Can Granite 4.1 30B run on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB?

YES — Runs Great

A83Great

Estimated from fit model

Granite 4.1 30B needs ~28.3 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB has 34.6 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~14 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) — 28.3 GB, 14.1 tok/s, Runs well

28.3 GB required34.6 GB available

82% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

14.1 tok/s

TTFT

13732 ms

Safe context

42K

Memory

28.3 GB / 34.6 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights18.3 GB

KV Cache3.9 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom5.2 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGranite 4.1 30B on MacBook Pro M3 Max 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: 14.1 tok/s decode · 13.7s TTFT (warm) · 35 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	A	Runs well	14.1 tok/s	7490 ms	42K
Coding	A	Runs well	14.1 tok/s	13732 ms	42K
Agentic Coding	A	Tight fit	14.1 tok/s	19974 ms	42K
Reasoning	A	Runs well	14.1 tok/s	16229 ms	42K
RAG	A	Tight fit	14.1 tok/s	24967 ms	42K

Quantization options

How Granite 4.1 30B (30B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB (34.6 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	11.7 GB	Low	A79
Q3_K_S	3	14.7 GB	Low	A80
NVFP4	4	16.8 GB	Medium	A81
Q4_K_M	4	18.3 GB	Medium	A82
Q5_K_M	5	21.6 GB	High	A81
Q6_KBest for your GPU	6	24.6 GB	High	A81
Q8_0	8	32.1 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	61.5 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Granite 4.1 30B on your machine.

Run

ollama run granite4.1:30b

Your hardware

More models your MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode
Qwen3-Coder 30B A3B Instruct	30.5B	S	36.3 tok/s
Qwen 3.6 35B A3B	35B	S	33.5 tok/s
Qwen 3.5 35B A3B	35B	S	36.5 tok/s
Qwen 3 32B	32B	S	13.4 tok/s
Qwen 3 30B A3B	30.5B	S	36.3 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB run Granite 4.1 30B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB can run Granite 4.1 30B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 14.1 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Granite 4.1 30B need?

Granite 4.1 30B (30B parameters) requires approximately 28.3 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Granite 4.1 30B?

The recommended quantization for Granite 4.1 30B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Granite 4.1 30B run at on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB, Granite 4.1 30B achieves approximately 14.1 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 13732ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB run Granite 4.1 30B for coding?

For coding workloads, Granite 4.1 30B on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB receives a A grade with 14.1 tok/s and 42K context.

What context window can Granite 4.1 30B use on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB, Granite 4.1 30B can safely use up to 42K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M3 Max 48GB as fast as VRAM for Granite 4.1 30B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M3 Max 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 M3 Max 48GB See all hardware for Granite 4.1 30B

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