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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/hf-jamesburton--phi-4-reasoning-vision-15b-gguf-on-m2-max-32gb


Can Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B run on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB?

YES — Runs Great

C52Usable
Estimated from fit model

Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B needs ~15.3 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB has 23.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~25 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced
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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) — 15.3 GB, 25.4 tok/s, Runs well
15.3 GB required23.0 GB available
67% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

25.4 tok/s

TTFT

7636 ms

Safe context

87K

Memory

15.3 GB / 23.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights9.2 GB
KV Cache1.8 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom3.5 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsPhi 4 reasoning vision 15B on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB
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: 25.4 tok/s decode · 7.6s TTFT (warm) · 63 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

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatCRuns well25.4 tok/s4165 ms87K
CodingCRuns well25.4 tok/s7636 ms87K
Agentic CodingCRuns well25.4 tok/s11106 ms87K
ReasoningCRuns well25.4 tok/s9024 ms87K
RAGCRuns well25.4 tok/s13883 ms87K

Quantization options

How Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B (15B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GB (23.0 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
5.9 GB
LowC46
Q3_K_S
3
7.4 GB
LowC47
NVFP4
4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-jamesburton--phi-4-reasoning-vision-15b-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B well

RX 7900 XTX 24GBBudget pick
960 GB/s (+560)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 197%.75.5 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 197%.

~$999 MSRP

👁 NVIDIA
RTX 3090 24GBBest value
936 GB/s (+536)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 169%.68.3 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 169%.

~$1,499 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for MacBook Pro M2 Max 32GBSee all hardware for Phi 4 reasoning vision 15B
8.4 GB
Medium
C48
Q4_K_M
4
9.2 GB
MediumC48
Q5_K_M
5
10.8 GB
HighC50
Q6_K
6
12.3 GB
HighC50
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
16.1 GB
Very HighC50
F16
16
30.7 GB
MaximumF0