Question 1

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct?

Accepted Answer

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB can run Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 266.5 tok/s.

Question 2

How much VRAM does Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct need?

Accepted Answer

Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct (1.5B parameters) requires approximately 6.8 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

Question 3

What is the best quantization for Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct?

Accepted Answer

The recommended quantization for Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	258.3 tok/s	1090 ms	122K
Chat	C	Runs well	258.3 tok/s	409 ms	30K
Coding	C	Runs well	266.5 tok/s	726 ms	61K
RAG	C	Runs well	258.3 tok/s	1363 ms	122K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	258.3 tok/s	886 ms	61K

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	0.6 GB	Low	D30
Q3_K_S	3	0.7 GB	Low	D30
NVFP4	4

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5 1.5B Instruct?

Memory breakdown