Can a Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB) run Gemma 3 27B?

Yes — Gemma 3 27B runs at Q8_0 (28.7 GB) at about 17–25 tok/s on a Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB).

How much memory does Gemma 3 27B need?

Gemma 3 27B needs about 12.1 GB at 4K context at its smallest quantization. A Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB) has 512.0 GB.

Yes — Gemma 3 27B runs on a Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB) at Q8_0

Yes — it runs great.

Runs great

Best fit: Gemma 3 27B at Q8_0 · 28.7 GB weights · 17–25 tok/s on a Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB).

Arena Text Overall · style-controlled

1,365Q8_0 untested

gemma-3-27b-it · published configuration reference · Q8_0 not tested

Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry gemma-3-27b-it, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,365.4. Published confidence bounds 1,361.7–1,369.1. 46,672 votes. Published gemma-3-27b-it configuration reference. Reasoning mode is not disclosed by the Arena dataset. Tested precision, runtime and sampling settings are not disclosed in this dataset. Selected Q8_0 has not been measured by this Arena entry. No quantization quality adjustment is applied.

Snapshot published 2026-10-08 · snapshot imported 2026-10-11 UTC · validated last-good data · manual refresh

Arena leaderboard dataset · Arena / lmarena-ai, Arena Leaderboard Dataset (CC BY 4.0). Selected Text Overall style-controlled rows; field names adapted, ratings unchanged. · dataset CC BY 4.0 · revision e16f90232986

Total memory at 4K context: 30.3 GB; Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
Estimated generation: 17–25 tok/s
Estimated first token: ~12s

Every quantization on this machine

On small screens, each quant lists every metric below its name. On wider screens, scroll sideways for total memory, speed and fit. Keyboard: focus the table, then use the arrow keys. Quant names stay visible.

Gemma 3 27B quantizations on Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB), estimated at 4K context. Weights and total memory are shown separately.
Quant	Weights	Total memory	Speed	Fit
Q2_K	10.5 GB	12.1 GB	38–57 tok/s	Runs great
Q3_K_M	13.4 GB	15.0 GB	32–48 tok/s	Runs great
Q4_K_M	16.6 GB	18.1 GB	27–40 tok/s	Runs great
Q5_K_M	19.3 GB	20.8 GB	24–36 tok/s	Runs great
Q6_K	22.2 GB	23.7 GB	21–32 tok/s	Runs great
Q8_0	28.7 GB	30.3 GB	17–25 tok/s	Runs great
FP16	54.0 GB	55.6 GB	10–14 tok/s	Tight / slow

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