Is unified memory on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B?

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.

Can Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B run on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

YES — Runs Great

B66Good

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B needs ~33.7 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB has 184.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~98 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) — 33.7 GB, 98.0 tok/s, Runs well

33.7 GB required184.3 GB available

18% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

98.0 tok/s

TTFT

1976 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

33.7 GB / 184.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.3 GB

KV Cache0.9 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom27.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 2.5 Coder 7B 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: 98.0 tok/s decode · 2.0s TTFT (warm) · 245 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	B	Runs well	98.0 tok/s	1078 ms	131K
Coding	B	Runs well	98.0 tok/s	1976 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	98.0 tok/s	2873 ms	131K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	98.0 tok/s	2335 ms	131K
RAG	B	Runs well	98.0 tok/s	3592 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B (7B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB (184.3 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	2.7 GB	Low	B57
Q3_K_S	3	3.4 GB	Low	B57
NVFP4	4

Get started

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

Run

ollama run qwen2.5-coder:7b

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B?

Yes, Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB can run Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 98.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B need?

Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B (7B parameters) requires approximately 33.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B?

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

What speed will Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B run at on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B achieves approximately 98.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1976ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB receives a B grade with 98.0 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B use on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B can safely use up to 131K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB See all hardware for Qwen 2.5 Coder 7B

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