text model · Nemotron 3 · macOS
Can I run Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B on Apple M4 (16GB)?
No. Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B needs ~80.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.
Needs ~80.3 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 69.8 GB: Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B needs roughly 80.3 GB at Q4_K_M and Apple M4 (16GB) leaves only about 10.5 GB usable for a model. The lightest tracked hardware that runs Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B is the Apple M4 Max (128GB) at 128 GB. See Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B on Apple M4 Max (128GB).
- Q4_K_M needed
- ~80.3 GB
- Usable on device
- ~10.5 GB
- Device memory
- 16 GB
Which quant fits
- Parameters
- 120B (MoE, 12B active)
- Q4_K_M size
- 76.87 GB
- Q8_0 size
- 119.65 GB
- Context
- 256k
- Ollama tag
- nemotron-3-super:120b-a12b
- Memory
- 16 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~10.5 GB
- Power draw
- ~65 W
- Best runtime
- Ollama (MLX backend, preview) / MLX direct
What you can run instead
Run Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M4 (16GB) run Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B?
No. Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B needs ~80.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M4 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.
How much memory does Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B need?
Apple M4 (16GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~76.87 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~80.3 GB at a 4k context. It is a Mixture-of-Experts model (120B total / 12B active), so all experts must stay in memory; memory tracks total params, not active params.
What is the best tool to run Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B 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.
Embed this
A live badge for your model card or README, updated as the data is. [](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b/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.