Can Devstral Small 1.1 run on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

NO — Won't Fit

F0Won't run

Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Devstral Small 1.1 needs ~19.7 GB but MacBook Pro M4 16GB only has 11.5 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: No fitBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory capacity

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) — 19.7 GB, exceeds 11.5 GB available

19.7 GB required11.5 GB available

171% VRAM needed

8.2 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

4.8 tok/s

TTFT

40308 ms

Safe context

Memory

19.7 GB / 11.5 GB

Offload

40%

Memory breakdown

Weights14.6 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.7 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsDevstral Small 1.1 on MacBook Pro M4 16GB
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: 4.8 tok/s decode · 40.3s TTFT (warm) · 12 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

Usable shared or unified memory is the main blocker for this model.

Not enough usable memory

The model needs 19.7 GB, but this setup only exposes 11.5 GB of usable shared or unified memory.

Best improvement path

Move to a larger memory pool

A larger unified-memory SKU or a discrete high-bandwidth GPU is the cleanest way to make this model practical.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	5.2 tok/s	20479 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	4.8 tok/s	40308 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	4.3 tok/s	65758 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	4.8 tok/s	47637 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	4.3 tok/s	82197 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Devstral Small 1.1 (24B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 16GB (11.5 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	9.4 GB	Low	F0
Q3_K_S	3	11.8 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4	13.4 GB	Medium	F0
Q4_K_M	4	14.6 GB	Medium	F0
Q5_K_M	5	17.3 GB	High	F0
Q6_K	6	19.7 GB	High	F0
Q8_0	8	25.7 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	49.2 GB	Maximum	F0

Upgrade-Optionen

Hardware, die Devstral Small 1.1 gut ausführt

MacBook Pro M4 32GBGünstige Wahl

32 GB Unified (+16)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.9.5 tok/s Dekodierung

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.

ca. $799 MSRP

Mac mini M4 32GBBestes Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis

32 GB Unified (+16)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.9.5 tok/s Dekodierung

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.

ca. $1,099 MSRP

Mac mini M4 64GBApple-Upgrade

64 GB Unified (+48)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.9.5 tok/s Dekodierung

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.

ca. $1,099 MSRP

RTX 5090 32GBGrößter Sprung

32 GB VRAM (+16)1792 GB/s (+1672)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.62 tok/s Dekodierung

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.

ca. $1,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M4 16GB run Devstral Small 1.1?

No, Devstral Small 1.1 requires more memory than MacBook Pro M4 16GB provides.

How much VRAM does Devstral Small 1.1 need?

Devstral Small 1.1 (24B parameters) requires approximately 19.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Devstral Small 1.1?

The recommended quantization for Devstral Small 1.1 is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Devstral Small 1.1 run at on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 16GB, Devstral Small 1.1 achieves approximately 4.8 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 40308ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M4 16GB run Devstral Small 1.1 for coding?

For coding workloads, Devstral Small 1.1 on MacBook Pro M4 16GB receives a F grade with 4.8 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Devstral Small 1.1 use on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

On MacBook Pro M4 16GB, Devstral Small 1.1 can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Devstral Small 1.1 feels slow on MacBook Pro M4 16GB?

Move to a larger memory pool. A larger unified-memory SKU or a discrete high-bandwidth GPU is the cleanest way to make this model practical.

Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M4 16GB as fast as VRAM for Devstral Small 1.1?

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 16GB 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 16GB See all hardware for Devstral Small 1.1

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