Canonical Rankings

Best Macs for this model

Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B ranked across the Mac lineup at the best practical quantization, using the best available runtime evidence. Model picker is focused on current-market choices.

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29 ranked MacsUse the strongest current runtime evidence for each row.28 historical models hiddenBaselinesStatic paths cover only canonical model pages; sort and quantization stay as query state.

Rank	Mac	Score	Quant	Tok/s	Runtime	Fits	Headroom	Context	Evidence	Price	Why it ranks here
1	Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB	468	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	227.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$7,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 227.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
2	Mac Pro M2 Ultra 192GB	404	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	163.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$6,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 163.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
3	Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB	340	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	99.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$4,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 99.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
4	MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch	340	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	99.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$5,399	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 99.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
5	MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB 16-inch	340	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	99.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$5,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 99.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
6	Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB	308	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	67.2 GB	1000k	Estimated	$3,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 67.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
7	Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB	276	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	35.2 GB	523k	Estimated	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 35.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
8	MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB 16-inch	276	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	35.2 GB	523k	Estimated	$4,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 35.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
9	Mac Mini M4 Pro 48GB	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$1,599	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
10	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 14-inch	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$2,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
11	Mac Studio M4 Max 48GB	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$2,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
12	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 16-inch	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
13	MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$3,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
14	MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 16-inch	260	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	19.2 GB	249k	Estimated	$3,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 19.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
15	Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB	248	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	7.2 GB	44k	Estimated	$1,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
16	MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch	248	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	7.2 GB	44k	Estimated	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
17	MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch	248	8bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	7.2 GB	44k	Estimated	$3,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
18	Mac Mini M4 32GB	243	Q6_K	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	8.2 GB	76k	Estimated	$799	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 8.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
19	MacBook Air M4 32GB 13-inch	243	Q6_K	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	8.2 GB	76k	Estimated	$1,499	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 8.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
20	MacBook Air M4 32GB 15-inch	243	Q6_K	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	8.2 GB	76k	Estimated	$1,699	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 8.2 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
21	Mac Mini M4 24GB	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$599	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
22	MacBook Air M4 24GB 13-inch	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$1,299	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
23	Mac Mini M4 Pro 24GB	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$1,399	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
24	MacBook Air M4 24GB 15-inch	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$1,499	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
25	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 14-inch	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$1,999	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
26	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 16-inch	234	5bit	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	5.6 GB	49k	Estimated	$2,499	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.6 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
27	Mac Mini M4 16GB	201	Q3_K_L	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	2.4 GB	9k	Estimated	$499	Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 2.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
28	MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch	201	Q3_K_L	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	2.4 GB	9k	Estimated	$1,099	Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 2.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
29	MacBook Air M4 16GB 15-inch	201	Q3_K_L	43.7 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q3_K_L · 43.7 tok/s · llama.cpp · Estimated	llama.cpp	Fits	2.4 GB	9k	Estimated	$1,299	Q3_K_L is the current best practical quantization. 43.7 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 2.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.

Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B — ranking first, raw rows below

Start with the ranked Mac table above. Use the rest of this page to inspect raw Apple Silicon coverage and model metadata.

Quantizations observed: Q4_K_XL

1Benchmark rows

1Chip tiers covered

43.7Fastest avg tok/s (M1 Max (64 GB))

22 GBMinimum RAM observed

Quick take

Fastest published result is 43.7 tok/s on M1 Max (64 GB) at Q4_K_XL. Smallest published fit is 22.0 GB on M1 Max (64 GB). Longest published context on this page is 4k. Published runtimes include llama.cpp. Start with Rankings for the decision, then use the raw rows below to audit the evidence.

Based on 1 external benchmark; no lab runs yet.

Published runtimes: llama.cpp.

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Catalog record

30BTotal params

3.5BActive params

1,000,000Context window

2025-12-15Release date

What this model is, and what Apple Silicon users are actually seeing

Official model cards tell you what the model is for and which software stacks it targets. Field reality below shows how much Apple Silicon evidence we have so far.

Official brief

The model employs a hybrid Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture, consisting of 23 Mamba-2 and MoE layers, along with 6 Attention layers. Each MoE layer includes 128 experts plus 1 shared expert, with 6 experts activated per token.

Official source · Raw model card

agentscodingreasoning

Runtime support mentioned

vLLMSGLangTransformersOpenHands

Official specs

Architecture: Mamba2-Transformer Hybrid Mixture of Experts (MoE).
Total parameters: 30B.
Active parameters: 3.5B active parameters.
Max input: 1M tokens.
Max output: 1M tokens.
Release: December 15, 2025 via Hugging Face.

Official takeaways

The model employs a hybrid Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture, consisting of 23 Mamba-2 and MoE layers, along with 6 Attention layers.

Official model cards describe intent, capabilities, and supported stacks. They do not prove Apple Silicon speed by themselves.

Field reality on Apple Silicon

Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B: 1 Apple Silicon field report; best reported generation ~43.7 tok/s; best reported prompt processing ~136.9 tok/s; seen on MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB; via llama.cpp.

1Benchmark rows

1Field reports

1Practitioner signals

Sparse BenchmarksEvidence status

What practitioners keep saying

The report measured about 136.9 tok/s prefill and 43.7 tok/s generation on an M1 Max 64GB MacBook Pro with llama.cpp.
The same comparison frames Nemotron as a balance pick with strong reasoning and a 1M-context design, not just an NVIDIA paper release.

Apple Silicon field sources

r/LocalLLaMA
2026-02-24 · MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB · llama.cpp
Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B is already a real Apple Silicon contender in the 30B MoE tier, with the fastest prefill in the comparison and a meaningfully larger RAM footprint than Qwen3-Coder.

Runtime mentions in the field

llama.cpp

Hardware mentioned in reports

64GBM1 MaxMacBookMacBook Pro

What would improve confidence

Expand Cross Chip Benchmark Coverage
Reproduce Field Performance Signal
Upgrade To First Party Measurement

Current published coverage

Published chip coverage includes M1 Max (64 GB). Fastest published row is 43.7 tok/s on M1 Max (64 GB) at Q4_K_XL. Lowest published RAM requirement is 22.0 GB on M1 Max (64 GB). Catalog context window is 4k.

M1 Max (64 GB)

Raw benchmark rows for Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B

Rows stay below the ranking because this page is answer-first. Use them to inspect exact chips, quantizations, runtimes, and sources.

Chip	Quant	RAM req.	Context	Avg tok/s	Prompt tok/s	Runtime	Source
M1 Max (64 GB)	Q4_K_XL	22.0 GB	4k	43.7 tok/s	136.9 tok/s	llama.cpp	ref

Chips with published results for Nemotron-3-Nano-30B-A3B

M1 Max (64 GB)

Data

benchmarks.json — full dataset · models.json — model summaries · benchmarks.csv — CSV export

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