# M5 Max (18-core CPU / 32-core GPU)

> OnPrem World · https://onpremworld.com/en/hardware/apple-m5-max-32c-gpu · Last updated: 2026-10-14 · CC BY 4.0

The binned M5 Max: 460 GB/s but fixed at 36 GB, enough for 32B models at 5-bit.

## Specifications

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Memory | 36 GB LPDDR5X |
| Memory bandwidth | 460 GB/s |
| Launch | 2026-03 |
| Launch price | US$3,599 |
| Architecture | Apple M5 Max (Fusion Architecture: two third-generation 3 nm dies) |
| Software | Metal / MLX |

## What it can run (36 GB, 8K)

Estimates, not benchmarks. See the methodology.

| Model | Parameters | Best quant | Total | tok/s (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.5-35B-A3B | 35B | Q5_K_M | 25.0 GiB | 140 |
| Qwen3.6-35B-A3B | 35B | Q5_K_M | 25.0 GiB | 140 |
| Qwen3-32B | 32.8B | Q5_K_M | 25.3 GiB | 13 |
| DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B | 32.76B | Q5_K_M | 25.3 GiB | 13 |
| Gemma 4 31B IT | 30.7B | Q6_K | 26.3 GiB | 12 |
| Qwen3-30B-A3B (2507) | 30.5B | Q6_K | 25.8 GiB | 110 |
| Qwen3-Coder-30B-A3B-Instruct | 30.5B | Q6_K | 25.8 GiB | 110 |
| GLM-4.7-Flash (30B-A3B) | 30B | Q6_K | 25.1 GiB | 121 |
| Qwen3.5-27B | 27B | Q6_K | 22.7 GiB | 13 |
| Qwen3.6-27B | 27B | Q6_K | 22.7 GiB | 13 |
| Qwen3.8-27B | 27B | Q6_K | 22.7 GiB | 13 |
| Gemma 3 27B IT | 27B | Q6_K | 23.3 GiB | 13 |
| Gemma 4 26B A4B IT | 25.2B | Q8_0 | 27.0 GiB | 74 |
| Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct (2506) | 24B | Q8_0 | 26.7 GiB | 12 |
| Magistral Small 1.2 (2509) | 24B | Q8_0 | 26.7 GiB | 12 |
| Devstral Small 2 24B Instruct (2512) | 24B | Q8_0 | 26.7 GiB | 12 |
| gpt-oss-20b | 21B | Q8_0 | 22.5 GiB | 78 |
| Phi-4 (14B) | 14B | Q8_0 | 16.6 GiB | 20 |
| Gemma 3 12B IT | 12B | FP16 | 24.8 GiB | 12 |
| Gemma 4 12B Unified IT | 11.95B | FP16 | 24.2 GiB | 13 |
| Qwen3.5-9B | 9B | FP16 | 18.4 GiB | 17 |
| Qwen3-8B | 8.2B | FP16 | 17.7 GiB | 18 |
| DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B | 8.19B | FP16 | 17.6 GiB | 18 |
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | 8B | FP16 | 17.1 GiB | 19 |
| Gemma 4 E4B IT | 8B | FP16 | 16.4 GiB | 19 |
| Llama 3.2 3B Instruct | 3.21B | FP16 | 7.7 GiB | 47 |
| Kimi K2.6 | 1000B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| DeepSeek-R1-0528 (671B) | 671B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| DeepSeek-V4-Flash | 284B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Qwen3.8-Flash-Next | 180B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Qwen3.5-122B-A10B | 122B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Mistral Small 4 119B (2603) | 119B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| gpt-oss-120b | 117B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct | 109B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| GLM-4.5-Air | 106B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Qwen3-Coder-Next (80B-A3B) | 80B | Doesn't fit | – | – |
| Llama 3.3 70B Instruct | 70B | Doesn't fit | – | – |

## Prices

Latest price at each shop, as listed on the day we checked.

| Region | Shop | Listing | Price | Per GB | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | Apple | Mac Studio，M5 Max 晶片，18 核心 CPU、32 核心 GPU，36GB 統一記憶體，512GB 儲存裝置 (Price shown in Apple Store configurator for this configuration) | [NT$84,900](https://www.apple.com/tw/shop/buy-mac/mac-studio) | NT$2,358/GB | 2026-10-14 |
| US | Apple | Mac Studio, M5 Max chip, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB memory, 512GB storage | [US$2,499](https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/mac-studio/m5-max-chip-18-core-cpu-32-core-gpu-36gb-memory-512gb-storage) | US$69/GB | 2026-10-14 |

Taiwan value: about 61.6 tok/s on Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Q4_K_M, 8K), or 0.7 tok/s per NT$1,000.

US value: about 61.6 tok/s on Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Q4_K_M, 8K), or 2.5 tok/s per US$100.

All prices: https://onpremworld.com/en/prices.md

## Frequently asked questions

### Which LLMs can the M5 Max (18-core CPU / 32-core GPU) run?

With 36 GB and an 8K context, the largest models that fit include: Qwen3.5-35B-A3B, Qwen3.6-35B-A3B, Qwen3-32B, DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B, Gemma 4 31B IT. See the full table below.

### How fast is the M5 Max (18-core CPU / 32-core GPU) for local LLMs?

Generation speed is mostly set by memory bandwidth (460 GB/s). For Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at FP16, expect roughly 19 tokens/s; bigger models are slower.

### Can the M5 Max (18-core CPU / 32-core GPU) run 70B models?

Llama 3.3 70B Instruct does not fit on the M5 Max (18-core CPU / 32-core GPU) (36 GB), even at Q4_K_M with an 8K context.

## Sources

- https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/apples-18-core-m5-max-destroys-96-core-ryzen-threadripper-pro-9995wx-in-geekbench-gpu-performance-is-much-less-impressive
- https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/macbook-neo-iphone-17e-ipad-air-with-m4-and-more-are-now-available/
- https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-introduces-macbook-pro-with-all-new-m5-pro-and-m5-max/
- https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apple-debuts-m5-pro-and-m5-max-to-supercharge-the-most-demanding-pro-workflows/