Question 1

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5 3B Instruct?

Accepted Answer

Yes, MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB can run Qwen2.5 3B Instruct with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 145.6 tok/s.

Question 2

How much VRAM does Qwen2.5 3B Instruct need?

Accepted Answer

Qwen2.5 3B Instruct (3B parameters) requires approximately 7.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

Question 3

What is the best quantization for Qwen2.5 3B Instruct?

Accepted Answer

The recommended quantization for Qwen2.5 3B Instruct is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	141.1 tok/s	1995 ms	106K
Chat	C	Runs well	141.1 tok/s	748 ms	27K
Coding	C	Runs well	145.6 tok/s	1329 ms	54K
RAG	C	Runs well	141.1 tok/s	2494 ms	106K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	141.1 tok/s	1621 ms	54K

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.2 GB	Low	D30
Q3_K_S	3	1.5 GB	Low	D31
NVFP4	4

Can MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB run Qwen2.5 3B Instruct?

Memory breakdown