MiniMax M2.1 — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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MiniMax M2.1 is an earlier generation of MiniMax's large mixture-of-experts model series, featuring the same 228 billion total parameter architecture as its successor. It offers strong multilingual performance across Chinese and English tasks, including conversation, reasoning, and content generation. While M2.5 refines the formula, M2.1 remains a capable option for users with the multi-GPU hardware needed to host a model of this scale locally.
53.2K downloads
1.3K likesSpecifications
- Publisher
- MiniMaxAI
- Parameters
- 228.7B
- Architecture
- MiniMaxM2ForCausalLM
- Context Length
- 196,608 tokens
- Vocabulary Size
- 200,064
- Release Date
- 2026-02-13
- License
- Other
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HuggingFace
How Much VRAM Does MiniMax M2.1 Need?
Select a quantization to see compatible GPUs below.
| Quantization | Bits | VRAM | + Context | File Size | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQ2_XXS | 2.20 | 63.5 GB | 88.2 GB | 62.89 GB | Importance-weighted 2-bit, extreme compression — significant quality loss |
| IQ2_M | 2.70 | 77.8 GB | 102.5 GB | 77.19 GB | Importance-weighted 2-bit, medium |
| IQ3_XXS | 3.10 | 89.2 GB | 113.9 GB | 88.62 GB | Importance-weighted 3-bit |
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 97.8 GB | 122.5 GB | 97.20 GB | 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | 100.6 GB | 125.3 GB | 100.06 GB | 3-bit small quantization |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 112.0 GB | 136.8 GB | 111.49 GB | 3-bit medium quantization |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | 114.9 GB | 139.6 GB | 114.35 GB | 4-bit legacy quantization |
| IQ4_XS | 4.30 | 123.5 GB | 148.2 GB | 122.93 GB | Importance-weighted 4-bit, compact |
| Q4_1 | 4.50 | 129.2 GB | 153.9 GB | 128.65 GB | 4-bit legacy quantization with offset |
| Q4_K_S | 4.50 | 129.2 GB | 153.9 GB | 128.65 GB | 4-bit small quantization |
| IQ4_NL | 4.50 | 129.2 GB | 153.9 GB | 128.65 GB | Importance-weighted 4-bit, non-linear |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 137.8 GB | 162.5 GB | 137.22 GB | 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot |
| Q5_K_S | 5.50 | 157.8 GB | 182.5 GB | 157.23 GB | 5-bit small quantization |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 163.5 GB | 188.2 GB | 162.95 GB | 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 189.2 GB | 213.9 GB | 188.68 GB | 6-bit quantization, very good quality |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 229.3 GB | 254.0 GB | 228.70 GB | 8-bit quantization, near-lossless |
Which GPUs Can Run MiniMax M2.1?
Q4_K_M · 137.8 GBMiniMax M2.1 (Q4_K_M) requires 137.8 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 180+ GB is recommended. Using the full 197K context window can add up to 24.7 GB, bringing total usage to 162.5 GB. No single GPU has enough memory — multi-GPU or cluster setups are needed.
Which Devices Can Run MiniMax M2.1?
Q4_K_M · 137.8 GB4 devices with unified memory can run MiniMax M2.1, including NVIDIA DGX H100, NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB, Mac Pro M2 Ultra (192 GB).
Runs great
— Plenty of headroom
Decent
— Enough memory, may be tightRelated Models
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much VRAM does MiniMax M2.1 need?
MiniMax M2.1 requires 137.8 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 229.3 GB at Q8_0. Full 197K context adds up to 24.7 GB (162.5 GB total).
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 228.7B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 137.2 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.6 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 25.3 GB (at full 197K context)
VRAM usage by quantization
Q4_K_M137.8 GBQ4_K_M + full context162.5 GB- Can NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 run MiniMax M2.1?
No — MiniMax M2.1 requires at least 63.5 GB at IQ2_XXS, which exceeds the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM.
- What's the best quantization for MiniMax M2.1?
For MiniMax M2.1, Q4_K_M (137.8 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_K_S (157.8 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is IQ2_XXS at 63.5 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
IQ2_XXS63.5 GB~53%Q3_K_S100.6 GB~77%Q4_1129.2 GB~88%Q4_K_M ★137.8 GB~89%Q5_K_S157.8 GB~92%Q8_0229.3 GB~99%★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
- Can I run MiniMax M2.1 on a Mac?
MiniMax M2.1 requires at least 63.5 GB at IQ2_XXS, which exceeds the unified memory of most consumer Macs. You would need a Mac Studio or Mac Pro with a high-memory configuration.
- Can I run MiniMax M2.1 locally?
Yes — MiniMax M2.1 can run locally on consumer hardware. At Q4_K_M quantization it needs 137.8 GB of VRAM. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
- How fast is MiniMax M2.1?
At Q4_K_M, MiniMax M2.1 can reach ~21 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI300X. Speed depends mainly on GPU memory bandwidth. Real-world results typically within ±20%.
tok/s = (bandwidth GB/s ÷ model GB) × efficiency
Example: AMD Instinct MI300X → 5300 ÷ 137.8 × 0.55 = ~21 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (137.8 GB)
AMD Instinct MI300X~21 tok/sReal-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
- What's the download size of MiniMax M2.1?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 137.22 GB. The full-precision Q8_0 version is 228.70 GB. The smallest option (IQ2_XXS) is 62.89 GB.