What is the minimum hardware to run Qwen3 30B-A3B?

Apple M5 (32GB) is the lightest device that runs Qwen3 30B-A3B, using ~20.7 GB at Q4_K_M of its ~21 GB usable. Anything with less usable memory cannot load it.

How much memory does Qwen3 30B-A3B need?

At Q4_K_M it needs about 20.7 GB (weights ~18.6 GB + KV cache + overhead at 4k context). At Q8_0 budget ~34.6 GB.

Can I run Qwen3 30B-A3B on a Mac?

Yes. Qwen3 30B-A3B runs on Apple Silicon with enough unified memory; the ranked list below shows the lightest Mac that fits.

Can I run Qwen3 30B-A3B on a phone?

No. Qwen3 30B-A3B is too large for current phone memory at Q4_K_M; stick to a laptop, desktop GPU, or Mac.

Hardware guide · Qwen3

What hardware do you need to run Qwen3 30B-A3B?

Qwen3 30B-A3B needs about 20.7 GB to run at Q4_K_M, so the lightest hardware that runs it is Apple M5 (32GB). 13 of 40 devices tested can run it.

Needs (Q4_K_M): ~20.7 GB
Devices that run it: 13
Too small: 27
Lightest that runs it: ~21 GB

Recommended Q4_K_M

32GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) Yes

Runs at Q4_K_M using ~20.7 GB of ~28 GB usable.

What kind of hardware runs Qwen3 30B-A3B

Of the 13 devices that run it, here is the split by hardware class.

5 discrete GPUs 7 Macs 1 laptop

Hardware that runs Qwen3 30B-A3B

Ranked by usable memory, lightest first. Prices are approximate street prices for the device itself (a GPU is the card alone; a Mac is the whole machine). Tok/s is a bandwidth estimate; see methodology.

Compatible devices 13 total

See the full Qwen3 30B-A3B memory breakdown, or compare it against other models.

Sources

Memory at Q4_K_M (20.7 GB = 18.6 GB weights + KV cache + overhead), validated 2026-08-03. See methodology.

What hardware do you need to run Qwen3 30B-A3B?

What kind of hardware runs Qwen3 30B-A3B

Hardware that runs Qwen3 30B-A3B

Too small for Qwen3 30B-A3B

Sources