GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) vs NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB) for local LLMs
How the two stack up for running open-source LLMs locally — memory, bandwidth, price, and how many of the 48 tracked models each one can run.
| MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) | NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 36.0 GB | 12.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 360 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $3,599 | $329 |
| LLMs it runs | 34 of 48 | 19 of 48 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 31B · 15–22 tok/s | Devstral Small 2 24B · 26–39 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) runs 15 more of the tracked models (34 vs 19), thanks to its 36.0 GB of memory. The MacBook Pro M5 Max (36GB) has more memory bandwidth (460 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.