Can Yi Coder 9B Chat run on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

Q: Is unified memory on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B Chat?

Not always. Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB 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.

YES — Runs Great

C46Usable

Estimated from fit model

Yi Coder 9B Chat needs ~35.1 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB has 184.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~101 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: HighStack: 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) — 35.1 GB, 101.4 tok/s, Runs well

35.1 GB required184.3 GB available

19% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

101.4 tok/s

TTFT

1908 ms

Safe context

2.3M

Memory

35.1 GB / 184.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.1 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom27.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi Coder 9B Chat on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Write a Python function to sort a list
Here's a Python function that sorts a list using quicksort:

def quicksort(arr):
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

# Example usage
numbers = [3, 6, 8, 10, 1, 2, 1]
print(quicksort(numbers))  # [1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10]

The algorithm picks a pivot, partitions the list into smaller, equal, and larger elements, then recursively sorts each partition and concatenates the results.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>Now add type hints and a docstring
def quicksort(arr: list[int]) -> list[int]:
    """Sort a list using the quicksort algorithm.

    Args:
        arr: List of integers to sort.

    Returns:
        A new sorted list.
    """
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

Added type hints for the input and return type, plus a Google-style docstring.
Estimated: 101.4 tok/s decode · 1.9s TTFT (warm) · 254 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	101.4 tok/s	1041 ms	2.3M
Coding	C	Runs well	101.4 tok/s	1908 ms	2.3M
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	101.4 tok/s	2776 ms	2.3M
Reasoning	C	Runs well	101.4 tok/s	2255 ms	2.3M
RAG	C	Runs well	101.4 tok/s	3470 ms	2.3M

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B Chat (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB (184.3 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	D37
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	D37
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Yi Coder 9B Chat on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-maziyarpanahi--yi-coder-9b-chat-gguf && lms server start

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B Chat?

Yes, Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB can run Yi Coder 9B Chat with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 101.4 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B Chat need?

Yi Coder 9B Chat (9B parameters) requires approximately 35.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Yi Coder 9B Chat?

The recommended quantization for Yi Coder 9B Chat is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Yi Coder 9B Chat run at on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Yi Coder 9B Chat achieves approximately 101.4 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1908ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B Chat for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B Chat on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB receives a C grade with 101.4 tok/s and 2.3M context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B Chat use on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Yi Coder 9B Chat can safely use up to 2.3M tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B Chat?

See all results for Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB See all hardware for Yi Coder 9B Chat

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