GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) vs NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24GB) for local LLMs
How the two stack up for running open-source LLMs locally — memory, bandwidth, price, and how many of the 64 tracked models each one can run.
| MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) | NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 36.0 GB | 24.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 1008 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $3,599 | $2,999 |
| LLMs it runs | 47 of 64 | 47 of 64 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B · 13–20 tok/s | Qwen3.8 27B · 38–57 tok/s |
Both run the same number of models, but the MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) has more memory (36.0 GB), so it can hold larger models at higher quality. The NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24GB) has more memory bandwidth (1008 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.