM Performance & Compatibility

Apple's highest-end Mac Studio configuration launched with up to 512 GB unified memory at 819 GB/s — enough for 70B+ and some 100B+ class models at Q4/Q5. Note: in March 2026 Apple lowered the maximum purchasable configuration to 256 GB due to DRAM shortages; 512 GB units already in the field retain full capability.

Technical Specifications

VRAM512 GB unified memory
Memory Bandwidth819 GB/s
TDP60 W
ArchitectureARM, 3nm TSMC
Release Year2025
MSRP at Launch$3,999
Inference Speed (Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M)~170 tokens/sec
Inference Speed (Llama 3.3 70B Q4_K_M)~50 tokens/sec
Ujawnienie afiliacyjne: Niektóre odnośniki na tej stronie to linki afiliacyjne — jeśli dokonasz zakupu za ich pośrednictwem, LLM Configurator może otrzymać prowizję bez dodatkowych kosztów dla Ciebie. Jako uczestnik programu Amazon Associates, LLM Configurator zarabia na kwalifikujących się zakupach.
Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra
Sugerowana cena premierowa: $3,999
Ceny w 2026 są niestabilne — sprawdź aktualną ofertę.
Sprawdź cenę na Amazon

LLMs Compatible with 512 GB Unified Memory

All models below run comfortably in 512 GB unified memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

Llama 3.3Llama 3.3 70B Instruct · 43 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run llama3.3
Llama 3.1 FamilyLlama 3.1 8B Instruct · 6 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run llama3.1
DeepSeek R1DeepSeek R1 (671B) · 406 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run deepseek-r1:671b
Qwen 3Qwen 3 235B-A22B (MoE) · 80 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run qwen3:235b-a22b
Qwen3-CoderQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B (MoE) · 291 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run qwen3-coder:480b-a35b
Gemma 3Gemma 3 27B Instruct · 17 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run gemma3:27b
Mistral Small 3.1Mistral Small 3.1 24B · 14 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run mistral-small3.1
Phi-4 FamilyPhi-4 (14B) · 9 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · ollama run phi4

Best Use Cases

Quick Start with Ollama

Install Ollama then run the recommended model for this GPU:

ollama run llama3.3:70b

FAQ

Can the Apple M3 Ultra run local LLMs?

Yes — the Apple M3 Ultra has 512 GB unified memory and runs Apple's highest-end Mac Studio configuration launched with up to 512 GB unified memory at 819 GB/s — enough for 70B+ and

How fast is the Apple M3 Ultra for AI inference?

The Apple M3 Ultra runs Llama 3.1 8B at ~170 tokens/sec with Q4_K_M quantization. For the 70B model it achieves ~50 tokens/sec.

What LLMs can I run on 512 GB VRAM?

With 512 GB you can run: Llama 3.3, Llama 3.1 Family, DeepSeek R1, Qwen 3, Qwen3-Coder. Use Ollama for the easiest setup: ollama run llama3.3:70b.

Can I Run It? — Apple M3 Ultra

VRAM Tier

Buying Guide

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