Can I run this LLM?
Can a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB) run Qwen3 8B?
Qwen · Apache 2.0 · estimated for a 16.0 GB machine at 4K context.
Yes — it runs great.
Best fit: Qwen3 8B at Q6_K · 6.7 GB · 13–20 tok/s on a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB).
Every quantization on this machine
| Quant | Size | Speed | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.3 GB | 23–35 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q3_K_M | 4.1 GB | 19–29 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q4_K_M | 5.0 GB | 17–25 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q5_K_M | 5.9 GB | 15–22 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q6_K | 6.7 GB | 13–20 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q8_0 | 8.7 GB | 10–16 tok/s | Tight / slow |
| FP16 | 16.4 GB | 6–9 tok/s | Won't fit |
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