text model · gemma · macOS
Can I run Gemma 2 9B on Apple M1 (8GB)?
No. Gemma 2 9B needs ~7.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M1 (8GB) only has ~5.5 GB usable.
Needs ~7.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~5.5 GB is usable.
- Q4_K_M needed
- ~7.3 GB
- Usable on device
- ~5.5 GB
- Device memory
- 8 GB
- Parameters
- 9B
- Q4_K_M size
- 5.76 GB
- Q8_0 size
- 9.83 GB
- Context
- 8k
- Ollama tag
- gemma2:9b
- Memory
- 8 GB unified
- Usable for weights
- ~5.5 GB
- Best runtime
- Ollama (llama.cpp Metal backend)
What you can run instead
Run Gemma 2 9B on other hardware
FAQ
Can Apple M1 (8GB) run Gemma 2 9B?
No. Gemma 2 9B needs ~7.3 GB even at Q4_K_M, but Apple M1 (8GB) only has ~5.5 GB usable.
How much memory does Gemma 2 9B need?
Apple M1 (8GB) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~5.76 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~7.3 GB at a 4k context.
What is the best tool to run Gemma 2 9B 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.