Can a MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB) run Llama 3.1 8B?

Yes — Llama 3.1 8B runs at Q3_K_M (4.0 GB) at about 14–20 tok/s on a MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB).

How much memory does Llama 3.1 8B need?

Llama 3.1 8B needs about 4.5 GB at 4K context at its smallest quantization. A MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB) has 16.0 GB.

Yes — Llama 3.1 8B runs on a MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB) at Q3_K_M

Yes — it runs great.

Runs great

Best fit: Llama 3.1 8B at Q3_K_M · 4.0 GB weights · 14–20 tok/s on a MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB).

Arena Text Overall · style-controlled

1,211Q3_K_M untested

llama-3.1-8b-instruct · published configuration reference · Q3_K_M not tested

Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry llama-3.1-8b-instruct, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,211.3. Published confidence bounds 1,207.1–1,215.4. 49,605 votes. Published llama-3.1-8b-instruct configuration reference. Reasoning mode is not disclosed by the Arena dataset. Tested precision, runtime and sampling settings are not disclosed in this dataset. Selected Q3_K_M 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: 5.4 GB; Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
Estimated generation: 14–20 tok/s
Estimated first token: ~28s

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.

Llama 3.1 8B quantizations on MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M2 (16GB), estimated at 4K context. Weights and total memory are shown separately.
Quant	Weights	Total memory	Speed	Fit
Q2_K	3.2 GB	4.5 GB	16–25 tok/s	Runs great
Q3_K_M	4.0 GB	5.4 GB	14–20 tok/s	Runs great
Q4_K_M	4.9 GB	6.3 GB	12–17 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q5_K_M	5.7 GB	7.1 GB	10–15 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q6_K	6.6 GB	7.9 GB	9–13 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q8_0	8.5 GB	9.9 GB	7–11 tok/s	Tight / slow

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