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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/command-a-111b-on-m2-max-96gb


Can Command A 111B run on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

BARELY — Tight on Memory

B68Good
Estimated from fit model

Command A 111B needs ~82.9 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB has 69.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~3 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: LowStack: StandardBottleneck: Host offload
Share:

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) — 82.9 GB, 2.9 tok/s, Very compromised (needs ~11.2 GB host RAM)
82.9 GB required69.1 GB available
120% VRAM needed

13.8 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Very compromised (needs ~11.2 GB host RAM)

Decode

2.9 tok/s

TTFT

67907 ms

Safe context

4K

Memory

82.9 GB / 69.1 GB

Offload

20%

Memory breakdown

Weights67.7 GB
KV Cache3.9 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom10.4 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsCommand A 111B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB
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: 2.9 tok/s decode · 67.9s TTFT (warm) · 7 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

It fits through host-memory offload, and offload is the main reason performance drops.

CPU or host-memory offload is active

About 20% of the working set spills out of accelerator memory, which usually hurts latency and sustained decode throughput.

Very little memory headroom

You can run the model, but there is not much room left for longer context, bigger batches, extra apps, or future model updates.

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

Remove offload with more accelerator memory

Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly {ram} GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatAVery compromised2.7 tok/s39234 ms4K
CodingBVery compromised2.6 tok/s74132 ms4K
Agentic CodingFToo heavy2.5 tok/s114133 ms4K
ReasoningBVery compromised2.6 tok/s87610 ms4K
RAGFToo heavy2.5 tok/s142666 ms4K

Quantization options

How Command A 111B (111B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
43.3 GB
LowS88
Q3_K_SBest for your GPU
3
54.4 GB
LowS88

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Command A 111B on your machine.

Run

ollama run command-a

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Command A 111B well

MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GBBudget pick
128 GB Unified (+32)
A
Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.3.9 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 34%.

~$2,499 MSRP

Mac Studio M2 Ultra 128GBBest value
128 GB Unified (+32)800 GB/s (+400)
S
Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.7.5 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 159%.

~$3,999 MSRP

Mac Studio M1 Ultra 128GBApple upgrade
128 GB Unified (+32)800 GB/s (+400)
S
Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.7.1 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 145%.

~$3,999 MSRP

AMD Instinct MI300A 128GBBiggest leap
128 GB VRAM (+32)5300 GB/s (+4900)
S
Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.59.8 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 1962%.

~$12,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GBSee all hardware for Command A 111B
NVFP4
4
62.2 GB
Medium
F0
Q4_K_M
4
67.7 GB
MediumF0
Q5_K_M
5
79.9 GB
HighF0
Q6_K
6
91.0 GB
HighF0
Q8_0
8
118.8 GB
Very HighF0
F16
16
227.6 GB
MaximumF0

Remove offload with more accelerator memory. Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.