Question 1

Can I run Gemma 4 26B A4B on a Apple M3 Max?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Apple M3 Max runs Gemma 4 26B A4B fully on GPU at the Q8_0 quantization. Full GPU inference — 128 GB VRAM meets the 36 GB recommendation.

Question 2

What quantization of Gemma 4 26B A4B should I use on a Apple M3 Max?

Accepted Answer

For 128 GB VRAM on the Apple M3 Max, the Q8_0 variant is the best fit. Estimated ~13 tokens/sec on the Q8_0 quantization.

Question 3

How fast does Gemma 4 26B A4B run on Apple M3 Max?

Accepted Answer

Roughly 13 tokens/sec for Q8_0. Real speed depends on context length, backend (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio), and KV cache size.

Question 4

What if Apple M3 Max is not enough for Gemma 4 26B A4B?

Accepted Answer

Try a smaller quantization variant or run on CPU + RAM with the trade-off of slower generation.

Quantization	File Size	Min VRAM	Rec VRAM	Context	Verdict	Estimated tok/s
Q3_K_M	13.3 GB	15 GB	18 GB	8K / 256K	Full GPU	~20.7
Q4_K_M	16.6 GB	18.5 GB	24 GB	8K / 256K	Full GPU	~19.3
Q8_0Best fit	29.2 GB	31 GB	36 GB	8K / 256K	Full GPU	~13

Can I Run Gemma 4 26B A4B on Apple M3 Max?

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