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What AI can a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB run?

A Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB can give a local model 36 GB of memory. At a 4K context, 40 of the 42 models we track fit entirely on it; the largest is Qwen3 32B.

Apple Specs last checked: how
Your computer
Context length
Memory a model can use 36 GB 75% of 48 GB unified memory · source

Models on this machine

  • Model file
  • Context
  • Allowance
  • Your GPU memory

Fits

40

Won’t fit

2
Memory needed = model file + context + a 0.5 GB allowance (our estimate). See methodology.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the biggest AI model a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB can run?

Qwen3 32B (Q8_0, a 35 GB download) is the largest of the 42 models we track that fits entirely in the 36 GB a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB can give a model at a 4K context, with 1.9 GB to spare and room for up to 11,893 tokens of context.

Can a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB run DeepSeek-R1 Distill 70B?

Not entirely in its own memory. DeepSeek-R1 Distill 70B (Q4_K_M) needs 42 GB at a 4K context, and a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB can give a model 36 GB. A Mac has no separate memory to spill into, so you need a version with more memory or a smaller download of the model.

How much memory can a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB give an AI model?

About 36 GB: 75% of its 48 GB of unified memory, because macOS and your other apps share the same memory. The 48 GB is from Mac mini tech specs (checked Oct 2, 2026); the 75% is our estimate.

How fast will local AI run on a Mac mini (M5 Pro) with 48 GB?

Hardware makers and model publishers don’t publish tokens-per-second figures, so there is no source we could cite. We only show whether a model fits and how much context it leaves room for.

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© 2026 Samprix. Not affiliated with OpenAI, Anthropic or Google.

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