MetaLlama 3.1 70B Instruct on Apple M4 Pro (48GB)
Apple M4 Pro (48GB) can run Llama 3.1 70B Instruct at 6 tok/s at Q4_K_M, though performance is acceptable. Consider a higher-end GPU for better results.
Model Size
70.6B
Device VRAM
48 GB
Bandwidth
273 GB/s
Quantizations Tested
1
Performance by Quantization
Each row is Llama 3.1 70B Instruct at a different quantization on Apple M4 Pro (48GB): less precision usually means lower VRAM use and higher tokens per second, with a quality tradeoff. Pick a row that fits in 48 GB and matches how sensitive your workload is to quantization.
| Quantization | Speed | TTFT | Fits in VRAM | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 6 tok/s | 2000ms | ✓ Yes | Acceptable | estimated |
Notes
Q4_K_M
Q4 ~39.5GB fits in 48GB unified; reserve RAM for system and KV cache — keep context length reasonable.
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 — 48GB+ recommended for usable quantizations. Excellent for serious local deployment.
View all Llama 3.1 70B Instruct hardware options →About Apple M4 Pro (48GB)
Apple M4 Pro (48GB) has 48 GB at 273 GB/s. Available in MacBook Pro 16-inch, Mac Mini.
See all models Apple M4 Pro (48GB) can run →Source: MLX 70B model reports (2026-03-01)
Data last updated: 2026-03-01
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.