How much VRAM does the Apple M3 Max (48GB) have?

The Apple M3 Max (48GB) has 48 GB of LPDDR5 with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (unified system memory, shared between CPU and GPU).

What is the Apple M3 Max (48GB) best for?

With 48 GB of VRAM, the Apple M3 Max (48GB) is ideal for running 70B-class models at Q4 quantization and large MoE models — a workstation sweet spot for local inference.

What LLMs can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run locally?

The Apple M3 Max (48GB) can run 51 of the 70 open-weight models tracked by CanItRun natively in VRAM at 8k context. Top options include: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at Q3_K_M, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at FP32, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at FP32.

Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct natively in VRAM at Q3_K_M quantization, achieving approximately 13.3 tokens per second.

Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Qwen 3.6 27B?

Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Qwen 3.6 27B natively in VRAM at Q8_0 quantization, achieving approximately 14.8 tokens per second.

Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct natively in VRAM at FP32 quantization, achieving approximately 12.5 tokens per second.

Apple M3 Max (48GB)

The Apple M3 Max (48GB) has 48 GB VRAM and 400 GB/s memory bandwidth. It can run 51 of our 70 tracked models natively in VRAM at 8k context.

With 48 GB LPDDR5, the Apple M3 Max (48GB) is a laptop-tier GPU that can run 51 models natively. It handles 70B-class models at Q4 quantization.

Apple M3 Max (48GB): 48GB at 400 GB/s — entry M3 Max.

32B at Q4 native. 70B at Q2-Q3.

Same as other M3 Max.

Vendor	Apple
Architecture	Apple M3 Max
CPU cores	16 (12P + 4E)
VRAM	48 GB (unified)
Memory type	LPDDR5
Memory bandwidth	400 GB/s
Compute backend	METAL
Tier	Laptop
Released	2023
Models (native)	51 / 70
Models (offload)	0 / 70

Software: MLX gives the best performance on Apple Silicon; llama.cpp Metal backend is a solid alternative. Both are well-supported by Ollama.

Popular models for this GPU

GPT-OSS 120B Llama 4 Scout 109B GLM-4.5 Air 106B GLM-4.6V 106B Qwen 2.5 72B Instruct

Models this GPU runs natively in VRAM (51)

Too large for this GPU (19)

Compare Apple M3 Max (48GB) with other GPUs

Frequently asked questions

How much VRAM does the Apple M3 Max (48GB) have?: The Apple M3 Max (48GB) has 48 GB of LPDDR5 with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (unified system memory, shared between CPU and GPU).
What is the Apple M3 Max (48GB) best for?: With 48 GB of VRAM, the Apple M3 Max (48GB) is ideal for running 70B-class models at Q4 quantization and large MoE models — a workstation sweet spot for local inference.
What LLMs can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run locally?: The Apple M3 Max (48GB) can run 51 of the 70 open-weight models tracked by CanItRun natively in VRAM at 8k context. Top options include: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at Q3_K_M, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at FP32, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at FP32.
Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?: Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct natively in VRAM at Q3_K_M quantization, achieving approximately 13.3 tokens per second.
Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Qwen 3.6 27B?: Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Qwen 3.6 27B natively in VRAM at Q8_0 quantization, achieving approximately 14.8 tokens per second.
Can the Apple M3 Max (48GB) run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?: Yes. The Apple M3 Max (48GB) runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct natively in VRAM at FP32 quantization, achieving approximately 12.5 tokens per second.