Mac mini M4 64GBBudget pick
64 GB Unified (+28)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 32%.8.7 tok/s decode
Raises estimated decode speed by about 32%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$1,099 MSRP
Qwen3.5 27B needs ~24.4 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB has 25.9 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~7 tok/s.
Operating mode
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.
Select quantization to explore
Fit status
Tight fit
Decode
6.6 tok/s
TTFT
29120 ms
Safe context
24K
Memory
24.4 GB / 25.9 GB
The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.
Fit does not mean dedicated-VRAM speed
Unified or shared memory can make a model technically fit, but sustained tokens per second may still trail a discrete high-bandwidth GPU with less total memory.
Very little memory headroom
You can run the model, but there is not much room left for longer context, bigger batches, extra apps, or future model updates.
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.
Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity
If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.
Buy headroom, not only minimum fit
A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.
| Workload | Grade | Fit | Decode | TTFT | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | C | Tight fit | 6.6 tok/s | 15883 ms | 24K |
| Coding | C | Tight fit | 6.6 tok/s | 29120 ms | 24K |
| Agentic Coding | D | Runs with offload (needs ~1 GB host RAM) | 5.9 tok/s | 47371 ms | 24K |
| Reasoning | C | Tight fit | 6.6 tok/s | 34414 ms | 24K |
| RAG | D | Runs with offload (needs ~1 GB host RAM) | 5.9 tok/s | 59214 ms |
How Qwen3.5 27B (27B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB (25.9 GB usable).
| Quant | Bits | VRAM | Quality | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q2_K | 2 | 10.5 GB | Low | C49 |
Q3_K_S | 3 | 13.2 GB | Low | C50 |
NVFP4 | 4 |
Copy-paste commands to run Qwen3.5 27B on your machine.
Run
docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
--hf-repo "unsloth/Qwen3.5-27B-GGUF" \
--hf-file "Qwen3.5-27B-GGUF-Q4_K_M.gguf" \
-c 4096 -ngl 99Upgrade options
Raises estimated decode speed by about 32%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$1,099 MSRP
Raises estimated decode speed by about 220%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$1,599 MSRP
Raises estimated decode speed by about 406%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$2,499 MSRP
Yes, MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB can run Qwen3.5 27B with a C grade (Tight fit). Expected decode speed: 6.6 tok/s.
Qwen3.5 27B (27B parameters) requires approximately 24.4 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.
The recommended quantization for Qwen3.5 27B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.
On MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB, Qwen3.5 27B achieves approximately 6.6 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 29120ms using Q4_K_M quantization.
For coding workloads, Qwen3.5 27B on MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB receives a C grade with 6.6 tok/s and 24K context.
On MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB, Qwen3.5 27B can safely use up to 24K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.
Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.
<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/hf-unsloth--qwen3-5-27b-gguf-on-m3-pro-36gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>
Preview:
| 24K |
15.1 GB |
| Medium |
| C50 |
Q4_K_M | 4 | 16.5 GB | Medium | C50 |
Q5_K_MBest for your GPU | 5 | 19.4 GB | High | C50 |
Q6_K | 6 | 22.1 GB | High | F0 |
Q8_0 | 8 | 28.9 GB | Very High | F0 |
F16 | 16 | 55.4 GB | Maximum | F0 |
Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity. If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.
Not always. MacBook Pro M3 Pro 36GB 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.