Can starcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 run on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB?

YES — Runs Great

C51Usable

○Estimated from fit model

starcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 needs ~15.7 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB has 25.9 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~30 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) — 15.7 GB, 29.6 tok/s, Runs well

15.7 GB required25.9 GB available

61% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

29.6 tok/s

TTFT

6531 ms

Safe context

109K

Memory

15.7 GB / 25.9 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights9.2 GB

KV Cache1.8 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom3.9 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsstarcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB
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: 29.6 tok/s decode · 6.5s TTFT (warm) · 74 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	C	Runs well	29.6 tok/s	3563 ms	109K
Coding	C	Runs well	29.6 tok/s	6531 ms	109K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	29.6 tok/s	9500 ms	109K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	29.6 tok/s	7719 ms	109K
RAG	C	Runs well	29.6 tok/s	11875 ms	109K

Quantization options

How starcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 (15B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB (25.9 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	5.9 GB	Low	C45
Q3_K_S	3	7.4 GB	Low	C46
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run starcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-lmstudio-community--starcoder2-15b-instruct-v0-1-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs starcoder2 15b instruct v0.1 well

👁 NVIDIA
RTX 5090 32GBBudget pick

1792 GB/s (+1382)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 319%.124 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 319%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$1,999 MSRP

👁 NVIDIA
RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell 32GBBest value

896 GB/s (+486)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 178%.82.3 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 178%.