Can OpenHermes 2.5 7B run on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

Q: Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M4 16GB as fast as VRAM for OpenHermes 2.5 7B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 16GB 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

C53Usable

Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

OpenHermes 2.5 7B needs ~8.9 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 16GB has 11.5 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~20 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

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) — 8.9 GB, 20.0 tok/s, Runs well

8.9 GB required11.5 GB available

77% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

20.0 tok/s

TTFT

9674 ms

Safe context

Memory

8.9 GB / 11.5 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.3 GB

KV Cache2.0 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.7 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsOpenHermes 2.5 7B on MacBook Pro M4 16GB
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: 20.0 tok/s decode · 9.7s TTFT (warm) · 50 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	20.0 tok/s	5277 ms	8K
Coding	C	Runs well	20.2 tok/s	9568 ms	8K
Agentic Coding	C	Tight fit	20.0 tok/s	14072 ms	8K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	20.0 tok/s	11433 ms	8K
RAG	C	Tight fit	20.0 tok/s	17590 ms	8K

Quantization options

How OpenHermes 2.5 7B (7B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 16GB (11.5 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	2.7 GB	Low	C50
Q3_K_S	3	3.4 GB	Low	C51
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run OpenHermes 2.5 7B on your machine.

Run

ollama run openhermes

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs OpenHermes 2.5 7B well

Intel Arc B580 12GBBest value

456 GB/s (+336)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 176%.55.1 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 176%.

~$249 MSRP

MacBook Pro M3 Pro 18GBBudget pick

18 GB Unified (+2)150 GB/s (+30)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 38%.27.6 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 38%.

~$1,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 16GB run OpenHermes 2.5 7B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 16GB can run OpenHermes 2.5 7B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 20.2 tok/s.

How much VRAM does OpenHermes 2.5 7B need?

OpenHermes 2.5 7B (7B parameters) requires approximately 8.9 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for OpenHermes 2.5 7B?

The recommended quantization for OpenHermes 2.5 7B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will OpenHermes 2.5 7B run at on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 16GB, OpenHermes 2.5 7B achieves approximately 20.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 9568ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 16GB run OpenHermes 2.5 7B for coding?

For coding workloads, OpenHermes 2.5 7B on MacBook Pro M4 16GB receives a C grade with 20.2 tok/s and 8K context.

What context window can OpenHermes 2.5 7B use on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 16GB, OpenHermes 2.5 7B can safely use up to 8K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 8K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M4 16GB as fast as VRAM for OpenHermes 2.5 7B?

See all results for MacBook Pro M4 16GB See all hardware for OpenHermes 2.5 7B

Embed this result▼

Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.

<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/openhermes-2.5-7b-on-m4-16gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview: