Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 2.5 0.5B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 Max 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.

Can Qwen 2.5 0.5B run on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen 2.5 0.5B feels slow on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

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.

YES — Runs Great

C41Usable

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 2.5 0.5B needs ~5.3 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB has 25.9 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~7 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: 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) — 5.3 GB, 7.0 tok/s, Runs well

5.3 GB required25.9 GB available

20% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

7.0 tok/s

TTFT

27657 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

5.3 GB / 25.9 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights0.3 GB

KV Cache0.2 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom3.9 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 2.5 0.5B on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB
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: 7.0 tok/s decode · 27.7s TTFT (warm) · 18 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

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.

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

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.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	15086 ms	131K
Coding	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	27657 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	40229 ms	131K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	32686 ms	131K
RAG	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	50286 ms	131K

Inference speed

Qwen 2.5 0.5B inference speed — tokens per second by GPU & Mac

Estimated decode speed (tokens/sec) for Qwen 2.5 0.5B at Q4_K_M across popular GPUs and Apple Silicon, using the fastest local runtime per device. Fastest is RTX 5090 32GB at ~10 tok/s. Speed is memory-bandwidth bound, so cards that fit the whole model in VRAM run far faster than ones that offload to system RAM.

GPU / Mac	Memory	Quant	Speed (tok/s)	Fits?
RTX 5090 32GB	32 GB	Q4_K_M	9.5	Fits
RTX 4090 24GB	24 GB	Q4_K_M	8.0	Fits
RTX 4080 Super 16GB	16 GB	Q4_K_M	7.0

Quantization options

How Qwen 2.5 0.5B (0.5B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB (25.9 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	0.2 GB	Low	C46
Q3_K_S	3	0.2 GB	Low	C46
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 2.5 0.5B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen2.5:0.5b

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen 2.5 0.5B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB can run Qwen 2.5 0.5B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 7.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 0.5B need?

Qwen 2.5 0.5B (0.5B parameters) requires approximately 5.3 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 0.5B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 0.5B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 2.5 0.5B run at on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB, Qwen 2.5 0.5B achieves approximately 7.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 27657ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen 2.5 0.5B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 2.5 0.5B on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB receives a C grade with 7.0 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Qwen 2.5 0.5B use on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB, Qwen 2.5 0.5B can safely use up to 131K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Qwen 2.5 0.5B feels slow on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

See all results for MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB See all hardware for Qwen 2.5 0.5B

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