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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/hf-quantfactory--starcoder2-7b-gguf-on-m4-pro-24gb


Can starcoder2 7b run on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB?

YES — Runs Great

C50Usable
Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

starcoder2 7b needs ~8.6 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB has 17.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~49 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) — 8.6 GB, 45.3 tok/s, Runs well
8.6 GB required17.3 GB available
50% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

45.3 tok/s

TTFT

4275 ms

Safe context

186K

Memory

8.6 GB / 17.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.3 GB
KV Cache0.8 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom2.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsstarcoder2 7b on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB
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: 45.3 tok/s decode · 4.3s TTFT (warm) · 113 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 well45.3 tok/s2332 ms186K
CodingCRuns well49.2 tok/s3933 ms186K
Agentic CodingCRuns well45.3 tok/s6218 ms186K
ReasoningCRuns well45.3 tok/s5052 ms186K
RAGCRuns well45.3 tok/s7772 ms186K

Quantization options

How starcoder2 7b (7B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB (17.3 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
2.7 GB
LowC46
Q3_K_S
3
3.4 GB
LowC46
NVFP4
4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run starcoder2 7b on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-quantfactory--starcoder2-7b-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs starcoder2 7b well

RX 7900 XT 20GBBudget pick
800 GB/s (+527)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 116%.98 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 116%.

~$899 MSRP

👁 NVIDIA
RTX A4500 20GBBest value
640 GB/s (+367)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 116%.98 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 116%.

~$2,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GBSee all hardware for starcoder2 7b
3.9 GB
Medium
C47
Q4_K_M
4
4.3 GB
MediumC47
Q5_K_M
5
5.0 GB
HighC48
Q6_K
6
5.7 GB
HighC48
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
7.5 GB
Very HighC50
F16
16
14.3 GB
MaximumF0

Not always. MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.