text model · MiniMax · macOS

Can I run MiniMax-M1-80k on Apple M4 (16GB)?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine

No, not enough memory would not load

No. MiniMax-M1-80k needs ~284.6 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.

Needs ~284.6 GB Device usable ~10.5 GB

Needs ~284.6 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~10.5 GB is usable.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes.

The gap is about 274.1 GB: MiniMax-M1-80k needs roughly 284.6 GB at Q4_K_M and Apple M4 (16GB) leaves only about 10.5 GB usable for a model. No single tracked device has enough memory; MiniMax-M1-80k needs a multi-GPU or high-memory rig.

Q4_K_M needed: ~284.6 GB
Usable on device: ~10.5 GB
Device memory: 16 GB

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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~10.5 GB usable

Q2_K

~196.9 GB

Q3_K_M

~228.8 GB

Q4_K_M

~284.6 GB

Q5_K_M

~330.8 GB

Q6_K

~379.8 GB

Q8_0

~490.4 GB

FP16

~917.9 GB

The line marks Apple M4 (16GB)'s ~10.5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

How to run it

On macOS use LM Studio (Polished GUI, ships MLX on Apple Silicon, one-click model downloads.).

Model MiniMax

Parameters: 456B (MoE, 45.9B active)
Q4_K_M size: 278.7 GB
Context: 1000k

Full MiniMax-M1-80k requirements →

Device macOS

Memory: 16 GB unified
Usable for weights: ~10.5 GB
Power draw: ~65 W
Best runtime: Ollama (MLX backend, preview) / MLX direct

Best models for Apple M4 (16GB) →

What you can run instead

FAQ

Can Apple M4 (16GB) run MiniMax-M1-80k?

No. MiniMax-M1-80k needs ~284.6 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.

How much memory does MiniMax-M1-80k need?

Apple M4 (16GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~278.7 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~284.6 GB at a 4k context. It is a Mixture-of-Experts model (456B total / 45.9B active), so all experts must stay in memory; memory tracks total params, not active params.

What is the best tool to run MiniMax-M1-80k 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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Markdown

[![MiniMax-M1-80k on Apple M4 (16GB)](https://localmodel.run/badge/minimax-m1-80k/apple-m4-16gb.svg)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/minimax-m1-80k/apple-m4-16gb)

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.