How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 VL 72B need?

Qwen 2.5 VL 72B (72B parameters) requires approximately 67.9 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 VL 72B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 VL 72B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Can it run?

Yes, Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB can run Qwen 2.5 VL 72B with a C grade (Runs with offload). Expected decode speed: 12.1 tok/s.

CUsable

Runs with offload

Using Q4_K_M in vLLM

Capabilities:

Fit status

Runs with offload

Decode

12.1 tok/s

TTFT

15972 ms

Safe context

16K

Memory

67.9 GB / 69.1 GB

Weights43.9 GB

KV Cache11.3 GB

Runtime2.4 GB

Headroom10.4 GB

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	D	Very compromised (needs ~5.6 GB host RAM)	12.2 tok/s	23088 ms	28K
Chat	C	Tight fit	12.7 tok/s	8328 ms	9K
Coding	C	Runs with offload	12.1 tok/s	15972 ms	16K
RAG	D	Very compromised (needs ~5.6 GB host RAM)	12.2 tok/s	28860 ms	28K
Reasoning	C	Runs with offload	12.7 tok/s	18044 ms

How Qwen 2.5 VL 72B (72B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	28.1 GB	Low	D38
Q3_K_S	3	35.3 GB	Low	C40
NVFP4	4

Ollama

ollama run qwen-2.5-vl-72b

HuggingFace

huggingface-cli download qwen-2.5-vl-72b

Upgrade options

MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GBBudget pick

C5.5 tok/s decode

~$2,499 MSRP

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GBBest value

C10.6 tok/s decode

~$3,999 MSRP