Can Yi Coder 9B run on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB?

YES — Runs Great

B59Good

Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Yi Coder 9B needs ~13.0 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB has 34.6 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~38 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: 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) — 13.0 GB, 38.3 tok/s, Runs well

13.0 GB required34.6 GB available

38% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

38.3 tok/s

TTFT

5054 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

13.0 GB / 34.6 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.5 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom5.2 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi Coder 9B on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB
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: 38.3 tok/s decode · 5.1s TTFT (warm) · 96 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	38.3 tok/s	2757 ms	131K
Coding	B	Runs well	38.3 tok/s	5054 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	38.3 tok/s	7351 ms	131K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	38.3 tok/s	5973 ms	131K
RAG	B	Runs well	38.3 tok/s	9188 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB (34.6 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	C55
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	B55
NVFP4	4	5.0 GB	Medium	B55
Q4_K_M	4	5.5 GB	Medium	B56
Q5_K_M	5	6.5 GB	High	B56
Q6_K	6	7.4 GB	High	B56
Q8_0	8	9.6 GB	Very High	B57
F16Best for your GPU	16	18.5 GB	Maximum	B61

Get started

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

Run

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

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Yi Coder 9B well

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GBBudget pick

64 GB Unified (+16)800 GB/s (+527)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 140%.91.9 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 140%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$3,999 MSRP

Mac Studio M1 Ultra 64GBBest value

64 GB Unified (+16)800 GB/s (+527)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 128%.87.2 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 128%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$3,999 MSRP

MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GBApple upgrade

64 GB Unified (+16)546 GB/s (+273)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 94%.74.3 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 94%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$3,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB run Yi Coder 9B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB can run Yi Coder 9B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 38.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B need?

Yi Coder 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 13.0 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 MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB, Yi Coder 9B achieves approximately 38.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 5054ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB run Yi Coder 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB receives a B grade with 38.3 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B use on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB, 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 MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 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 MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB See all hardware for Yi Coder 9B

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Preview:

Workload

Grade

Fit

Decode

TTFT

Context

Chat

Runs well

38.3 tok/s

2757 ms

131K

Coding

Runs well

38.3 tok/s

5054 ms

131K

Agentic Coding

Runs well

38.3 tok/s

7351 ms

131K

Reasoning

Runs well

38.3 tok/s

5973 ms

131K

RAG

Runs well

38.3 tok/s

9188 ms

131K

Quantization options

How Yi Coder 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB (34.6 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	C55
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	B55
NVFP4	4	5.0 GB	Medium	B55
Q4_K_M	4	5.5 GB	Medium	B56
Q5_K_M	5	6.5 GB	High	B56
Q6_K	6	7.4 GB	High	B56
Q8_0	8	9.6 GB	Very High	B57
F16Best for your GPU	16	18.5 GB	Maximum	B61

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB run Yi Coder 9B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB can run Yi Coder 9B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 38.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi Coder 9B need?

Yi Coder 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 13.0 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 MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB, Yi Coder 9B achieves approximately 38.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 5054ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB run Yi Coder 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi Coder 9B on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB receives a B grade with 38.3 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Yi Coder 9B use on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB, 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 MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB as fast as VRAM for Yi Coder 9B?