Apple M4 Max

Apple M4 Max (128GB): the maximum-memory M4 Max configuration, launched October 2024 in the MacBook Pro and, from March 2025, the Mac Studio, on the full, un-binned 16-core CPU (12P+4E)/40-core GPU die at 546 GB/s — the fastest memory bandwidth Apple has ever shipped in a laptop, and a real generational jump from the M3 Max's 400 GB/s ceiling.

With 120 GB of real headroom, this is the first M4 Max configuration to fit genuine frontier-scale MoE models: Qwen3 235B-A22B fits at Q2_K (102.05 GB, 14.8 tok/s) and GPT-OSS 120B reaches Q6_K (107.93 GB, 30.6 tok/s) — both about 37% faster than the identically-sized M3 Max 128GB manages on the same fits (10.8 and 22.4 tok/s there), tracking the 546-vs-400 GB/s bandwidth gap almost exactly. Dense models do well too: Llama 3.3 70B and Qwen2.5 72B both reach Q8_0 (86.35 GB and 88.73 GB), near-full precision, at 5.7 and 5.5 tok/s. 64 of the 84 tracked models fit natively.

MLX and llama.cpp's Metal backend are both fully optimized here, and Apple Silicon's efficiency advantage over a discrete-GPU workstation is largest at this end of the lineup — this much memory bandwidth in a laptop chassis has no real equivalent on the discrete-GPU side.

Apple M4 Max (64GB): the mid-tier M4 Max configuration, available in the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio on the same full 16-core CPU/40-core GPU die as the 48GB and 128GB builds, all sharing the generation's 546 GB/s ceiling — only the 36GB base configuration ships on a slower, cut-down die (see this page's bandwidth note).

With 56 GB of real headroom, this is the first M4 Max tier where 70B-class dense models clear a real quantization instead of the aggressive Q2_K floor: Llama 3.3 70B reaches Q4_K_M (50.75 GB, 9.6 tok/s) and Qwen2.5 72B reaches Q4_K_M (52.12 GB, 9.4 tok/s). Command-R 35B goes further, hitting near-full-precision Q8_0 (53.70 GB, 9.1 tok/s). MoE models are faster still at this size: Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B fits at Q8_0 (41.86 GB, 40.5 tok/s). 56 of the 84 tracked models fit natively.

MLX and llama.cpp's Metal backend are both mature here. Nothing this configuration fits comes close to the default ~48 GB Metal working-set limit (75% of 64 GB) — the largest fit here is under 54 GB — so the manual wired_limit override other Apple Silicon pages need doesn't bind at this capacity.

Apple M4 Max (48GB): the entry point into M4 Max's full, un-binned 16-core CPU/40-core GPU die, available in the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio — the same 546 GB/s as the 64GB and 128GB builds, a real step up from the cut-down 36GB base configuration's 410 GB/s.

With 40 GB of real headroom — identical to the M4 Pro 48GB configuration — this tier fits the same 51 of 84 tracked models, but at exactly double the speed on every shared fit: Llama 3.3 70B reaches the same Q2_K (32.88 GB) at 14.9 tok/s here versus 7.4 tok/s on the M4 Pro 48GB, and Qwen2.5 72B reaches 14.5 tok/s versus 7.3 tok/s — both track the 546-vs-273 GB/s bandwidth ratio almost exactly. MoE models do particularly well: Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B fits at near-full Q6_K (32.37 GB, 52.1 tok/s).

MLX and llama.cpp's Metal backend are both fully supported. Choosing this over the identically-priced-per-GB M4 Pro 48GB buys roughly 2x decode speed on every model both fit — the Max tier's advantage here is bandwidth, not capacity.

Apple M4 Max (36GB): the standard base configuration of Apple's M4 Max chip, launched October 2024 in the MacBook Pro and, from March 2025, the base Mac Studio, on a cut-down 14-core CPU (10P+4E)/32-core GPU die at 410 GB/s — 136 GB/s less than the 546 GB/s the 48GB, 64GB, and 128GB configurations get on the full die. Apple offers no way to pair 36GB with the faster die, the same binned-base-tier pattern the M3 Max shipped a generation earlier (see this page's bandwidth note).

With 28 GB of real headroom, this configuration fits the same 47 of 84 tracked models as the identically-sized M3 Max 36GB and M3 Pro 36GB — capacity decides what fits, not bandwidth — but runs about 37% faster than the M3 Max 36GB on every shared fit, since 410 GB/s is 37% more than that chip's 300 GB/s. Qwen3 32B reaches Q5_K_M (27.66 GB) at 13.3 tok/s here versus 9.7 tok/s on the M3 Max 36GB, and Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B reaches Q4_K_M (24.06 GB) at 52.4 tok/s versus 38.4 tok/s — both track the 410-vs-300 GB/s ratio closely. Even on this cut-down die, 410 GB/s outright beats the previous generation's full, non-binned M3 Max flagship die (400 GB/s).

MLX and llama.cpp's Metal backend are both mature here. The default macOS Metal working-set limit (~75% of 36 GB, 27 GB) sits just under this page's largest fit — Qwen3 32B's 27.66 GB Q5_K_M build — so raising it with `sudo sysctl iogpu.wired_limit_mb=28672` (leaving 8 GB for macOS) covers it with room to spare, the same fix and figure this site notes for the identically-sized M3 Max and M3 Pro 36GB configurations.