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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/codestral-22b-on-m4-mini-64gb


Can Codestral 22B run on Mac mini M4 64GB?

YES — Runs Great

C55Usable
Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Codestral 22B needs ~23.7 GB VRAM. Mac mini M4 64GB has 46.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~6 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth
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Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 23.7 GB, 9.7 tok/s, Runs well
23.7 GB required46.1 GB available
51% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

9.7 tok/s

TTFT

19981 ms

Safe context

33K

Memory

23.7 GB / 46.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights13.4 GB
KV Cache2.4 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom6.9 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsCodestral 22B on Mac mini M4 64GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Write a Python function to sort a list
Here's a Python function that sorts a list using quicksort: def quicksort(arr): if len(arr) <= 1: return arr pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2] left = [x for x in arr if x < pivot] middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot] right = [x for x in arr if x > pivot] return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right) # Example usage numbers = [3, 6, 8, 10, 1, 2, 1] print(quicksort(numbers)) # [1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10] The algorithm picks a pivot, partitions the list into smaller, equal, and larger elements, then recursively sorts each partition and concatenates the results.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>Now add type hints and a docstring
def quicksort(arr: list[int]) -> list[int]: """Sort a list using the quicksort algorithm. Args: arr: List of integers to sort. Returns: A new sorted list. """ if len(arr) <= 1: return arr pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2] left = [x for x in arr if x < pivot] middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot] right = [x for x in arr if x > pivot] return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right) Added type hints for the input and return type, plus a Google-style docstring.
Estimated: 9.7 tok/s decode · 20.0s TTFT (warm) · 24 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.

Fit does not mean dedicated-VRAM speed

Unified or shared memory can make a model technically fit, but sustained tokens per second may still trail a discrete high-bandwidth GPU with less total memory.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity

If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatCRuns well6.4 tok/s16402 ms33K
CodingCRuns well6.4 tok/s30071 ms33K
Agentic CodingBRuns well6.4 tok/s43739 ms33K
ReasoningCRuns well6.4 tok/s35538 ms33K
RAGBRuns well6.4 tok/s54674 ms33K

Quantization options

How Codestral 22B (22B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac mini M4 64GB (46.1 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
8.6 GB
LowC53
Q3_K_S
3
10.8 GB
LowC53
NVFP4
4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Codestral 22B on your machine.

Run

ollama run codestral

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Codestral 22B well

MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GBBudget pick
96 GB Unified (+32)546 GB/s (+426)
B
Raises estimated decode speed by about 286%.37.4 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 286%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$2,499 MSRP

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GBBest value
96 GB Unified (+32)819 GB/s (+699)
B
Raises estimated decode speed by about 360%.44.6 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 360%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$3,999 MSRP

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GBApple upgrade
128 GB Unified (+64)800 GB/s (+680)
B
Raises estimated decode speed by about 284%.37.2 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 284%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$3,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for Mac mini M4 64GBSee all hardware for Codestral 22B
12.3 GB
Medium
C54
Q4_K_M
4
13.4 GB
MediumC54
Q5_K_M
5
15.8 GB
HighB55
Q6_K
6
18.0 GB
HighB56
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
23.5 GB
Very HighB58
F16
16
45.1 GB
MaximumF0

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity. If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.