Is unified memory on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 3.6 35B A3B?

Not always. Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB 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 3.6 35B A3B run on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

YES — Runs Great

S92Excellent

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 3.6 35B A3B needs ~41.1 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB has 92.2 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~59 tok/s.

Runtime: TransformersCapacity: 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) — 41.1 GB, 59.0 tok/s, Runs well

41.1 GB required92.2 GB available

45% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

59.0 tok/s

TTFT

3283 ms

Safe context

215K

Memory

41.1 GB / 92.2 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights21.3 GB

KV Cache4.1 GB

Runtime1.8 GB

Headroom13.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 3.6 35B A3B on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB
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: 59.0 tok/s decode · 3.3s TTFT (warm) · 147 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	S	Runs well	59.0 tok/s	1791 ms	215K
Coding	S	Runs well	59.0 tok/s	3283 ms	215K
Agentic Coding	S	Runs well	59.0 tok/s	4776 ms	215K
Reasoning	S	Runs well	59.0 tok/s	3880 ms	215K
RAG	S	Runs well	59.0 tok/s	5970 ms	215K

Quantization options

How Qwen 3.6 35B A3B (35B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB (92.2 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	13.7 GB	Low	A82
Q3_K_S	3	17.2 GB	Low	A83
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 3.6 35B A3B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
  --hf-repo "Qwen/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B" \
  --hf-file "Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-Q4_K_M.gguf" \
  -c 4096 -ngl 99

Your hardware

More models your Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode	Capabilities
Devstral 2 123B Instruct	123B	S	5.8 tok/s
Qwen 3.5 122B A10B	122B	S

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB run Qwen 3.6 35B A3B?

Yes, Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB can run Qwen 3.6 35B A3B with a S grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 59.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 3.6 35B A3B need?

Qwen 3.6 35B A3B (35B parameters) requires approximately 41.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 3.6 35B A3B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 3.6 35B A3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 3.6 35B A3B run at on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

On Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB, Qwen 3.6 35B A3B achieves approximately 59.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 3283ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB run Qwen 3.6 35B A3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 3.6 35B A3B on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB receives a S grade with 59.0 tok/s and 215K context.

What context window can Qwen 3.6 35B A3B use on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

On Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB, Qwen 3.6 35B A3B can safely use up to 215K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 262K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB See all hardware for Qwen 3.6 35B A3B

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<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/qwen-3.6-35b-a3b-on-m2-ultra-128gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

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