Can the Apple M1 (16GB) run Gemma 3 12B?
- FP16
- Q8_0
- Q6_K
- Q5_K_M
- Q4_K_M
- Q3_K_M
- Q2_K
Only just. Gemma 3 12B fits on the Apple M1 (16GB) at Q3_K_M, which costs noticeable quality. Expect about 7 tokens/second. A card with more memory is a better experience.
Run it with Ollama
Ollama's default gemma3:12b download is Q4_K_M, which needs about 11.2 GB, more than the 10.7 GB available. Download the Q3_K_M GGUF instead (LM Studio lists quants per model), or try a smaller context length.
New to this? Step-by-step setup for the Apple M1 (16GB)
Run it in the cloud
Want full quality? Run Gemma 3 12B on a bigger rented GPU.
Rent a cloud GPU by the hour. No upfront cost, stop any time. Not sure whether to rent or buy? Compare the cost.
Memory needed by quantization
At 8,192 tokens of context. The black line marks the 10.7 GB the Apple M1 (16GB) can use. macOS lets the GPU use about 10.7 GB of the 16 GB unified memory by default.
| Quant | Quality | Memory | Fits? | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | Full quality | 28.2 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q8_0 | Near-lossless | 16.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q6_K | Excellent | 13.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q5_K_M | Very good | 12.5 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q4_K_M | Good, most popular | 11.2 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q3_K_M | Noticeably degraded | 9.8 GB | Fits | ~7 tok/s | |
| Q2_K | Heavily degraded | 8.4 GB | Fits | ~9 tok/s |
GPUs that run Gemma 3 12B comfortably
Models that run well on the Apple M1 (16GB)
Frequently asked questions
Can Apple M1 (16GB) run Gemma 3 12B?
Only just. Gemma 3 12B fits on the Apple M1 (16GB) at Q3_K_M, which costs noticeable quality. Expect about 7 tokens/second. A card with more memory is a better experience.
How much VRAM does Gemma 3 12B need?
About 11.2 GB at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, and about 28.2 GB at full FP16 precision.
How fast is Gemma 3 12B on the Apple M1 (16GB)?
Roughly 7 tokens per second at Q3_K_M, estimated from the Apple M1 (16GB)'s 68 GB/s memory bandwidth.