What can Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) run for vision?
Build: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) + — + 32 GB RAM (windows)
Runs comfortably4 models
Ranked by fit for vision use case + predicted speed. Click a row for VRAM breakdown.
Quant: Q8_0Context: 8,192VRAM: 12.1 GBHeadroom: 11.9 GBollama run gemma4:e2b277tok/sE
ollama run gemma4:e2bQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 8,192VRAM: 13.7 GBHeadroom: 10.3 GB232tok/sE
Quant: Q8_0Context: 8,192VRAM: 15.4 GBHeadroom: 8.6 GBollama run gemma4:e4b139tok/sE
ollama run gemma4:e4bQuant: Q8_0Context: 8,192VRAM: 15.4 GBHeadroom: 8.6 GBollama run gemma3:4b139tok/sE
ollama run gemma3:4bRuns with tradeoffs6 models
Tight VRAM, partial CPU offload, or context-limited.
Quant: Q4_K_MContext: 8,192VRAM: 21.4 GBHeadroom: 2.6 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 2.6 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run llama3.2-vision:11b89tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 2.6 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run llama3.2-vision:11bQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 8,192VRAM: 22.5 GBHeadroom: 1.5 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma3:12b81tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma3:12bQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 8,192VRAM: 22.5 GBHeadroom: 1.5 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run pixtral:12b81tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run pixtral:12bQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 2,048VRAM: 22.5 GBHeadroom: 1.5 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma4:26b-moe38tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 1.5 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma4:26b-moeQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 2,048VRAM: 23.2 GBHeadroom: 0.8 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 0.8 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma3:27b36tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 0.8 GB headroom left for context growth
ollama run gemma3:27bQuant: Q4_K_MContext: 2,048VRAM: 23.2 GBHeadroom: 0.8 GB- • Tight VRAM fit — only 0.8 GB headroom left for context growth
36tok/sE
- • Tight VRAM fit — only 0.8 GB headroom left for context growth
What if you upgraded?
Hypothetical scenarios. We re-ran the compatibility engine for each.
Move up an Apple memory tier
~$200–400 over base
On Apple Silicon, more unified memory is the only path forward — VRAM and system RAM are the same pool.
Some links above are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
Won't runtop 5 popular models
Need more memory than you have. Shown for orientation.
Needs ~160 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
—
Needs ~160 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
Needs ~80 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
—
Needs ~80 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
Needs ~420 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
—
Needs ~420 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
Needs ~22 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
—
Needs ~22 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
Needs ~48 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
—
Needs ~48 GB unified memory minimum at smallest quant; you have 24 GB available after OS overhead.
How to read these numbers
Want a specific benchmark we don't have? Email benchmarks@runlocalai.co and we'll prioritize it.