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text model · Llama 3.2 Vision · macOS

Can I run Llama 3.2 Vision 11B on Apple M2 (16GB)?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
Yes, it runs GPU accelerated ~11 tok/s est.

Yes. Llama 3.2 Vision 11B runs on Apple M2 (16GB) at Q4_K_M (~9 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).

Needs ~9 GB Device usable ~10.5 GB

Runs at Q4_K_M using ~9 GB of ~10.5 GB usable.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes. Apple M2 (16GB) leaves ~1.5 GB of headroom.

Q4_K_M needed
~9 GB
Usable on device
~10.5 GB
Device memory
16 GB
Best quant
Q4_K_M
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~10.5 GB usable
Q2_K
~6.1 GB
Q3_K_M
~6.8 GB
Q4_K_M
~9 GB
Q5_K_M
~9.2 GB
Q6_K
~10.4 GB
Q8_0
~13.1 GB
FP16
~23 GB
The line marks Apple M2 (16GB)'s ~10.5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

Running cost · estimate

Power & economics est.
Power draw
~50 W
Electricity / 1M tokens
~$0.19
Pays for itself after
~3,868M tok

At ~$0.15/kWh and the estimated ~11 tok/s, a million generated tokens costs about $0.19 in electricity. Versus a hosted API at ~$0.5 per million tokens, the ~$1,199 Apple M2 (16GB) pays for itself after roughly 3,868 million tokens, so local hardware is mostly a fixed cost, not a per-token one. TDP is the peak draw, so this is an upper bound. Assumptions.

Run it

Install commands macOS

Pick your tool. All 3 load the same Q4_K_M weights.

Ollama
$ ollama run llama3.2-vision:11b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf leafspark/Llama-3.2-11B-Vision-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get leafspark/Llama-3.2-11B-Vision-Instruct-GGUF
Model Llama 3.2 Vision
Parameters
10.7B
Q4_K_M size
7.36 GB
Q8_0 size
11.49 GB
Context
128k
Ollama tag
llama3.2-vision:11b
Full Llama 3.2 Vision 11B requirements →
Device macOS
Memory
16 GB unified
Usable for weights
~10.5 GB
Power draw
~50 W
Best runtime
Ollama (llama.cpp Metal backend) / MLX
Best models for Apple M2 (16GB) →

You could also run

Run Llama 3.2 Vision 11B on other hardware

FAQ

Can Apple M2 (16GB) run Llama 3.2 Vision 11B?

Yes. Llama 3.2 Vision 11B runs on Apple M2 (16GB) at Q4_K_M (~9 GB of ~10.5 GB usable).

How much memory does Llama 3.2 Vision 11B need?

Apple M2 (16GB) has room to spare. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~7.36 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~9 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Llama 3.2 Vision 11B 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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Sources

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.