GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) vs MacBook Air/Pro M5 (24GB) 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 (24GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 128.0 GB | 24.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 546 GB/s | 153 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $4,699 | $1,299 |
| LLMs it runs | 30 of 34 | 21 of 34 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 31B · 13–19 tok/s | Gemma 4 31B · 6–9 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) runs 9 more of the tracked models (30 vs 21), 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.