Can Codestral 22B run on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB?

YES — Runs Great

C54Usable

Estimated from fit model

Codestral 22B needs ~30.6 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB has 92.2 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~19 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) — 30.6 GB, 19.2 tok/s, Runs well

30.6 GB required92.2 GB available

33% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

19.2 tok/s

TTFT

10070 ms

Safe context

33K

Memory

30.6 GB / 92.2 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights13.4 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom13.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsCodestral 22B on MacBook Pro M3 Max 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: 19.2 tok/s decode · 10.1s TTFT (warm) · 48 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	C	Runs well	19.2 tok/s	5493 ms	33K
Coding	C	Runs well	19.2 tok/s	10070 ms	33K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	19.2 tok/s	14648 ms	33K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	19.2 tok/s	11901 ms	33K
RAG	C	Runs well	19.2 tok/s	18309 ms	33K

Quantization options

How Codestral 22B (22B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB (92.2 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	8.6 GB	Low	C50
Q3_K_S	3	10.8 GB	Low	C50
NVFP4	4	12.3 GB	Medium	C50
Q4_K_M	4	13.4 GB	Medium	C50
Q5_K_M	5	15.8 GB	High	C50
Q6_K	6	18.0 GB	High	C51
Q8_0	8	23.5 GB	Very High	C51
F16Best for your GPU	16	45.1 GB	Maximum	B56

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Codestral 22B on your machine.

Run

ollama run codestral

Opciones de mejora

Hardware que ejecuta bien Codestral 22B

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GBOpción económica

256 GB Unified (+128)819 GB/s (+419)

Sube la velocidad estimada de decodificación alrededor de un 132%.44.6 tok/s decodificación

Sube la velocidad estimada de decodificación alrededor de un 132%.

Añade margen de memoria para más contexto y para que el modelo envejezca mejor.

~$6,999 MSRP

AMD Instinct MI350X 288GBMejor relación calidad-precio

288 GB VRAM (+160)8000 GB/s (+7600)

Sube la velocidad estimada de decodificación alrededor de un 1504%.308 tok/s decodificación

Sube la velocidad estimada de decodificación alrededor de un 1504%.

Añade margen de memoria para más contexto y para que el modelo envejezca mejor.

~$8,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB run Codestral 22B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB can run Codestral 22B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 19.2 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Codestral 22B need?

Codestral 22B (22B parameters) requires approximately 30.6 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Codestral 22B?

The recommended quantization for Codestral 22B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Codestral 22B run at on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB, Codestral 22B achieves approximately 19.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 10070ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB run Codestral 22B for coding?

For coding workloads, Codestral 22B on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB receives a C grade with 19.2 tok/s and 33K context.

What context window can Codestral 22B use on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB?

On MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB, Codestral 22B can safely use up to 33K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 33K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB as fast as VRAM for Codestral 22B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M3 Max 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.

See all results for MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GB See all hardware for Codestral 22B

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