Can Yi Coder 9B run on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

YES — Runs Great

B58Good

Estimated from fit model

Yi Coder 9B needs ~35.5 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB has 184.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~110 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) — 35.5 GB, 110.3 tok/s, Runs well

35.5 GB required184.3 GB available

19% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

110.3 tok/s

TTFT

1755 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

35.5 GB / 184.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.5 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom27.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi Coder 9B 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: 110.3 tok/s decode · 1.8s TTFT (warm) · 276 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	110.3 tok/s	957 ms	131K
Coding	B	Runs well	110.3 tok/s	1755 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	110.3 tok/s	2553 ms	131K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	110.3 tok/s	2074 ms	131K
RAG	B	Runs well	110.3 tok/s	3191 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB (184.3 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	C49
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	C49
NVFP4	4	5.0 GB	Medium	C49
Q4_K_M	4	5.5 GB	Medium	C49
Q5_K_M	5	6.5 GB	High	C49
Q6_K	6	7.4 GB	High	C49
Q8_0	8	9.6 GB	Very High	C49
F16Best for your GPU	16	18.5 GB	Maximum	C50

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 M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B?

Yes, Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB can run Yi Coder 9B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 110.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B need?

Yi Coder 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 35.5 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 M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Yi Coder 9B achieves approximately 110.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1755ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB receives a B grade with 110.3 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B use on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, 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 M3 Ultra 256GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?

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.

See all results for Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB See all hardware for Yi Coder 9B

Embed this result▼

Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.

<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/yi-coder-9b-on-m3-ultra-256gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview:

Workload

Grade

Fit

Decode

TTFT

Context

Chat

Runs well

110.3 tok/s

957 ms

131K

Coding

Runs well

110.3 tok/s

1755 ms

131K

Agentic Coding

Runs well

110.3 tok/s

2553 ms

131K

Reasoning

Runs well

110.3 tok/s

2074 ms

131K

RAG

Runs well

110.3 tok/s

3191 ms

131K

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB (184.3 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	C49
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	C49
NVFP4	4	5.0 GB	Medium	C49
Q4_K_M	4	5.5 GB	Medium	C49
Q5_K_M	5	6.5 GB	High	C49
Q6_K	6	7.4 GB	High	C49
Q8_0	8	9.6 GB	Very High	C49
F16Best for your GPU	16	18.5 GB	Maximum	C50

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B?

Yes, Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB can run Yi Coder 9B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 110.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B need?

Yi Coder 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 35.5 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 M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, Yi Coder 9B achieves approximately 110.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1755ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB run Yi Coder 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB receives a B grade with 110.3 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B use on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB?

On Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB, 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 M3 Ultra 256GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?