Gemma 3 27B on Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified)
Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified) can run Gemma 3 27B at 3 tok/s at Q3_K_M, though performance is marginal. Consider a higher-end GPU for better results.
Model Size
27.23B
Device VRAM
18 GB
Bandwidth
150 GB/s
Quantizations Tested
1
Performance by Quantization
Each row shows Gemma 3 27B performance at a different quality level on Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified).
| Quantization | Speed | TTFT | Fits in VRAM | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3_K_M | 3 tok/s | 2200ms | ✓ Yes | Marginal | estimated |
Notes
Q3_K_M
Q3 13.3GB barely fits in 14GB effective. 3 tok/s. Marginal usability.
About Gemma 3 27B
Gemma 3 27B (27.23B) is a chat, coding, reasoning, multi-purpose model. Google's strongest open-weight model. Excellent reasoning and instruction following. At 27B parameters, it's the sweet spot between 8B models (too limited) and 70B models (too expensive). Strong multilingual support. Fits on 24GB GPUs at Q4.
View all Gemma 3 27B hardware options →About Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified)
Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified) has 18 GB at 150 GB/s. Available in MacBook Pro 14", MacBook Pro 16".
See all models Apple M3 Pro (18GB Unified) can run →Source: MLX performance estimates (2026-03-15)
Data last updated: 2026-03-15