Can I run this LLM?
Can a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB) run Llama 3.2 3B?
Llama · Llama 3.2 Community · estimated for a 8.0 GB machine at 4K context.
Yes — it runs great.
Runs greatBest fit: Llama 3.2 3B at Q6_K · 2.6 GB weights · 14–20 tok/s on a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB).
Arena Text Overall · style-controlled
1,167Q6_K untestedllama-3.2-3b-instruct · published configuration reference · Q6_K not tested
Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry llama-3.2-3b-instruct, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,166.8. Published confidence bounds 1,159.1–1,174.5. 7,936 votes. Published llama-3.2-3b-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 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
- 3.9 GB
- Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
- Estimated generation
- 14–20 tok/s
- Estimated first token
- ~16s
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 2.0 GB | 3.3 GB | 17–25 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q5_K_M | 2.3 GB | 3.6 GB | 15–23 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q6_K | 2.6 GB | 3.9 GB | 14–20 tok/s | Runs great |
| Q8_0 | 3.4 GB | 4.7 GB | 11–17 tok/s | Tight / slow |
| FP16 | 6.4 GB | 7.7 GB | — not resident | Won't fit |
Ran Llama 3.2 3B on a MacBook Air / Mac mini M1 (8GB)? Add your real numbers →