text model · Command R · macOS
CR Can I run Command R 35B on Apple M2 (16GB)?
No. Command R 35B needs ~22.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M2 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.
Needs ~22.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~10.5 GB is usable.
- Q4_K_M needed
- ~22.3 GB
- Usable on device
- ~10.5 GB
- Device memory
- 16 GB
- Parameters
- 35B
- Q4_K_M size
- 20.05 GB
- Q8_0 size
- 34.63 GB
- Context
- 128k
- Ollama tag
- command-r:35b
- Memory
- 16 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~10.5 GB
- Best runtime
- Ollama (llama.cpp Metal backend) / MLX
What you can run instead
Run Command R 35B on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M2 (16GB) run Command R 35B?
No. Command R 35B needs ~22.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M2 (16GB) only has ~10.5 GB usable.
How much memory does Command R 35B need?
Apple M2 (16GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~20.05 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~22.3 GB at a 4k context.
What is the best tool to run Command R 35B on macOS?
LM Studio for a simple setup; mlx-lm for the most speed. vLLM is NOT a Mac tool, it is a CUDA/Linux serving engine. Unified memory is not a fixed VRAM slice; ~70% is usable for weights.
Sources
Memory figures are estimates. See methodology.