Can Yi Coder 9B run on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

Q: Is unified memory on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?

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.

YES — Runs Great

B59Good

Estimated from fit model

Yi Coder 9B needs ~21.7 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB has 92.2 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~85 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) — 21.7 GB, 91.9 tok/s, Runs well

21.7 GB required92.2 GB available

24% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

91.9 tok/s

TTFT

2106 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

21.7 GB / 92.2 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.5 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom13.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi Coder 9B 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: 91.9 tok/s decode · 2.1s TTFT (warm) · 230 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	84.5 tok/s	1249 ms	131K
Coding	B	Runs well	84.5 tok/s	2291 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	84.5 tok/s	3332 ms	131K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	84.5 tok/s	2707 ms	131K
RAG	B	Runs well	84.5 tok/s	4165 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB (92.2 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	C51
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	C51
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Yi Coder 9B on your machine.

Run

lms load Yi-Coder-9B-Chat && lms server start

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB run Yi Coder 9B?

Yes, Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB can run Yi Coder 9B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 84.5 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B need?

Yi Coder 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 21.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Yi Coder 9B?

The recommended quantization for Yi Coder 9B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Yi Coder 9B run at on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

On Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB, Yi Coder 9B achieves approximately 84.5 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 2291ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB run Yi Coder 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB receives a B grade with 84.5 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B use on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB?

On Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB, Yi Coder 9B can safely use up to 131K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?

See all results for Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB See all hardware for Yi Coder 9B

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