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Can the Apple M3 (8 GB) run Llama Guard 3 8B?

64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 48/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.

Barely: it runs very slowly (far over GPU memory limit)

Very slow (far over GPU memory limit). At Q4_K_M it needs about 6.2 GB of 5.4 GB usable and makes one decision in about 2.2 s.

Best quant
Q4_K_M
Time per decision
2.2 s
Decisions per second
0.5/s
Input assumed
512 tokens
Returns
Fixed labels

Best app to run it on the Apple M3 (8 GB)

On macOS

LM Studio

Desktop app · runs on llama.cpp, MLX

  • Splits the model between GPU memory and system RAM, which this setup needs.
  • Point-and-click: search, download and chat in one window.

Open Llama Guard 3 8B in LM Studio

  • Ollama Splits the model between GPU memory and system RAM, which this setup needs.
  • llama.cpp Splits the model between GPU memory and system RAM, which this setup needs.

How we choose: the files published for this model, your operating system and GPU, whether it fits fully in memory, and published speed tests (MLX vs llama.cpp on Apple silicon, vLLM vs llama.cpp vs Ollama on NVIDIA). Details.

Download Llama Guard 3 8B

Recommended for the Apple M3 (8 GB): Q4_K_M. Every other quantization has its own download link in the table below.

Quickest · Ollama

One command downloads a ready-to-run version and starts a chat.

Get Ollama at ollama.com/download (opens in a new tab) · model page (opens in a new tab)

ollama run llama-guard3:8b-q4_K_M

Quantized files · GGUF

Works in LM Studio, llama.cpp, Jan and Ollama. No sign-in needed.

Download the Q4_K_M file (opens in a new tab)

huggingface.co/mradermacher/Llama-Guard-3-8B-GGUF (opens in a new tab)

ollama run hf.co/mradermacher/Llama-Guard-3-8B-GGUF:Q4_K_M

Original weights · Hugging Face

Full-precision files from Meta, for fine-tuning, vLLM, Transformers.

huggingface.co/meta-llama/Llama-Guard-3-8B (opens in a new tab)

Free Hugging Face account needed: request access on the model page, and Meta approves it (usually within minutes to a few hours).

Links checked 3 days ago against Hugging Face, Ollama and GitHub.

How it’s rated

Quality 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 48/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking.
How capable the model itself is at Q4_K_M, from its editorial quality tier scaled by the quantization or precision. It’s the same on any hardware that runs this variant. Scale: A+ 85+ · A 70+ · B 55+ · C 40+ · D under 40.
Runs Very slowfar over GPU memory limit
How well it runs on the Apple M3 (8 GB): speed, capped by how well it fits in memory. Runs great: 30+ tokens/s (or near the image, video or decision speed target) · Runs well: 10+ tokens/s · Slow: 3+ tokens/s · Very slow: under 3 · Won’t run: doesn’t fit even with offload. A tight fit or RAM offload caps it at Runs well; heavy offload caps it at Slow.

Match score

To order lists, each result also gets a match score out of 100 from four parts. It favors the most capable model that still runs well.

PrecisionEditorial precision tier from the model’s published benchmarks, scaled by the quantization or precision used.29.1 / 45
Memory fitFull marks when the model fits in the share of unified memory the GPU can use; fewer when it goes past that limit.4.0 / 25
SpeedTime for one decision against a 100 ms target: reading the input plus any tokens the model writes.3.2 / 15
ClarityHow easy the answer is to use in code: a probability or score earns the most, written feedback before a score the least.12.0 / 15
Match score48.3 / 100

The match score orders results; it is not shown as a grade. Quality and Runs are the two ratings in the tables.

Every quantization on the Apple M3 (8 GB)

Quant Memory needed Available Speed Runs Quality Download
Q4_K_M 6.2 GB 5.4 GB 2.2 s Very slowfar over GPU memory limit 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 48/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GGUF (opens in a new tab)
Q5_K_M 7.0 GB 5.4 GB — Won't run 65Good quality (B) · 65 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 8/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GGUF (opens in a new tab)
Q6_K 7.9 GB 5.4 GB — Won't run 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 9/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GGUF (opens in a new tab)
Q8_0 9.8 GB 5.4 GB — Won't run 68Good quality (B) · 68 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 9/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GGUF (opens in a new tab)
F16 17.4 GB 5.4 GB — Won't run 68Good quality (B) · 68 of 100: how capable the model is at F16, whatever it runs on. Match score 9/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GGUF (opens in a new tab) Original weights (opens in a new tab)

Times are for one request with a 512-token input and about 6 tokens written. Batching servers process many requests at once.

Other hardware that runs it

Quick answers

How much memory does Llama Guard 3 8B need on the M3 8GB?

At Q4_K_M it needs about 6.2 GB. The M3 8GB has 5.4 GB usable.

How fast is Llama Guard 3 8B on the M3 8GB?

It makes one decision in about 2.2 s at Q4_K_M, an estimate from the hardware and the size of the model.

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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