Cheapest box to run MiniMax-M2 at BF16
MiniMax’s MiniMax-M2 is 229B parameters, 10B of them read per token. 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.
MiniMax-M2 at BF16 needs 461GB.
Cheapest Config that fits: Mac Studio, M5 Ultra, 512GB. Fits, 43GB headroom. Est. 30.0 tok/s.
No price yet: Ships late October 2026. Apple has not published a price.
Collecting price history — 3 of 90 days. No timing verdict yet.
Offers — Mac Studio, M5 Ultra, 512GB, 1TB
Ships late October 2026. Apple has not published a price.
- Mac mini, M6, 16GB$1,099Won't fit−448GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 24GB$1,299Won't fit−440GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 32GB$1,499Won't fit−432GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 24GB$1,699Won't fit−440GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 48GB$2,499Won't fit−417GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 36GB$2,499Won't fit−428GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 64GB$2,899Won't fit−402GB headroom
- GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB$2,999.99+hostWon't fit−431GB headroom
- Won't fit−402GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 48GB$3,099Won't fit−417GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 64GB$3,499Won't fit−402GB headroom
- Won't fit−341GB headroom
- Won't fit−373GB headroom
- Won't fit−341GB headroom
- Won't fit−341GB headroom
- Won't fit−341GB headroom
- Won't fit−373GB headroom
- Won't fit−213GB headroom
- Won't fit−213GB headroom
- Fits43GB headroomest. 30.0 tok/s
| Config | Memory | Price | $/GB | Fit | Headroom | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini, M6 | 16GB | $1,099 | $69 | Won't fit | −448GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 24GB | $1,299 | $54 | Won't fit | −440GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 32GB | $1,499 | $47 | Won't fit | −432GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 24GB | $1,699 | $71 | Won't fit | −440GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 48GB | $2,499 | $52 | Won't fit | −417GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 36GB | $2,499 | $69 | Won't fit | −428GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 64GB | $2,899 | $45 | Won't fit | −402GB | — |
| GeForce RTX 5090 | 32GB | $2,999.99+host | $94 | Won't fit | −431GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 64GB | $3,049 | $48 | Won't fit | −402GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 48GB | $3,099 | $65 | Won't fit | −417GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 64GB | $3,499 | $55 | Won't fit | −402GB | — |
| Ascent GX10, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $3,999.99 | $31 | Won't fit | −341GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 96GB | $4,329 | $45 | Won't fit | −373GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 128GB | $4,409 | $34 | Won't fit | −341GB | — |
| DGX Spark, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $4,699 | $37 | Won't fit | −341GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 128GB | $5,099 | $40 | Won't fit | −341GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 96GB | $5,499 | $57 | Won't fit | −373GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 256GB | $7,729 | $30 | Won't fit | −213GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 256GB | $9,499 | $37 | Won't fit | −213GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 512GB | — | — | Fits | 43GB | 30.0 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 = 229B × 2.000 B/param (16 bits) + 0.254 GB/1K × 8K K/V + 1.2 GB runtime
speed = bandwidth × 0.5 ÷ (10B active × 2.000 B/param) = 20.0 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 Studio M5 Ultra 512GB runs
- Kimi-K2-InstructQ3_K_M, est. 38.4 tok/s
- DeepSeek-V3Q5_K_M, est. 22.9 tok/s
- DeepSeek-R1Q5_K_M, est. 22.9 tok/s
- Qwen3-Coder-480B-A35B-InstructQ6_K, est. 20.9 tok/s
- Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128EQ8_0, est. 33.2 tok/s
- GLM-4.6Q8_0, est. 17.6 tok/s
Best quant that still fits at 8K context, largest model first. Full list on the Config page.
Bandwidth 1.2TB/s, usable memory 504GB of 512GB.