GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) vs MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB) for local LLMs
How the two stack up for running open-source LLMs locally — memory, bandwidth, price, and how many of the 34 tracked models each one can run.
| MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) | MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 128.0 GB | 16.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 546 GB/s | 153 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $4,699 | $1,099 |
| LLMs it runs | 30 of 34 | 13 of 34 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 31B · 13–19 tok/s | Devstral Small 2 24B · 10–15 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) runs 17 more of the tracked models (30 vs 13), thanks to its 128.0 GB of memory. The MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) has more memory bandwidth (546 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.