How much VRAM does Qwen3.5 9B need?

Qwen3.5 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 15.0 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen3.5 9B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen3.5 9B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Can it run?

Yes, MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB can run Qwen3.5 9B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 47.4 tok/s.

CUsable

Runs well

Using Q4_K_M in Ollama

Capabilities:

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

47.4 tok/s

TTFT

4088 ms

Safe context

49K

Memory

15.0 GB / 46.1 GB

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.4 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom6.9 GB

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	40.1 tok/s	7027 ms	90K
Chat	C	Runs well	40.1 tok/s	2635 ms	26K
Coding	C	Runs well	47.4 tok/s	4088 ms	49K
RAG	C	Runs well	40.1 tok/s	8784 ms	90K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	40.1 tok/s	5710 ms	49K

How Qwen3.5 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB (46.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	D31
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	D32
NVFP4	4

HuggingFace

huggingface-cli download hf-unsloth--qwen3-5-9b-gguf

Upgrade options

MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GBBudget pick

C62.7 tok/s decode

~$2,499 MSRP

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GBBest value

C84.5 tok/s decode

~$3,999 MSRP

NVIDIA A40 48GBBiggest leap