Can Granite 4.1 3B run on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB?

YES — Runs Great

B61Good

○Estimated from fit model

Granite 4.1 3B needs ~14.3 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB has 69.1 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~42 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: 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) — 14.3 GB, 42.0 tok/s, Runs well

14.3 GB required69.1 GB available

21% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

42.0 tok/s

TTFT

4610 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

14.3 GB / 69.1 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights1.8 GB

KV Cache1.2 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom10.4 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGranite 4.1 3B 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: 42.0 tok/s decode · 4.6s TTFT (warm) · 105 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	42.0 tok/s	2514 ms	131K
Coding	B	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	4610 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	6705 ms	131K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	5448 ms	131K
RAG	B	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	8381 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Granite 4.1 3B (3B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB (69.1 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.2 GB	Low	B57
Q3_K_S	3	1.5 GB	Low	B57
NVFP4	4	1.7 GB	Medium	B57
Q4_K_M	4	1.8 GB	Medium	B57
Q5_K_M	5	2.2 GB	High	B57
Q6_K	6	2.5 GB	High	B57
Q8_0	8	3.2 GB	Very High	B57
F16Best for your GPU	16	6.1 GB	Maximum	B57

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Granite 4.1 3B on your machine.

Run

ollama run granite4.1:3b

Frequently asked questions

See all results for MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB See all hardware for Granite 4.1 3B

URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/granite-4.1-3b-on-m2-max-96gb

⇱ Granite 4.1 3B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 96GB? YES