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text model · Nemotron 3 · macOS

Can I run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on Apple M4 Max (64GB)?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
Yes, it runs GPU accelerated ~165 tok/s est.

Yes. Nemotron 3 Nano 4B runs on Apple M4 Max (64GB) at Q4_K_M (~3.9 GB of ~48 GB usable).

Needs ~3.9 GB Device usable ~48 GB

Runs at Q4_K_M using ~3.9 GB of ~48 GB usable. You have room for FP16 for higher quality.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes. Apple M4 Max (64GB) leaves ~44.1 GB of headroom, room to step up to FP16 for higher quality.

Q4_K_M needed
~3.9 GB
Usable on device
~48 GB
Device memory
64 GB
Best quant
Q4_K_M
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~48 GB usable
Q2_K
~3 GB
Q3_K_M
~3.3 GB
Q4_K_M
~3.9 GB
Q5_K_M
~4.2 GB
Q6_K
~4.6 GB
Q8_0
~5.2 GB
FP16
~8.7 GB
The line marks Apple M4 Max (64GB)'s ~48 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.

Running cost · estimate

Power & economics est.
Power draw
~145 W
Electricity / 1M tokens
~$0.04
Pays for itself after
~7,607M tok

At ~$0.15/kWh and the estimated ~165 tok/s, a million generated tokens costs about $0.04 in electricity. Versus a hosted API at ~$0.5 per million tokens, the ~$3,499 Apple M4 Max (64GB) pays for itself after roughly 7,607 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 nemotron-3-nano:4b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-3-Nano-4B-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-3-Nano-4B-GGUF
Model Nemotron 3
Parameters
4B
Q4_K_M size
2.64 GB
Q8_0 size
3.94 GB
Context
256k
Ollama tag
nemotron-3-nano:4b
Full Nemotron 3 Nano 4B requirements →
Device macOS
Memory
64 GB unified
Usable for weights
~48 GB
Power draw
~145 W
Best runtime
MLX direct / Ollama (MLX backend)
Best models for Apple M4 Max (64GB) →

You could also run

Run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B on other hardware

FAQ

Can Apple M4 Max (64GB) run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B?

Yes. Nemotron 3 Nano 4B runs on Apple M4 Max (64GB) at Q4_K_M (~3.9 GB of ~48 GB usable).

How much memory does Nemotron 3 Nano 4B need?

Apple M4 Max (64GB) has room to spare. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~2.64 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~3.9 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Nemotron 3 Nano 4B 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.