← CanIRunLocal · All hardware · All models

Can a M3 8GB run Gemma 3 27B?

No. Gemma 3 27B does not fit on M3 8GB: Q4_K_M needs 19.3 GB and 5.4 GB is usable.

Hardware: M3 8GB · Model: Gemma 3 27B

M3 8GB has 8 GB of unified memory and 100 GB/s of memory bandwidth. M2 8GB has the same memory and bandwidth, so the fit numbers match; this page is M3 8GB. The checker leaves macOS a share of unified memory, so Ollama can use 5.4 GB. Gemma 3 27B (27.4B, Google) at Q4_K_M is a 17 GB download and needs 19.3 GB with headroom for about 8k tokens.

Best quantQ4_K_M
Download size17 GB
Memory needed19.3 GB
Usable fast memory5.4 GB
Fitdoes not fit
Estimated speedno estimate, it does not fit
Commandollama run gemma3:27b

Smallest hardware that runs it: RTX 3060 12GB at Q4_K_M (partial offload (slower), 19.3 GB needed, 11.5 GB usable, about 5 tok/s (estimate)). Can a RTX 3060 12GB run Gemma 3 27B?

A smaller Google model that fits this hardware: Gemma 3 4B at Q4_K_M (fits in fast memory, 4.6 GB). Can a M3 8GB run Gemma 3 4B?

Open M3 8GB in the checker

Estimates, not benchmarks. Model sizes are ollama.com download sizes; memory needed adds headroom for ~8k tokens of context; speeds are rough figures from memory bandwidth. Data updated 2026-10-23.

A project by OnDevice Labs · llms.txt