GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) vs NVIDIA RTX 5090 (32GB) 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 M5 Max (36GB) | NVIDIA RTX 5090 (32GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 36.0 GB | 32.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 1792 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $3,599 | $4,399 |
| LLMs it runs | 25 of 34 | 25 of 34 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 31B · 15–22 tok/s | Gemma 4 31B · 50–75 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 5090 (32GB) has more memory bandwidth (1792 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.