Yes — Qwen 3 8B (8B) runs at 55 tok/s on M2 with 16 GB RAM using Q4_K_M quantization via Ollama. First token latency is 0.7s. Alibaba's 8B model balancing speed and capability on everyday Macs.
LLMCheck measured Qwen 3 8B on M2 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 | 55 tok/s |
| Time to first token | 0.7s |
| Quantization | Q4_K_M |
| Minimum RAM | 16 GB |
| Recommended engine | Ollama |
| Parameters | 8B |
| Benchmark date | 2026-01 |
Q4_K_M 8B Ollama M2
The recommended engine for Qwen 3 8B on M2 is Ollama. Install Ollama, then pull the model:
Ollama handles quantization automatically — it will download the Q4_K_M variant (~16 GB) and start an interactive chat session.
| Chip | Speed | First Token | Min RAM | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M5 Max | 98 tok/s | 0.4s | 128 GB | Ollama |
| M4 Pro | 82 tok/s | 0.5s | 24 GB | Ollama |
| M1 | 38 tok/s | 1.0s | 16 GB | Ollama |
To run Qwen 3 8B on M2 you need:
See how Qwen 3 8B stacks up against other models on your specific Mac hardware.
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