text model · MiniMax · macOS
Can I run MiniMax M3 on Apple M4 (24GB)?
No. MiniMax M3 needs ~269.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (24GB) only has ~16 GB usable.
Needs ~269.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~16 GB is usable.
That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes.
The gap is about 253.8 GB: MiniMax M3 needs roughly 269.8 GB at Q4_K_M and Apple M4 (24GB) leaves only about 16 GB usable for a model. No single tracked device has enough memory; MiniMax M3 needs a multi-GPU or high-memory rig.
- Q4_K_M needed
- ~269.8 GB
- Usable on device
- ~16 GB
- Device memory
- 24 GB
Which quant fits
How to run it
On macOS use LM Studio (Polished GUI, ships MLX on Apple Silicon, one-click model downloads.).
- Parameters
- 428B (MoE, 23B active)
- Q4_K_M size
- 264.03 GB
- Q8_0 size
- 452.71 GB
- Context
- 1000k
- Memory
- 24 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~16 GB
- Power draw
- ~65 W
- Best runtime
- Ollama (MLX backend, preview) / MLX direct
What you can run instead
FAQ
Can Apple M4 (24GB) run MiniMax M3?
No. MiniMax M3 needs ~269.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (24GB) only has ~16 GB usable.
How much memory does MiniMax M3 need?
Apple M4 (24GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~264.03 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~269.8 GB at a 4k context. It is a Mixture-of-Experts model (428B total / 23B active), so all experts must stay in memory; memory tracks total params, not active params.
What is the best tool to run MiniMax M3 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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A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is. [](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/minimax-m3/apple-m4-24gb) 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.