Best local LLMs for the Apple M3 Ultra (256 GB)

Each list assumes the context that task needs, so a model that fits for chat may rank lower for long documents.

General chat at 8K context

  1. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 95Excellent quality (A+) · 95 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q6_K · 73.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.5 Flash (196B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 92Excellent quality (A+) · 92 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.7 Flash (198B-A11B) Q6_K · 45.6 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Coding at 32K context

  1. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 95Excellent quality (A+) · 95 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q6_K · 73.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.5 Flash (196B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 92Excellent quality (A+) · 92 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.7 Flash (198B-A11B) Q6_K · 45.6 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 95Excellent quality (A+) · 95 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q6_K · 73.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.5 Flash (196B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 92Excellent quality (A+) · 92 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.7 Flash (198B-A11B) Q6_K · 45.6 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 95Excellent quality (A+) · 95 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q6_K · 73.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.5 Flash (196B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 99/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniMax M2.7 (230B-A10B) Q5_K_M · 57.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 99/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniMax M2.5 (230B-A10B) Q5_K_M · 57.2 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 95Excellent quality (A+) · 95 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q6_K · 73.5 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 89Excellent quality (A+) · 89 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.5 Flash (196B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 92Excellent quality (A+) · 92 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.7 Flash (198B-A11B) Q6_K · 45.6 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Reverse engineering at 32K context

  1. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at F16, whatever it runs on. Match score 97/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B F16 · 52.2 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 97/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.8 Flash Next (125B-A6B) Q5_K_M · 84.1 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 92Excellent quality (A+) · 92 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 96/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Super VL 120B-A12B Q6_K · 42.4 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 95/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Step 3.7 Flash (198B-A11B) Q5_K_M · 53.0 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 91Excellent quality (A+) · 91 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 95/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q6_K · 49.4 tok/s · Runs great

Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.

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