Can I run this LLM?
Can a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB) run Gemma 4 12B?
Gemma · Apache 2.0 · estimated for a 16.0 GB machine at 4K context.
Yes — it runs great.
Best fit: Gemma 4 12B at Q4_K_M · 7.1 GB · 13–19 tok/s on a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB).
Every quantization on this machine
| Quant | Size | Speed | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3_K_M | 5.7 GB | 15–23 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q4_K_M | 7.1 GB | 13–19 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q5_K_M | 8.4 GB | 11–16 tok/s | Tight / slow |
| Q6_K | 9.8 GB | 10–14 tok/s | Tight / slow |
| Q8_0 | 12.7 GB | 8–11 tok/s | Won't fit |
| FP16 | 23.8 GB | 4–6 tok/s | Won't fit |
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