OpenAIWhisper Large V3 Turbo on Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified)
Yes — M4 Max (36GB Unified) runs Whisper Large V3 Turbo excellently at FP16 — real-time capable. 36 GB VRAM with plenty of headroom.
Model Size
810M
Device VRAM
36 GB
Bandwidth
546 GB/s
Quantization
FP16
Performance by Quantization
OwnRig currently has one published compatibility entry for Whisper Large V3 Turbo on Apple M4 Max (36GB Unified) at FP16. This is the best supported pairing we can stand behind today.
| Quantization | Speed | TTFT | Fits in VRAM | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | – | 150ms | ✓ Yes | Excellent | estimated |
Notes
FP16
546 GB/s improves transcription speed over M4 Pro. Real-time capable.
About Whisper Large V3 Turbo
Whisper Large V3 Turbo (810M) is a transcription model. Distilled version of Whisper Large V3. 8x faster than the full model with minimal quality loss. The go-to for real-time transcription on local hardware. Runs comfortably on any GPU with 2GB+ VRAM.
View all Whisper Large V3 Turbo 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 based on device bandwidth. 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.