Llama 3.1 70B Instruct on Apple M4 Max (64GB Unified)

M4 Max (64GB Unified) runs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct at Q4_K_M — 8 tok/s. Usable on 64 GB VRAM — see full quantization options below.

Model Size

70.6B

Device VRAM

64 GB

Bandwidth

546 GB/s

Quantization

Q4_K_M

Benchmarks

Performance by Quantization

OwnRig currently has one published compatibility entry for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct on Apple M4 Max (64GB Unified) at Q4_K_M. This is the best supported pairing we can stand behind today.

Quantization	Speed	TTFT	Fits in VRAM	Rating	Confidence
Q4_K_M	8 tok/s	1500ms	✓ Yes	Acceptable	estimated

Notes

Q4_K_M

Q4 at 39.5GB fits in 64GB unified memory with 24.5GB for system. Slow but functional. Apple Silicon's strength is that it works at all.

About Llama 3.1 70B Instruct

Llama 3.1 70B Instruct (70.6B) is a chat, coding, ai coding, reasoning, multi-purpose model. Frontier-class open model. Approaches GPT-4 quality on many benchmarks. Requires significant VRAM; 48 GB+ recommended for usable quantizations. Well suited for serious local deployment.

View all Llama 3.1 70B Instruct hardware options →

About Apple M4 Max (64GB Unified)

Apple M4 Max (64GB Unified) has 64 GB at 546 GB/s. Available in MacBook Pro 16", Mac Studio.

See all models Apple M4 Max (64GB Unified) can run →

Estimate method: MLX 70B model reports. Reference hardware source: github.com (2026-01-15)

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.