Run Llama 5 8B on M3

Yes — Llama 5 8B (8B) runs at 58 tok/s on M3 with 16 GB RAM using Q4_K_M quantization via Ollama. First token latency is 0.5s. A capable open-source LLM with 8B parameters.

Speed

tok/s

First Token

0.5

seconds

RAM Needed

GB minimum

Engine

Ollama

recommended

Benchmark Details

LLMCheck measured Llama 5 8B on M3 using the standard methodology: Q4_K_M quantization, 256-token input, 512-token output, 3 runs averaged on a freshly-booted system.

Metric	Value
Tokens per second	58 tok/s
Time to first token	0.5s
Quantization	Q4_K_M
Minimum RAM	16 GB
Recommended engine	Ollama
Parameters	8B
Benchmark date	2026-05

Q4_K_M 8B Ollama M3

Setup Guide: Run Llama 5 8B on M3

The recommended engine for Llama 5 8B on M3 is Ollama. Install Ollama, then pull the model:

ollama run llama-5-8b

Ollama handles quantization automatically — it will download the Q4_K_M variant (~16 GB) and start an interactive chat session.

Performance on Other Apple Silicon Chips

Chip	Speed	First Token	Min RAM	Engine
M5 Max	112 tok/s	0.3s	128 GB	MLX
M4 Pro	78 tok/s	0.4s	24 GB	MLX
M5 Pro	72 tok/s	0.4s	24 GB	Ollama
M2	42 tok/s	0.7s	16 GB	Ollama

System Requirements

To run Llama 5 8B on M3 you need:

• Mac with M3 chip (or newer)
• 16 GB unified memory minimum
• macOS 13 Ventura or later
• ~13-16 GB free disk space for the model file
• Ollama installed (see our Ollama install guide)

Compare More Models

See how Llama 5 8B stacks up against other models on your specific Mac hardware.

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