Will It Run AI

Can StarCoder2 15B run on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB?

YES — Runs Great

C52Usable
Estimated from fit model

StarCoder2 15B needs ~15.3 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB has 23.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~25 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced
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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) 15.3 GB, 25.4 tok/s, Runs well
15.3 GB required23.0 GB available
67% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

25.4 tok/s

TTFT

7636 ms

Safe context

87K

Memory

15.3 GB / 23.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights9.2 GB
KV Cache1.8 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom3.5 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsStarCoder2 15B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB
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: 25.4 tok/s decode · 7.6s TTFT (warm) · 63 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

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatCRuns well25.4 tok/s4165 ms87K
CodingCRuns well25.4 tok/s7636 ms87K
Agentic CodingCRuns well25.4 tok/s11106 ms87K
ReasoningCRuns well25.4 tok/s9024 ms87K
RAGCRuns well25.4 tok/s13883 ms87K

Quantization options

How StarCoder2 15B (15B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB (23.0 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
5.9 GB
LowC46
Q3_K_S
3
7.4 GB
LowC47
NVFP4
4
8.4 GB
MediumC48
Q4_K_M
4
9.2 GB
MediumC48
Q5_K_M
5
10.8 GB
HighC50
Q6_K
6
12.3 GB
HighC50
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
16.1 GB
Very HighC50
F16
16
30.7 GB
MaximumF0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run StarCoder2 15B on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-second-state--starcoder2-15b-gguf && lms server start

Opções de upgrade

Hardware que roda bem StarCoder2 15B

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB run StarCoder2 15B?

Yes, MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB can run StarCoder2 15B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 25.4 tok/s.

How much VRAM does StarCoder2 15B need?

StarCoder2 15B (15B parameters) requires approximately 15.3 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for StarCoder2 15B?

The recommended quantization for StarCoder2 15B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will StarCoder2 15B run at on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB?

On MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB, StarCoder2 15B achieves approximately 25.4 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 7636ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB run StarCoder2 15B for coding?

For coding workloads, StarCoder2 15B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB receives a C grade with 25.4 tok/s and 87K context.

What context window can StarCoder2 15B use on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB?

On MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB, StarCoder2 15B can safely use up to 87K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB as fast as VRAM for StarCoder2 15B?

Not always. MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB 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 M2 Max 32GBSee all hardware for StarCoder2 15B
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