Gemma 3 27B on Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified)

Yes — M4 Max (36GB Unified) handles Gemma 3 27B well at Q5_K_M — 15 tok/s. Solid daily-driver performance on 36 GB VRAM.

Model Size

27.23B

Device VRAM

36 GB

Bandwidth

546 GB/s

Quantization

Q5_K_M

Benchmarks

Performance by Quantization

OwnRig currently has one published compatibility entry for Gemma 3 27B on Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified) at Q5_K_M. This is the best supported pairing we can stand behind today.

Quantization	Speed	TTFT	Fits in VRAM	Rating	Confidence
Q5_K_M	15 tok/s	550ms	✓ Yes	Good	estimated

Notes

Q5_K_M

546 GB/s bandwidth doubles throughput vs M4 Pro. Q5_K_M fits comfortably.

About Gemma 3 27B

Gemma 3 27B (27.23B) is a chat, coding, reasoning, multi-purpose model. Google's largest open-weight model before Gemma 4. Capable reasoning and instruction following. At 27B parameters, it sits between 8B models (too limited) and 70B models (too expensive). Wide multilingual support. Fits on 24 GB GPUs at Q4.

View all Gemma 3 27B hardware options →

About Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified)

Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified) has 36 GB at 546 GB/s. Available in MacBook Pro 16", Mac Studio.

See all models Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified) can run →

Estimate method: MLX performance estimates. Reference hardware source: github.com (2026-03-15)

Performance varies by driver version, inference engine, quantization method, context length, and system configuration. Figures shown are estimates based on community benchmarks and may not reflect your exact setup. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. OwnRig is independent and not affiliated with any hardware or AI model provider.