Can the Apple M2 Max run Qwen3 235B-A22B?
No. Qwen3 235B-A22B needs about 144 GB and the Apple M2 Max has at most 96 GB of unified memory, of which about 72 GB is usable for models. The most capable model it runs well is gpt-oss 120B, at about 48 tok/s.
Qwen3 235B-A22B needsAbout 144 GB
Apple M2 Max has32 or 64 or 96 GB unified memory
Bandwidth400 GB/s
Estimated speedDoesn't fit
By memory size
Each Apple M2 Max version
- 32 GB (about 21 GB usable)Too big
- 64 GB (about 48 GB usable)Too big
- 96 GB (about 72 GB usable)Too big
What runs Qwen3 235B-A22B
These cards have the memory for it, nearest to the Apple M2 Max first. The cheapest build on our list that runs it well is the Dell DSS 8440 + 10× Tesla P100, from $5,100 used, at about 19 tok/s.
How we estimate
Speed is roughly memory bandwidth divided by the weights read per token, calibrated on our own rack. Sizes are Ollama's default 4-bit downloads plus about 1.2 GB for context. Real results are usually within about a third. Measured it yourself? Send us the number.
Keep going