MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GBBudget pick
96 GB Unified (+32)
A
Raises estimated decode speed by about 29%.23.1 tok/s decode
Raises estimated decode speed by about 29%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$2,499 MSRP
Can Falcon 40B Instruct run on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GB?
YES — Tight Fit
B69Good
○Estimated from fit model
Falcon 40B Instruct needs ~38.7 GB VRAM. Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GB has 46.1 GB. With Q5_K_M quantization, expect ~18 tok/s.
Runtime: OllamaCapacity: TightBandwidth: HighStack: BasicBottleneck: Balanced
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.
Select quantization to explore
Q5_K_M (High quality) — 38.7 GB, 17.9 tok/s, Tight fit
38.7 GB required46.1 GB available
84% VRAM used
Fit status
Tight fit
Decode
17.9 tok/s
TTFT
10833 ms
Safe context
8K
Memory
38.7 GB / 46.1 GB
Memory breakdown
Weights28.8 GB
KV Cache1.8 GB
Runtime1.2 GB
Headroom6.9 GB
See how fast it feels
See how fast it feelsFalcon 40B Instruct on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GB
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: 17.9 tok/s decode · 10.8s TTFT (warm) · 45 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 | Tight fit | 17.9 tok/s | 5909 ms | 8K |
| Coding | B | Tight fit | 17.9 tok/s | 10833 ms | 8K |
| Agentic Coding | B | Tight fit | 17.9 tok/s | 15757 ms | 8K |
| Reasoning | B | Tight fit | 17.9 tok/s | 12803 ms | 8K |
| RAG | B | Tight fit | 17.9 tok/s | 19696 ms | 8K |
Quantization options
How Falcon 40B Instruct (40B params) fits at each quantization level on Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GB (46.1 GB usable).
| Quant | Bits | VRAM | Quality | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q2_K | 2 | 15.6 GB | Low | B66 |
Q3_K_S | 3 | 19.6 GB | Low | B67 |
NVFP4 | 4 | 22.4 GB | Medium | B68 |
Q4_K_M | 4 | 24.4 GB | Medium | B69 |
Q5_K_M | 5 | 28.8 GB | High | B69 |
Q6_KBest for your GPU | 6 | 32.8 GB | High | B68 |
Q8_0 | 8 | 42.8 GB | Very High | F0 |
F16 | 16 | 82.0 GB | Maximum | F0 |
Get started
Copy-paste commands to run Falcon 40B Instruct on your machine.
Run
docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
--hf-repo "tiiuae/falcon-40b-instruct" \
--hf-file "falcon-40b-instruct-Q5_K_M.gguf" \
-c 4096 -ngl 99Upgrade options