MetaLlama 3.1 8B Instruct on Apple M3 (8GB Unified)
Yes — M3 (8GB Unified) handles Llama 3.1 8B Instruct well at Q4_K_M — 16 tok/s. Solid daily-driver performance on 8 GB VRAM.
Model Size
8.03B
Device VRAM
8 GB
Bandwidth
100 GB/s
Quantization
Q4_K_M
Performance by Quantization
OwnRig currently has one published compatibility entry for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct on Apple M3 (8GB 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 | 16 tok/s | – | ✓ Yes | Good | estimated |
Notes
Q4_K_M
Conservative estimate. Uses Q4_K_M (4.9GB), the highest-quality format that fits within ~5.5GB usable memory.
About Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (8.03B) is a chat, coding, ai coding, reasoning, multi-purpose model. Best-in-class 8B model. General capabilities with capable coding support. The go-to small model for local inference: fast, accurate, and well-supported across all inference engines.
View all Llama 3.1 8B Instruct hardware options →About Apple M3 (8GB Unified)
Apple M3 (8GB Unified) has 8 GB at 100 GB/s. Available in MacBook Air 13" (2024), MacBook Air 15" (2024).
See all models Apple M3 (8GB Unified) can run →Estimate method: Conservative estimate anchored to m4-16gb with bandwidth scaling, quantization-size adjustment, and generation damping. Reference hardware source: github.com (2026-04-18)
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.