Question 1

Can I run Llama 3.1 70B on a Apple M1 Max?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Apple M1 Max runs Llama 3.1 70B fully on GPU at the Q5_K_M quantization. Full GPU inference — 64 GB VRAM meets the 56 GB recommendation.

Question 2

What quantization of Llama 3.1 70B should I use on a Apple M1 Max?

Accepted Answer

For 64 GB VRAM on the Apple M1 Max, the Q5_K_M variant is the best fit. Estimated ~7.2 tokens/sec on the Q5_K_M quantization.

Question 3

How fast does Llama 3.1 70B run on Apple M1 Max?

Accepted Answer

Roughly 7.2 tokens/sec for Q5_K_M. Real speed depends on context length, backend (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio), and KV cache size.

Question 4

What if Apple M1 Max is not enough for Llama 3.1 70B?

Accepted Answer

Try a smaller quantization variant or run on CPU + RAM with the trade-off of slower generation.

Quantization	File Size	Min VRAM	Rec VRAM	Context	Verdict	Estimated tok/s
Q2_K	25 GB	27 GB	32 GB	8K / 128K	Full GPU	~10
Q3_K_M	33 GB	35 GB	40 GB	8K / 128K	Full GPU	~8.4
Q4_K_M	40 GB	42 GB	48 GB	8K / 128K	Full GPU	~8
Q5_K_MBest fit	48 GB	50 GB	56 GB	8K / 128K	Full GPU	~7.2
Q8_0	74 GB	76 GB	80 GB	8K / 128K	Can't Run	—

Can I Run Llama 3.1 70B on Apple M1 Max?

Share this matchup