Can a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB) run Llama 3.1 8B?

Just about — Llama 3.1 8B runs at Q2_K (3.2 GB) at about 12–17 tok/s on a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB).

How much memory does Llama 3.1 8B need?

Llama 3.1 8B needs about 4.5 GB at 4K context at its smallest quantization. A MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB) has 8.0 GB.

Tight fit: Llama 3.1 8B on a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB) at Q2_K

Yes, but it's tight.

Tight / slow

Best fit: Llama 3.1 8B at Q2_K · 3.2 GB weights · 12–17 tok/s on a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB).

Arena Text Overall · style-controlled

1,211Q2_K untested

llama-3.1-8b-instruct · published configuration reference · Q2_K not tested

Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry llama-3.1-8b-instruct, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,211.3. Published confidence bounds 1,207.1–1,215.4. 49,605 votes. Published llama-3.1-8b-instruct configuration reference. Reasoning mode is not disclosed by the Arena dataset. Tested precision, runtime and sampling settings are not disclosed in this dataset. Selected Q2_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: 4.5 GB; Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
Estimated generation: 12–17 tok/s
Estimated first token: ~39s

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.

Llama 3.1 8B quantizations on MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB), estimated at 4K context. Weights and total memory are shown separately.
Quant	Weights	Total memory	Speed	Fit
Q2_K	3.2 GB	4.5 GB	12–17 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q3_K_M	4.0 GB	5.4 GB	10–14 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q4_K_M	4.9 GB	6.3 GB	— not resident	Won't fit
Q5_K_M	5.7 GB	7.1 GB	— not resident	Won't fit
Q6_K	6.6 GB	7.9 GB	— not resident	Won't fit
Q8_0	8.5 GB	9.9 GB	— not resident	Won't fit

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