Can DeepSeek LLM 67B run on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB?

YES — Tight Fit

B58Good

○Estimated from fit model

DeepSeek LLM 67B needs ~57.9 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB has 69.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~16 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: TightBandwidth: MediumStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced

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) — 57.9 GB, 16.0 tok/s, Tight fit

57.9 GB required69.1 GB available

84% VRAM used

Fit status

Tight fit

Decode

16.0 tok/s

TTFT

12114 ms

Safe context

Memory

57.9 GB / 69.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights40.9 GB

KV Cache5.8 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom10.4 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsDeepSeek LLM 67B on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step.

Given information:
 - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour)
 - Time = 2.5 hours

Formula: Distance = Speed x Time

Calculation:
 Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h
 = 150 miles

The train travels 150 miles.

Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time.

Breakdown:
 - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles
 - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance)
 - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles

Total distance: 150 miles (same)
Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours
Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph

The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 16.0 tok/s decode · 12.1s TTFT (warm) · 40 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

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

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	B	Runs well	16.0 tok/s	6608 ms	4K
Coding	B	Tight fit	16.0 tok/s	12114 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	B	Tight fit	16.0 tok/s	17621 ms	4K
Reasoning	B	Tight fit	16.0 tok/s	14317 ms	4K
RAG	B	Tight fit	16.0 tok/s	22026 ms	4K

Quantization options

How DeepSeek LLM 67B (67B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	26.1 GB	Low	C55
Q3_K_S	3	32.8 GB	Low	B57
NVFP4	4	37.5 GB	Medium	B58
Q4_K_M	4	40.9 GB	Medium	B58
Q5_K_M	5	48.2 GB	High	B58
Q6_KBest for your GPU	6	54.9 GB	High	B58
Q8_0	8	71.7 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	137.4 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run DeepSeek LLM 67B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
 --hf-repo "deepseek-ai/deepseek-llm-67b-chat" \
 --hf-file "deepseek-llm-67b-chat-Q4_K_M.gguf" \
 -c 4096 -ngl 99

Upgrade options