Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 3.5 122B A10B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB 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 3.5 122B A10B run on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen 3.5 122B A10B feels slow on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

Remove offload with more accelerator memory. Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

YES — With NVFP4

A74Great

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 3.5 122B A10B needs ~82.0 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB has 69.1 GB. With NVFP4 quantization, expect ~13 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: LowStack: StandardBottleneck: Host offload

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.

Qwen 3.5 122B A10B at Q4_K_M needs 88.1 GB — too much for MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB (69.1 GB). Runs at NVFP4 (82.0 GB) with medium quality. 3 quantization levels fit.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 88.1 GB, exceeds 69.1 GB available

88.1 GB required69.1 GB available

127% VRAM needed

19.0 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

10.2 tok/s

TTFT

18945 ms

Safe context

Memory

88.1 GB / 69.1 GB

Offload

20%

Memory breakdown

Weights74.4 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom10.4 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsQwen 3.5 122B A10B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB
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: 10.2 tok/s decode · 18.9s TTFT (warm) · 26 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

It fits through host-memory offload, and offload is the main reason performance drops.

CPU or host-memory offload is active

About 20% of the working set spills out of accelerator memory, which usually hurts latency and sustained decode throughput.

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.

Best improvement path

Remove offload with more accelerator memory

Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly 10.8 GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	10.4 tok/s	10161 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	10.2 tok/s	18945 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	9.9 tok/s	28474 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	10.2 tok/s	22390 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	9.9 tok/s	35592 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Qwen 3.5 122B A10B (122B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	47.6 GB	Low	S90
Q3_K_S	3	59.8 GB	Low	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 3.5 122B A10B on your machine.

Run

lms load Qwen3.5-122B-A10B-Instruct && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen 3.5 122B A10B well

MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GBBudget pick

128 GB Unified (+32)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.15 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$2,499 MSRP

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GBBest value

128 GB Unified (+32)800 GB/s (+400)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.28.9 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$3,999 MSRP

Mac Studio M1 Ultra 128GBApple upgrade

128 GB Unified (+32)800 GB/s (+400)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.27.4 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$3,999 MSRP

AMD Instinct MI250X 128GBBiggest leap

128 GB VRAM (+32)3200 GB/s (+2800)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.100.3 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$15,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB run Qwen 3.5 122B A10B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB can run Qwen 3.5 122B A10B at NVFP4 quantization (Very compromised (needs ~10.8 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 88.1 GB which exceeds available memory, but at NVFP4 it needs only 82.0 GB. Expected decode speed: 12.8 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 3.5 122B A10B need?

Qwen 3.5 122B A10B (122B parameters) requires approximately 88.1 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB, it fits at NVFP4 using 82.0 GB.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 3.5 122B A10B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB the best fitting quantization is NVFP4, which uses 82.0 GB.

What speed will Qwen 3.5 122B A10B run at on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

On MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB, Qwen 3.5 122B A10B achieves approximately 12.8 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 15162ms using NVFP4 quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB run Qwen 3.5 122B A10B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 3.5 122B A10B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB receives a F grade with 10.2 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Qwen 3.5 122B A10B use on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

On MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB, Qwen 3.5 122B A10B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at NVFP4 quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB See all hardware for Qwen 3.5 122B A10B

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