# Can I run Gemma 3 12B on Apple M5 Max (128GB)?

> **Yes, it runs.** Runs at Q4_K_M using ~8.9 GB of ~96 GB usable. You have room for FP16 for higher quality.

Last validated: 2026-06-15.

## Memory math
- Gemma 3 12B: 12B; Q4_K_M weighs 7.3 GB on disk.
- At Q4_K_M with a 4k context it needs ~8.9 GB (weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, ±15% with context length).
- Apple M5 Max (128GB): 128 GB unified, ~96 GB usable for model weights.
- Headroom: ~87.1 GB; it also fits FP16 for higher quality.

## How to run
Recommended quant: Q4_K_M. Best tool on macOS: LM Studio.

```sh
ollama run gemma3:12b
```

## Run Gemma 3 12B on other devices
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/nvidia-rtx-3060-12gb)
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (12GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/nvidia-rtx-4070-12gb)
- [Apple M2 (16GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/apple-m2-16gb)
- [Apple M4 (16GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/apple-m4-16gb)
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (16GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/nvidia-rtx-4060-ti-16gb)
- [Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (16GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/nvidia-rtx-4080-16gb)

## Other models that run on Apple M5 Max (128GB)
- [gpt-oss 120B (117B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gpt-oss-120b/apple-m5-max-128gb)
- [Llama 4 Scout (109B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/llama-4-scout/apple-m5-max-128gb)
- [Sarvam-105B (105B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/sarvam-105b/apple-m5-max-128gb)
- [Qwen2.5 72B (72B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/qwen2.5-72b/apple-m5-max-128gb)
- [Llama 3.3 70B (70B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/llama-3.3-70b/apple-m5-max-128gb)
- [Mixtral 8x7B (46.7B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/mixtral-8x7b/apple-m5-max-128gb)

Estimate, not a guarantee. Sources: https://ollama.com/library/gemma3, https://ollama.com/library/gemma3/tags, https://huggingface.co/bartowski/google_gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF, https://lmarena.ai/leaderboard.
More: https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b/apple-m5-max-128gb