Tmax 9B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
ChatFunctionsTmax 9B is Allen Institute for AI's terminal-agent model, fine-tuned from Alibaba's Qwen3.5-9B using DPPO, a reinforcement-learning method, on a small curated dataset of terminal-agent trajectories, with the vision head removed so it operates as a text-only, language-model-only checkpoint. It is built specifically to drive command-line and terminal tasks rather than general chat, and clearly outperforms its Qwen3.5-9B base on Terminal-Bench evaluations. Being a single dense 9-billion-parameter model, it runs on a single consumer GPU. Context length is 262,144 tokens. It is released under the Apache 2.0 license, permitting unrestricted commercial and research use, though Ai2 asks that it be used in line with its Responsible Use Guidelines. It was published in June 2026, as the 9B member of a family of terminal agents that also includes 2B, 4B, and 27B sizes.
Runs great on a 24 GB GPU
Runs from 8 GB (Q4_K_M · 64K)Best on 24 GB (Q4_K_M · ~110 tok/s · 256K)Macs from 16 GB (Q4_K_M · ~24 tok/s)
Apache 2.0
Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB
Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate
Run Tmax 9B
One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.
Recommended
ollama run hf.co/samuelchristlie/tmax-9b-gguf:Q4_K_MQ4_K_M fits fully on the RTX 4090 · 17.8 GB free · 16K context
Download: allenai_tmax-9b-Q4_K_M.gguf5.63 GBsamuelchristlie
Other ways
each opens step-by-stepRun in cloud
Fits on RTX 3060 12GB (5 GB headroom) · Q4_K_M
- Generation speed
- ~39 tok/s
- generation speed
- Cost per 1M output tokens
- $0.49
- per 1M output tokens
How Much VRAM Does Tmax 9B Need?
Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.
| Quantization | VRAM | +32K | On RTX 4090 (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.4 GB | 5.2 GB | 2-bit · K-quant — 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements | Fits: 256K context · ~150 tok/s | |
| 4.5 GB | 5.3 GB | 3-bit small — 3-bit small quantization | Fits: 256K context · ~146 tok/s | |
| 4.9 GB | 5.7 GB | 3-bit medium — 3-bit medium quantization | Fits: 256K context · ~133 tok/s | |
| 5.0 GB | 5.9 GB | 4-bit · legacy — 4-bit legacy quantization | Fits: 256K context · ~130 tok/s | |
| 5.9 GB | 6.8 GB | 4-bit medium — 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot | Fits: 256K context · ~110 tok/s | |
| 7.0 GB | 7.8 GB | 5-bit medium — 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff | Fits: 256K context · ~94 tok/s | |
| 8.0 GB | 8.8 GB | 6-bit, very good — 6-bit quantization, very good quality | Fits: 256K context · ~82 tok/s | |
| 9.5 GB | 10.3 GB | 8-bit, near-lossless — 8-bit quantization, near-lossless | Fits: 256K context · ~69 tok/s |
Selected Q4_K_M
4-bit medium quantization6.2GBat 16K context
- Weights
- 5.4 GB
- KV cache
- 0.5 GB
- Overhead
- 0.3 GB
Fits RTX 4090 (reference) · 17.8 GB free · ~110 tok/s
≥50 tok/s needs ≥456 GB/s · RTX 5090 ~196, RTX 3090 Ti ~110
Which Hardware Can Run Tmax 9B?
Q4_K_M · 5.9 GBTmax 9B (Q4_K_M) requires 5.9 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 8+ GB is recommended. Using the full 262K context window can add up to 8.3 GB, bringing total usage to 14.3 GB. 52 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. 151 devices with unified memory can run Tmax 9B, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB), NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 8GB (Super).
≤ 11 GB
≤ 11 GB tier →fits · 1.8 GB free · up to 64K ctx
16 GPUs · 1 device family
RTX 3080~83Simulate output on RTX 3080RTX 2080 Ti~67Simulate output on RTX 2080 TiRTX 3070 Ti~67Simulate output on RTX 3070 TiOrin Nano~11Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 8GB (Super)20 GB
fits · 13.8 GB free · up to 256K ctx
1 GPU
RX 7900 XT~81Simulate output on RX 7900 XT32–40 GB
fits · 25.8 GB free · up to 256K ctx
1 GPU · 3 Mac classes · 4 device families
RTX 5090~196Simulate output on RTX 5090M5 Max36 GB~54Simulate output on Mac Studio M5 Max (36 GB)M532 GB~18Simulate output on MacBook Air 13" M5 (32 GB)Orin~22Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GBSnapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)~15Simulate output on Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC
By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at Q4_K_M
Similar models
6| Model | Score | VRAM | tok/s | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite Switch 4.1 8BIBM | — | 20.7 GB | ~36 | same size |
| Llm Jp 4.1 8B Thinkingllm-jp | — | 7.6 GB | ~115 | same size |
| Ornith 1.5 9Bornith-ai | — | 6.6 GB | ~103 | same size |
| Apertus V1.5 8Bswiss-ai | — | 8.5 GB | ~111 | same size |
| LFM2.5 8B A1BLiquid AI | — | 5.6 GB | ~335 | same size |
| Qwopus3.5 9B v3Jackrong | — | 6.6 GB | ~103 | same size |
Specifications
- Publisher
- Allen AI
- Family
- Tmax
- Parameters
- 9.0B
- Architecture
- Qwen3_5ForConditionalGeneration
- Context Length
- 262,144 tokens
- Vocabulary Size
- 248,320
- Release Date
- 2026-06-17
- License
- Apache 2.0
Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does Tmax 9B need?
Tmax 9B requires 5.9 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 18.5 GB at BF16. Full 262K context adds up to 8.3 GB (14.3 GB total).
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 9.0B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 5.4 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.5 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
Fit ratings and hardware model lists check this model with room for a 16K-token context, which needs a little more memory.
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 8.9 GB (at full 262K context)
VRAM usage by quantization
What's the best quantization for Tmax 9B?
For Tmax 9B, Q4_K_M (5.9 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_0 (6.2 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is Q2_K at 4.4 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
Can I run Tmax 9B on a Mac?
Yes — Mac Mini M2 Pro (16 GB) and 133 other Macs can run Tmax 9B. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At Q4_K_M you need at least 5.9 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead).
Can I run Tmax 9B locally?
Yes — Tmax 9B can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
How fast is Tmax 9B?
At Q4_K_M, Tmax 9B can reach ~808 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~110 tok/s. Speed depends mainly on GPU memory bandwidth. Real-world results typically within ±20%.
tok/s = (bandwidth GB/s ÷ model GB) × efficiency
Example: NVIDIA B200 → 8000 ÷ 5.94 × 0.65 = ~875 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (5.9 GB)
Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
What's the download size of Tmax 9B?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 5.37 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 17.91 GB. The smallest option (Q2_K) is 3.81 GB.
Which GPUs can run Tmax 9B?
52 consumer GPUs can run Tmax 9B at Q4_K_M. Top options include AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6800, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, AMD Radeon RX 7600. 40 GPUs have plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
Which devices can run Tmax 9B?
151 devices with unified memory can run Tmax 9B at Q4_K_M (5.9 GB), including AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Strix Point) Laptop, ASUS Ascent GX10, Beelink GTR9 Pro (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB), Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB). Apple Silicon Macs use unified memory shared between CPU and GPU, making them well-suited for local LLM inference.