Can I run this LLM?
Can a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB) run Granite 4.2 8B?
Granite · Apache 2.0 · estimated for a 16.0 GB machine at 4K context.
Yes — it runs great.
Runs greatBest fit: Granite 4.2 8B at Q6_K · 7.2 GB weights · 12–18 tok/s on a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB).
Arena Text Overall · style-controlled
1,290Q6_K untestedgranite-4.2-8b · published configuration reference · Q6_K not tested
Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry granite-4.2-8b, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,290.2. Published confidence bounds 1,279.1–1,301.4. 3,253 votes. Published granite-4.2-8b configuration reference. Reasoning mode is not disclosed by the Arena dataset. Tested precision, runtime and sampling settings are not disclosed in this dataset. Selected Q6_K has not been measured by this Arena entry. No quantization quality adjustment is applied.
Snapshot published 2026-10-08 · snapshot imported 2026-10-11 UTC · validated last-good data · manual refresh
Arena leaderboard dataset · Arena / lmarena-ai, Arena Leaderboard Dataset (CC BY 4.0). Selected Text Overall style-controlled rows; field names adapted, ratings unchanged. · dataset CC BY 4.0 · revision e16f90232986
- Total memory at 4K context
- 8.7 GB
- Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
- Estimated generation
- 12–18 tok/s
- Estimated first token
- ~24s
Every quantization on this machine
On small screens, each quant lists every metric below its name. On wider screens, scroll sideways for total memory, speed and fit. Keyboard: focus the table, then use the arrow keys. Quant names stay visible.
| Quant | Weights | Total memory | Speed | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.4 GB | 4.9 GB | 22–33 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q3_K_M | 4.4 GB | 5.8 GB | 18–28 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q4_K_M | 5.4 GB | 6.8 GB | 16–23 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q5_K_M | 6.3 GB | 7.7 GB | 14–21 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q6_K | 7.2 GB | 8.7 GB | 12–18 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q8_0 | 9.4 GB | 10.8 GB | 10–15 tok/s | Tight / slow |
| FP16 | 17.6 GB | 19.1 GB | — not resident | Won't fit |
Ran Granite 4.2 8B on a MacBook Air/Pro M5 (16GB)? Add your real numbers →