Cheapest box to run Gemma-4-12B at Q5_K_M
Google’s Gemma-4-12B is 11.95B parameters, dense. The number below is computed from that and each vendor’s published specs, not asserted. Switch the quant or the context and it recomputes in place.
Gemma-4-12B at Q5_K_M needs 10GB.
Cheapest Config that fits: Mac mini, M6, 24GB. Fits, 11GB headroom. Est. 13.0 tok/s.
Best offer today: $1,299 at Best Buy — in stock, checked 33 days ago.
Price history: 34 days recorded.
Dense. 8 of 48 layers are global attention; the sliding-window layers stop growing past 1024 tokens.
Offers — Mac mini, M6, 24GB, 512GB
- Mac mini, M6, 16GB$1,099Tight3GB headroomest. 13.0 tok/s
- Mac mini, M6, 24GB$1,299Fits11GB headroomest. 13.0 tok/s
- Mac mini, M6, 32GB$1,499Fits19GB headroomest. 13.0 tok/s
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 24GB$1,699Fits11GB headroomest. 23.6 tok/s
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 48GB$2,499Fits34GB headroomest. 23.6 tok/s
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 36GB$2,499Fits23GB headroomest. 35.3 tok/s
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 64GB$2,899Fits49GB headroomest. 23.6 tok/s
- GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB$2,999.99+hostFits21GB headroomest. 138 tok/s
- Fits49GB headroomest. 41.9 tok/s
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 48GB$3,099Fits34GB headroomest. 47.1 tok/s
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 64GB$3,499Fits49GB headroomest. 47.1 tok/s
- Fits110GB headroomest. 21.0 tok/s
- Fits78GB headroomest. 62.9 tok/s
- Fits110GB headroomest. 41.9 tok/s
- Fits110GB headroomest. 21.0 tok/s
- Fits110GB headroomest. 47.1 tok/s
- Fits78GB headroomest. 92.1 tok/s
- Fits238GB headroomest. 62.9 tok/s
- Fits238GB headroomest. 92.1 tok/s
- Fits494GB headroomest. 92.1 tok/s
| Config | Memory | Price | $/GB | Fit | Headroom | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini, M6 | 16GB | $1,099 | $69 | Tight | 3GB | 13.0 tok/s |
| Mac mini, M6 | 24GB | $1,299 | $54 | Fits | 11GB | 13.0 tok/s |
| Mac mini, M6 | 32GB | $1,499 | $47 | Fits | 19GB | 13.0 tok/s |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 24GB | $1,699 | $71 | Fits | 11GB | 23.6 tok/s |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 48GB | $2,499 | $52 | Fits | 34GB | 23.6 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 36GB | $2,499 | $69 | Fits | 23GB | 35.3 tok/s |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 64GB | $2,899 | $45 | Fits | 49GB | 23.6 tok/s |
| GeForce RTX 5090 | 32GB | $2,999.99+host | $94 | Fits | 21GB | 138 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 64GB | $3,049 | $48 | Fits | 49GB | 41.9 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 48GB | $3,099 | $65 | Fits | 34GB | 47.1 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 64GB | $3,499 | $55 | Fits | 49GB | 47.1 tok/s |
| Ascent GX10, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $3,999.99 | $31 | Fits | 110GB | 21.0 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 96GB | $4,329 | $45 | Fits | 78GB | 62.9 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 128GB | $4,409 | $34 | Fits | 110GB | 41.9 tok/s |
| DGX Spark, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $4,699 | $37 | Fits | 110GB | 21.0 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 128GB | $5,099 | $40 | Fits | 110GB | 47.1 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 96GB | $5,499 | $57 | Fits | 78GB | 92.1 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 256GB | $7,729 | $30 | Fits | 238GB | 62.9 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 256GB | $9,499 | $37 | Fits | 238GB | 92.1 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 512GB | — | — | Fits | 494GB | 92.1 tok/s |
GeForce RTX 5090 is a card, not a computer: every price shown for it is the cheapest listing we found plus $1,000 for the minimum host machine.
memory = 11.95B × 0.709 B/param (5.67 bits) + 0.067 GB/1K × 8K K/V + 1.2 GB runtime
speed = bandwidth × 0.65 ÷ (11.95B active × 0.709 B/param) = 8.5 GB read per token
usable = memory − operating system reserve (8% on a Mac, 6% on a DGX Spark, 4% on a card)
Bandwidth is the vendor’s published figure. Every speed is an estimate and says so. Methodology.
What else Mac mini M6 24GB runs
- Qwen3.5-35B-A3BQ3_K_M, est. 58.0 tok/s
- Qwen3-32BQ3_K_M, est. 7.1 tok/s
- Gemma-4-31BQ3_K_M, est. 7.4 tok/s
- Qwen3-30B-A3BQ4_K_M, est. 42.7 tok/s
- Gemma-3-27BQ4_K_M, est. 6.8 tok/s
- Qwen3.6-27BQ5_K_M, est. 5.8 tok/s
Best quant that still fits at 8K context, largest model first. Full list on the Config page.
Bandwidth 170GB/s, usable memory 21GB of 24GB.