Cheapest box to run MiniMax-M2 at Q5_K_M
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 Q5_K_M needs 166GB.
Cheapest Config that fits: Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, 256GB, refurbished. Fits, 82GB headroom. Est. 57.8 tok/s.
Best offer today: $7,729 at Apple Certified Refurbished — in stock, checked 1 hour ago.
Collecting price history — 3 of 90 days. No timing verdict yet.
Offers — Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, 256GB, 1TB, refurbished
- Apple Certified RefurbishedRefurbished by Apple, with Apple's one-year limited warranty and 14-day returns. Apple says refurbished supply is usually very limited and often runs out, so this row can go dead faster than a new one.in stockchecked 1 hour ago$7,729
- Mac mini, M6, 16GB$1,099Won't fit−153GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 24GB$1,299Won't fit−145GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 32GB$1,499Won't fit−137GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 24GB$1,699Won't fit−145GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 48GB$2,499Won't fit−121GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 36GB$2,499Won't fit−133GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 64GB$2,899Won't fit−107GB headroom
- GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB$2,999.99+hostWon't fit−135GB headroom
- Won't fit−107GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 48GB$3,099Won't fit−121GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 64GB$3,499Won't fit−107GB headroom
- Won't fit−45GB headroom
- Won't fit−77GB headroom
- Won't fit−46GB headroom
- Won't fit−45GB headroom
- Won't fit−46GB headroom
- Won't fit−77GB headroom
- Fits82GB headroomest. 57.8 tok/s
- Fits82GB headroomest. 84.7 tok/s
- Fits338GB headroomest. 84.7 tok/s
| Config | Memory | Price | $/GB | Fit | Headroom | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini, M6 | 16GB | $1,099 | $69 | Won't fit | −153GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 24GB | $1,299 | $54 | Won't fit | −145GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 32GB | $1,499 | $47 | Won't fit | −137GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 24GB | $1,699 | $71 | Won't fit | −145GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 48GB | $2,499 | $52 | Won't fit | −121GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 36GB | $2,499 | $69 | Won't fit | −133GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 64GB | $2,899 | $45 | Won't fit | −107GB | — |
| GeForce RTX 5090 | 32GB | $2,999.99+host | $94 | Won't fit | −135GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 64GB | $3,049 | $48 | Won't fit | −107GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 48GB | $3,099 | $65 | Won't fit | −121GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 64GB | $3,499 | $55 | Won't fit | −107GB | — |
| Ascent GX10, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $3,999.99 | $31 | Won't fit | −45GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 96GB | $4,329 | $45 | Won't fit | −77GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 128GB | $4,409 | $34 | Won't fit | −46GB | — |
| DGX Spark, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $4,699 | $37 | Won't fit | −45GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 128GB | $5,099 | $40 | Won't fit | −46GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 96GB | $5,499 | $57 | Won't fit | −77GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 256GB | $7,729 | $30 | Fits | 82GB | 57.8 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 256GB | $9,499 | $37 | Fits | 82GB | 84.7 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 512GB | — | — | Fits | 338GB | 84.7 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 × 0.709 B/param (5.67 bits) + 0.254 GB/1K × 8K K/V + 1.2 GB runtime
speed = bandwidth × 0.5 ÷ (10B active × 0.709 B/param) = 7.1 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 M3 Ultra 256GB refurb runs
- Qwen3-Coder-480B-A35B-InstructQ3_K_M, est. 23.9 tok/s
- Llama-4-Maverick-17B-128EQ4_K_M, est. 39.9 tok/s
- GLM-4.6Q4_K_M, est. 21.2 tok/s
- Qwen3-235B-A22BQ6_K, est. 22.7 tok/s
- MiniMax-M2Q8_0, est. 38.5 tok/s
- Mistral-Large-2411Q8_0, est. 4.1 tok/s
Best quant that still fits at 8K context, largest model first. Full list on the Config page.
Bandwidth 819GB/s, usable memory 248GB of 256GB.