willitrun·ai

Can Hermes 4.3 36B run on Mac mini M4 64GB?

YES — Runs Great

C49Usable
Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Hermes 4.3 36B needs ~34.0 GB VRAM. Mac mini M4 64GB has 46.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~7 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth
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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) 34.0 GB, 7.1 tok/s, Runs well
34.0 GB required46.1 GB available
74% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

7.1 tok/s

TTFT

27337 ms

Safe context

62K

Memory

34.0 GB / 46.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights22.0 GB
KV Cache4.2 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom6.9 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsHermes 4.3 36B on Mac mini M4 64GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step. Given information: - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour) - Time = 2.5 hours Formula: Distance = Speed x Time Calculation: Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h = 150 miles The train travels 150 miles. Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time. Breakdown: - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance) - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles Total distance: 150 miles (same) Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 7.1 tok/s decode · 27.3s TTFT (warm) · 18 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.

Fit does not mean dedicated-VRAM speed

Unified or shared memory can make a model technically fit, but sustained tokens per second may still trail a discrete high-bandwidth GPU with less total memory.

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

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity

If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatCRuns well7.1 tok/s14911 ms62K
CodingCRuns well7.1 tok/s27337 ms62K
Agentic CodingCTight fit7.1 tok/s39763 ms62K
ReasoningCRuns well7.1 tok/s32307 ms62K
RAGCTight fit7.1 tok/s49704 ms62K

Inference speed

Hermes 4.3 36B inference speed — tokens per second by GPU & Mac

Estimated decode speed (tokens/sec) for Hermes 4.3 36B at Q4_K_M across popular GPUs and Apple Silicon, including multi-GPU rigs, using the fastest local runtime per device. Fastest is RTX 5090 32GB at ~55 tok/s. Speed is memory-bandwidth bound, so cards that fit the whole model in VRAM run far faster than ones that offload to system RAM.

GPU / MacMemoryQuantSpeed (tok/s)Fits?
NVIDIARTX 5090 32GB
32 GBQ4_K_M54.7Offloads
2× RX 7900 XTX 24GB
48 GBQ4_K_M53.5Fits
NVIDIA2× RTX 4090 24GB
48 GBQ4_K_M28.1Fits
MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB
128 GBQ4_K_M27.3Fits
MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB
64 GBQ4_K_M27.3Fits
NVIDIA2× RTX 3090 24GB
48 GBQ4_K_M25.8Fits
Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB
256 GBQ4_K_M25.4Fits
NVIDIA4× RTX 3060 12GB
48 GBQ4_K_M22.7Fits
Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GB
128 GBQ4_K_M21.1Fits
Mac Studio M1 Ultra 128GB
128 GBQ4_K_M20.0Fits
MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB
48 GBQ4_K_M17.2Tight
NVIDIARTX 4090 24GB
24 GBQ4_K_M16.6Too big
RX 7900 XTX 24GB
24 GBQ4_K_M15.3Too big
NVIDIARTX 3090 24GB
24 GBQ4_K_M14.2Too big
MacBook Pro M3 Max 64GB
64 GBQ4_K_M10.9Fits
MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB
64 GBQ4_K_M10.0Fits
NVIDIARTX 4080 Super 16GB
16 GBQ4_K_M6.0Too big
NVIDIARTX 4070 12GB
12 GBQ4_K_M2.6Too big
NVIDIARTX 3060 12GB
12 GBQ4_K_M2.0Too big
NVIDIARTX 4060 8GB
8 GBQ4_K_M2.0Too big

Estimates for single-stream decoding at Q4_K_M; real tokens/sec varies with prompt length, context, batch size, and runtime build. Prompt processing (prefill) is faster than the decode figures shown here.

Quantization options

How Hermes 4.3 36B (36B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac mini M4 64GB (46.1 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
14.0 GB
LowC45
Q3_K_S
3
17.6 GB
LowC46
NVFP4
4
20.2 GB
MediumC47
Q4_K_M
4
22.0 GB
MediumC47
Q5_K_M
5
25.9 GB
HighC48
Q6_KBest for your GPU
6
29.5 GB
HighC48
Q8_0
8
38.5 GB
Very HighF0
F16
16
73.8 GB
MaximumF0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Hermes 4.3 36B on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-nousresearch--hermes-4-3-36b-gguf && lms server start

Opciones de mejora

Hardware que ejecuta bien Hermes 4.3 36B

Frequently asked questions

Can Mac mini M4 64GB run Hermes 4.3 36B?

Yes, Mac mini M4 64GB can run Hermes 4.3 36B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 7.1 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Hermes 4.3 36B need?

Hermes 4.3 36B (36B parameters) requires approximately 34.0 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Hermes 4.3 36B?

The recommended quantization for Hermes 4.3 36B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Hermes 4.3 36B run at on Mac mini M4 64GB?

On Mac mini M4 64GB, Hermes 4.3 36B achieves approximately 7.1 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 27337ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can Mac mini M4 64GB run Hermes 4.3 36B for coding?

For coding workloads, Hermes 4.3 36B on Mac mini M4 64GB receives a C grade with 7.1 tok/s and 62K context.

What context window can Hermes 4.3 36B use on Mac mini M4 64GB?

On Mac mini M4 64GB, Hermes 4.3 36B can safely use up to 62K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Hermes 4.3 36B feels slow on Mac mini M4 64GB?

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity. If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Is unified memory on Mac mini M4 64GB as fast as VRAM for Hermes 4.3 36B?

Not always. Mac mini M4 64GB 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 mini M4 64GBSee all hardware for Hermes 4.3 36B
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