llmrun

Apple · M5 Max · Desktop

Best AI Models for Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB)

Runs 27–35B models well and fits 120B MoE; dense 70B fits but is slow at 9 tok/s.

64 GB unified60.5 GB for models614 GB/s68 TFLOPS FP162026
Memory
36 GB48 GB64 GB128 GB
Same chip in
Mac StudioMacBook Pro 16"MacBook Pro 14"

Top models by task

#ModelSpeed ↓llmrun ScoreQuant · Memory
1
GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run →
Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
92.4 tok/sQ4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2
Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle
Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
80.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 16.5 GB
3
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA
Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB
72.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 19.3 GB
4
Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba
Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
69.5 tok/sQ4_K_M · 19.4 GB
5
Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507Alibaba
Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
69.5 tok/sQ4_K_M · 19.4 GB
See all 338 models on the Mac Studio M5 Max →Bars = traction for models without a Score yet
Task rankings use that task's benchmarks, topped up from Overall when short; bars mark well-known models with no Score yet.

About the Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB)

The Mac Studio M5 Max is one of the fastest 64 GB machines: it runs 27–35B models well and fits 120B MoE. Among 64 GB machines, only the M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 60.5 GB for models. With 68 TFLOPS it reads long prompts faster than most 64 GB machines: a 4K-token prompt takes 17 s. M5 Max generation, released 2026.

Speed in 64 GB#3614 GB/s
Prompt reading#168 TFLOPS
For models60.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB
ChipM5 Maxreleased 2026

Mac Studio M5 Max strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Runs 120B MoE models: GPT OSS 120B at 71.8 tok/s in 59.1 GB
  • Room for long context: Qwen3.8 27B at Q4 uses 17.9 GB, leaving 42.6 GB free

Weaknesses

  • Slow on large dense models: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at 9.2 tok/s
  • Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Qwen3.8 27B waits 2.2 min for the first token
  • No CUDA: vLLM, AWQ, GPTQ and FP8 builds don't run; use GGUF or MLX

Memory for models

60.5 GB of 64 GB
9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB35B MoE22 GB70B51.3 GB120B MoE59.1 GB
35B MoE22 GB120B MoE59.1 GB
For models 60.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

Everything on the size ladder fits. Two 27B-class models together use 35.7 GB and leave 24.8 GB free.

Similar devices and alternatives

Other memory sizes of the same machine first, then machines and GPUs people weigh against it, each with the one reason it is worth a look. Speeds on Qwen3.6 35B A3B.

Same chip, 16 GB less memoryMac Studio M5 Max (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M5 Max
same speed▼ 16 GBno price
Same familySame chip, 2× the memoryMac Studio M5 Max (128 GB)Apple · 124.5 GB for models · M5 Max
same speed▲ 64 GBno price
Same familyMachine, 5% slowerMac Studio M4 Max (64 GB)Apple · 60.5 GB for models · M4 Max
▼ 5% speedsame memoryabout $2,699
13% faster, 11.5 GB more memoryMac Studio M3 Ultra (96 GB)Apple · 72 GB for models · M3 Ultra
▲ 13% speed▲ 11.5 GBabout $3,999
2.2× faster if your models fit in 24 GBRTX 4090NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM · GPU
▲ 123% speed▼ 36.5 GBabout $1,599rent $0.34/hr
3.1× faster if your models fit in 32 GBRTX 5090NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM · GPU
▲ 215% speed▼ 28.5 GBabout $5,376rent $0.69/hr

Mac Studio M5 Max tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (614 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 60.5 GB available.

  1. 9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
    67.6tok/s
  2. 14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
    45.2tok/s
  3. 27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
    24.7tok/s
  4. 35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
    67.8tok/s
  5. 70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · Q4_K_M · 51.3 GB slow
    9.2tok/s
  6. 120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · Q4_0 · 59.1 GB tight · Q4_0
    71.8tok/s

Estimated speeds: Q4_K_M, 4K context, one user. How we estimate

Max generations: writing vs compute

M1 Max → M5 Max
Writing speed (tok/s)Compute (TFLOPS FP16)
1×2×3×4×5×M1 Max2022M2 Max2023M3 Max2023M4 Max2025M5 Max2026M1 Max · 15.6 TFLOPS FP16M1 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM2 Max · 21.5 TFLOPS FP16M2 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM3 Max · 28.7 TFLOPS FP16M3 Max · 55.2 tok/s · 409.6 GB/sM4 Max · 34.4 TFLOPS FP16M4 Max · 64.2 tok/s · 546 GB/sM5 Max · 68 TFLOPS FP16M5 Max · 67.8 tok/s · 614 GB/sCompute 4.4×Writing +24%
1×2×3×4×5×M12022M22023M32023M42025M52026M1 Max · 15.6 TFLOPS FP16M1 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM2 Max · 21.5 TFLOPS FP16M2 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM3 Max · 28.7 TFLOPS FP16M3 Max · 55.2 tok/s · 409.6 GB/sM4 Max · 34.4 TFLOPS FP16M4 Max · 64.2 tok/s · 546 GB/sM5 Max · 68 TFLOPS FP16M5 Max · 67.8 tok/s · 614 GB/sCompute 4.4×Writing +24%

Writing speed follows memory bandwidth and barely moved: 54.5 to 67.8 tok/s since the M1 Max. Compute, which sets how fast prompts are read, grew 4.4×. Indexed to the M1 Max; speeds on Qwen3.6 35B A3B, same 64 GB.

All 338 models on the Mac Studio M5 Max

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 60.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
ModelVRAMScoreFit
Qwen3.8 27B
27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx
17.9 GBA65, Runs well
Qwen3.6 35B A3B
36.0B·Q4_K_M·67.8 t/s·262K ctx
22.0 GBS85, Runs great
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
25.8B·Q4_K_M·80.7 t/s·262K ctx
16.5 GBS88, Runs great
Muse Glimmer 30B
29.8B·Q4_K_M·23.4 t/s·131K ctx
19.6 GBB64, Decent
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16
31.6B·Q4_K_M·72.7 t/s·262K ctx
19.3 GBS86, Runs great
Gemma 4 31B IT
31.3B·Q4_K_M·21.1 t/s·262K ctx
21.7 GBB61, Decent
GLM 4.7 Flash
31.2B·Q4_K_M·61.7 t/s·203K ctx
19.9 GBA84, Runs well
JEV 27B VL
27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx
17.9 GBA65, Runs well
GPT OSS 20B
20.9B·Q4_K_M·92.4 t/s·131K ctx
13.1 GBS90, Runs great
Qwen3.5 9B
9.7B·Q4_K_M·67.6 t/s·262K ctx
6.6 GBS85, Runs great
MiniCPM5 2B
2.5B·Q4_K_M·226.2 t/s·131K ctx
2.5 GBS100, Runs great
MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B
9.4B·Q4_K_M·69.2 t/s·262K ctx
6.5 GBS86, Runs great
Ornith 1.5 35B A3B
36.0B·Q4_K_M·67.8 t/s·262K ctx
22.0 GBS85, Runs great
Ling 3.0 Tiny
7.9B·Q4_K_M·143.4 t/s·131K ctx
5.5 GBS96, Runs great
Qwen3.6 27B
27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx
17.9 GBA65, Runs well

Mac Studio M5 Max specs

Specs

Chip
M5 Max
CPU cores
18
GPU cores
40
Unified memory
64 GB
For models
60.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth
614 GB/s
FP16 (dense)
68 TFLOPS
Neural Engine
38 TOPS
Released
2026-09-22

Mac Studio M5 Max FAQ

How much memory is available for AI on the Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB)?

About 60.5 GB of the 64 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB) can run?

GPT OSS 120B (116.8B) at Q4_0 uses 59.1 GB, 98% of the available memory, and runs at about 71.8 tok/s.

Can the Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB) run 70B models?

Yes, but slowly: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at Q4_K_M uses 51.3 GB and writes about 9.2 tok/s.

How long does the Mac Studio M5 Max (64 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Qwen3.8 27B, about 17 s for a 4K-token prompt and 2.2 min for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the Mac Studio M5 Max?

An A100 (80 GB) rents from $1.10/hr.

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