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Llama 3.1 8B needs 5 GB VRAM at Q4. The Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB has 128 GB.
🦙 Llama 3.1 8B (Meta) is a 8B-parameter model for general chat, coding, instruction following. Strong all-rounder, comparable to GPT-3.5. The question is whether the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB’s 128 GB of VRAM can hold it — here’s the exact math.
VRAM requirements
| Quantization | VRAM needed | Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB |
|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M (recommended) | 5 GB | ✅ |
| Q8_0 (near-lossless) | 8.5 GB | ✅ |
Expected performance
Running Llama 3.1 8B at Q4 on the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB, expect roughly ~52 tokens/sec in Ollama or llama.cpp — comfortably faster than reading speed, so chat feels responsive.
Headroom: 5 GB used of 128 GB leaves about 123 GB free for KV cache (context). That’s fine for 4-8K context; for 32K+ you may need a smaller batch or a lower quant.
About the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB
Architecture: Apple Silicon · VRAM: 128 GB · Price: ~$3,500.
Good: Unified 128GB runs 70B+ models silently at low power
Watch out: Slower raw throughput than NVIDIA; costly; no upgrades
Check current Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB price on Amazon →
Related checks
Other models on the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB
🎯 LLM Hardware Checker
Enter your exact GPU + RAM, see every model you can run.
💾 VRAM Requirements
Exact VRAM per model at Q4/Q5/Q8/FP16 with context scaling.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB run Llama 3.1 8B?
Yes — runs at Q4 and full Q8 quality. Llama 3.1 8B needs 5 GB VRAM at Q4_K_M; the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB has 128 GB.
How much VRAM does Llama 3.1 8B need?
Llama 3.1 8B needs about 5 GB at Q4_K_M (recommended) and 8.5 GB at Q8_0.
How many tokens per second will the Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB get on Llama 3.1 8B?
Roughly ~52 tokens/sec at Q4 in Ollama or llama.cpp.