Can I Run / gemma 4 12B it / on Apple M3 (24GB)
Can I Run gemma 4 12B it on a Apple M3 (24GB)?
Yes
Runs at Q8_0 — near-lossless quality.
Model size
12.0B
GPU memory
24.0GB
Smallest quant
Q2_K
Best fit
Q8_0
12 quantizations fit your 24.0GB
| Quant | Min VRAM | Recommended | File size | Headroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q8_0BEST | 13.8 GB | 15.3 GB | 0.5 GB | +10.3 GB |
| Q6_K | 10.9 GB | 12.4 GB | 9.8 GB | +13.1 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 9.5 GB | 11.0 GB | 8.4 GB | +14.5 GB |
| Q5_K_S | 9.3 GB | 10.8 GB | 8.2 GB | +14.7 GB |
| Q4_1 | 8.5 GB | 10.0 GB | 7.4 GB | +15.5 GB |
| Q4_K_M | 8.3 GB | 9.8 GB | 7.1 GB | +15.7 GB |
| Q4_K_S | 7.9 GB | 9.4 GB | 6.8 GB | +16.1 GB |
| Q4_0 | 7.8 GB | 9.3 GB | 6.7 GB | +16.3 GB |
| Q3_K_L | 6.3 GB | 7.8 GB | 6.7 GB | +17.7 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 6.0 GB | 7.5 GB | 5.7 GB | +18.0 GB |
| Q3_K_S | 5.6 GB | 7.1 GB | 5.1 GB | +18.4 GB |
| Q2_K | 5.0 GB | 6.5 GB | 5.1 GB | +19.1 GB |
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Full model details
gemma 4 12B it →
All quant variants, benchmark scores, and use-case tags.
Best models for this GPU
Apple M3 (24GB) →
Top-ranked open-source models that fit in 24.0GB.
FAQ
Can the Apple M3 (24GB) run gemma 4 12B it?
Yes. The Apple M3 (24GB)'s 24.0GB of unified memory is enough to run gemma 4 12B it at Q8_0 quantization (13.8GB required).
What's the best quantization to use?
Q8_0 is the highest-precision quantization that fits in your 24.0GB. It uses about 13.8GB of memory and 15.3GB recommended for comfortable inference.
What if I need more headroom for context length?
KV cache memory grows with context length. The numbers above assume a baseline 2K-4K context. For long-context use (32K+), add another 2-6GB depending on the model architecture.