text model · DeepSeek-R1 · macOS
Can I run DeepSeek R1 on Apple M5 Pro (48GB)?
No. DeepSeek R1 needs ~383.7 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M5 Pro (48GB) only has ~32 GB usable.
Needs ~383.7 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~32 GB is usable.
That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes.
The gap is about 351.7 GB: DeepSeek R1 needs roughly 383.7 GB at Q4_K_M and Apple M5 Pro (48GB) leaves only about 32 GB usable for a model. No single tracked device has enough memory; DeepSeek R1 needs a multi-GPU or high-memory rig.
- Q4_K_M needed
- ~383.7 GB
- Usable on device
- ~32 GB
- Device memory
- 48 GB
Which quant fits
- Parameters
- 671B (MoE, 37B active)
- Q4_K_M size
- 376.65 GB
- Q8_0 size
- 664.3 GB
- Context
- 128k
- Ollama tag
- deepseek-r1:671b
- Memory
- 48 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~32 GB
- Best runtime
- MLX direct / Ollama (MLX backend)
What you can run instead
FAQ
Can Apple M5 Pro (48GB) run DeepSeek R1?
No. DeepSeek R1 needs ~383.7 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M5 Pro (48GB) only has ~32 GB usable.
How much memory does DeepSeek R1 need?
Apple M5 Pro (48GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~376.65 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~383.7 GB at a 4k context. It is a Mixture-of-Experts model (671B total / 37B active), so all experts must stay in memory; memory tracks total params, not active params.
What is the best tool to run DeepSeek R1 on macOS?
LM Studio for a simple setup; mlx-lm for the most speed. vLLM is NOT a Mac tool, it is a CUDA/Linux serving engine. Unified memory is not a fixed VRAM slice; ~70% is usable for weights.
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Weights are measured from GGUF files; KV cache and overhead are computed, so totals can vary ~15% with context and runtime. Any tok/s is a bandwidth estimate. See methodology.