Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB as fast as VRAM for Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct?

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.

Can Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct run on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB?

YES — Runs Great

C48Usable

Estimated from fit model

Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct needs ~13.6 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB has 46.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~71 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: MediumStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced

Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 13.6 GB, 76.8 tok/s, Runs well

13.6 GB required46.1 GB available

30% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

76.8 tok/s

TTFT

2520 ms

Safe context

570K

Memory

13.6 GB / 46.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.9 GB

KV Cache0.9 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom6.9 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsMeta Llama 3 8B Instruct on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>What is local AI inference?
Local AI inference means running an AI language model directly on your own hardware — your laptop, desktop, or server — instead of sending requests to a remote cloud API.

When you run inference locally the model weights are loaded into your GPU or unified memory. Each token you generate requires reading those weights from memory, so memory bandwidth is the main bottleneck for decode speed.

Key benefits of running locally:
  - Full privacy: your prompts never leave your machine
  - No per-token cost or rate limits
  - Works offline once the model is downloaded
  - Latency depends only on your hardware
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>How much VRAM do I need?
It depends on the model size and quantization level. A rough rule of thumb:

  Model size     Q4 (4-bit)    Q8 (8-bit)    FP16
  7B params      ~4.3 GB       ~7.5 GB       ~14 GB
  13B params     ~7.9 GB       ~13.9 GB      ~26 GB
  70B params     ~42.7 GB      ~74.9 GB      ~140 GB

Most people use 4-bit quantization (Q4_K_M) which gives 90-95% of full quality at a fraction of the memory. A 24 GB GPU can comfortably run most 7B-13B models.
Estimated: 76.8 tok/s decode · 2.5s TTFT (warm) · 192 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	76.8 tok/s	1374 ms	570K
Coding	C	Runs well	70.5 tok/s	2747 ms	570K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	76.8 tok/s	3665 ms	570K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	76.8 tok/s	2978 ms	570K
RAG	C	Runs well	76.8 tok/s	4581 ms	570K

Quantization options

How Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct (8B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB (46.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.1 GB	Low	C42
Q3_K_S	3	3.9 GB	Low	C42
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-maziyarpanahi--meta-llama-3-8b-instruct-gguf && lms server start

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB run Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct?

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB can run Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 70.5 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct need?

Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct (8B parameters) requires approximately 13.6 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct?

The recommended quantization for Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct run at on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB, Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct achieves approximately 70.5 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 2747ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB run Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct for coding?

For coding workloads, Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB receives a C grade with 70.5 tok/s and 570K context.

What context window can Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct use on MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB, Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct can safely use up to 570K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB See all hardware for Meta Llama 3 8B Instruct

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