Apple Silicon
Mac Configurations for Local LLMs
Apple Silicon Macs compared for local LLM inference performance and value.
Mac Mini M4 (16GB)
Apple M4
$799
Unified Memory
16 GB
Max Model Size
~12 GB
Llama 3.1 8B
28 tok/s
Neural Engine
38 TOPS
Key benefits:
entry price for Apple Silicon LLMs 7B models at Q4 comfortably — fast enough to read as it types
MacBook Pro 14" M4 Pro (48GB)
Apple M4 Pro
$2,499
Unified Memory
48 GB
Max Model Size
~40 GB
Llama 3.1 8B
42 tok/s
Neural Engine
38 TOPS
Key benefits:
for 7B–14B models with MLX operation, no GPU driver hassle
Mac Studio M4 Max (64GB)
Apple M4 Max
$1,999
Unified Memory
64 GB
Max Model Size
~52 GB
Llama 3.1 8B
55 tok/s
Neural Engine
54 TOPS
Key benefits:
Desktop-class thermals for sustained inference for 32B Q4 with MLX
Mac Studio M3 Ultra (128GB)
Apple M3 Ultra
$3,999
Unified Memory
128 GB
Max Model Size
~110 GB
Llama 3.1 8B
68 tok/s
Neural Engine
60 TOPS
Key benefits:
unified memory pool for local LLMs run 70B Q4 with careful quantization
Mac vs PC for Local LLMs
Mac Advantages
- • Unified memory shared between CPU and GPU
- • Silent operation with excellent power efficiency
- • MLX framework optimized for Apple Silicon
- • No GPU driver compatibility issues
PC Advantages
- • Multi-GPU scaling for larger models
- • Better performance per dollar at scale
- • Wider ecosystem and model support
- • Upgradeable and customizable hardware