MiniMax M3 — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
VisionFunctions
MiniMax M3 is a 427.0B-parameter open language model from MiniMax in the MiniMax family. It supports a context window of up to 1,048,576 tokens. At Q4_K_M it needs about 256.71 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
189.0K downloads
1.3K likesSpecifications
- Publisher
- MiniMax
- Family
- MiniMax
- Parameters
- 427.0B
- Architecture
- MiniMaxM3SparseForConditionalGeneration
- Context Length
- 1,048,576 tokens
- Vocabulary Size
- 200,064
- Release Date
- 2026-06-02
- License
- Other
Get Started
HuggingFace
How Much VRAM Does MiniMax M3 Need?
Select a quantization to see compatible GPUs below.
| Quantization | Bits | VRAM | + Context | File Size | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 182.0 GB | 278.4 GB | 181.49 GB | 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 208.7 GB | 305.1 GB | 208.18 GB | 3-bit medium quantization |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 256.7 GB | 353.2 GB | 256.22 GB | 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 304.8 GB | 401.2 GB | 304.27 GB | 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 352.8 GB | 449.2 GB | 352.31 GB | 6-bit quantization, very good quality |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 427.5 GB | 524.0 GB | 427.04 GB | 8-bit quantization, near-lossless |
Which GPUs Can Run MiniMax M3?
Q4_K_M · 256.7 GBMiniMax M3 (Q4_K_M) requires 256.7 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 334+ GB is recommended. Using the full 1049K context window can add up to 96.5 GB, bringing total usage to 353.2 GB. No single GPU has enough memory — multi-GPU or cluster setups are needed.
Which Devices Can Run MiniMax M3?
Q4_K_M · 256.7 GB3 devices with unified memory can run MiniMax M3, including NVIDIA DGX H100, NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB, Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB).
Runs great
— Plenty of headroom
Decent
— Enough memory, may be tightWhere to Download MiniMax M3
Community quantizations of this model — GGUF for llama.cpp, Ollama, and LM Studio, plus AWQ/MLX variants where available.
Benchmarks
Benchmark details →Related Models
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much VRAM does MiniMax M3 need?
MiniMax M3 requires 256.7 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 854.6 GB at BF16. Full 1049K context adds up to 96.5 GB (353.2 GB total).
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 427.0B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 256.2 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.5 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 97 GB (at full 1049K context)
VRAM usage by quantization
Q4_K_M256.7 GBQ4_K_M + full context353.2 GB- Can NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 run MiniMax M3?
No — MiniMax M3 requires at least 117.9 GB at IQ2_XXS, which exceeds the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM.
- What's the best quantization for MiniMax M3?
For MiniMax M3, Q4_K_M (256.7 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_K_S (294.1 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is IQ2_XXS at 117.9 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
IQ2_XXS117.9 GBIQ3_S182.0 GBIQ4_NL240.7 GBQ4_K_M ★256.7 GBQ5_K_M304.8 GBBF16854.6 GB★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
- Can I run MiniMax M3 on a Mac?
MiniMax M3 requires at least 117.9 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 M3 locally?
Yes — MiniMax M3 can run locally on consumer hardware. At Q4_K_M quantization it needs 256.7 GB of VRAM. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
- How fast is MiniMax M3?
At Q4_K_M, MiniMax M3 can reach ~17 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. Speed depends mainly on GPU memory bandwidth. Real-world results typically within ±20%.
tok/s = (bandwidth GB/s ÷ model GB) × efficiency
Example: NVIDIA B300 → 8000 ÷ 256.7 × 0.65 = ~20 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (256.7 GB)
~20 tok/s~17 tok/s~17 tok/sReal-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
- What's the download size of MiniMax M3?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 256.22 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 854.08 GB. The smallest option (IQ2_XXS) is 117.44 GB.
- Which GPUs can run MiniMax M3?
No single consumer GPU has enough VRAM to run MiniMax M3 at Q4_K_M (256.7 GB). Multi-GPU or professional hardware is required.
- Which devices can run MiniMax M3?
3 devices with unified memory can run MiniMax M3 at Q4_K_M (256.7 GB), including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB), NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB, NVIDIA DGX H100. Apple Silicon Macs use unified memory shared between CPU and GPU, making them well-suited for local LLM inference.