Cheapest box to run Qwen3-235B-A22B at Q5_K_M
Alibaba’s Qwen3-235B-A22B is 235B parameters, 22B 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.
Qwen3-235B-A22B at Q5_K_M needs 169GB.
Cheapest Config that fits: Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, 256GB, refurbished. Fits, 79GB headroom. Est. 26.3 tok/s.
Best offer today: $7,729 at Apple Certified Refurbished — in stock, checked 48 minutes ago.
Price history: 47 days recorded.
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 48 minutes ago$7,729
- Mac mini, M6, 16GB$1,099Won't fit−156GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 24GB$1,299Won't fit−148GB headroom
- Mac mini, M6, 32GB$1,499Won't fit−140GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 24GB$1,699Won't fit−148GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 48GB$2,499Won't fit−125GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 36GB$2,499Won't fit−136GB headroom
- Mac mini, M5 Pro, 64GB$2,899Won't fit−110GB headroom
- GeForce RTX 5090, 32GB$2,999.99+hostWon't fit−139GB headroom
- Won't fit−110GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 48GB$3,099Won't fit−125GB headroom
- Mac Studio, M5 Max, 64GB$3,499Won't fit−110GB headroom
- Won't fit−49GB headroom
- Won't fit−81GB headroom
- Won't fit−49GB headroom
- Won't fit−49GB headroom
- Won't fit−49GB headroom
- Won't fit−81GB headroom
- Fits79GB headroomest. 26.3 tok/s
- Fits79GB headroomest. 38.5 tok/s
- Fits335GB headroomest. 38.5 tok/s
| Config | Memory | Price | Fit | Headroom | Est. speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini, M6 | 16GB | $1,099 | Won't fit | −156GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 24GB | $1,299 | Won't fit | −148GB | — |
| Mac mini, M6 | 32GB | $1,499 | Won't fit | −140GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 24GB | $1,699 | Won't fit | −148GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 48GB | $2,499 | Won't fit | −125GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 36GB | $2,499 | Won't fit | −136GB | — |
| Mac mini, M5 Pro | 64GB | $2,899 | Won't fit | −110GB | — |
| GeForce RTX 5090 | 32GB | $2,999.99+host | Won't fit | −139GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 64GB | $3,049 | Won't fit | −110GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 48GB | $3,099 | Won't fit | −125GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 64GB | $3,499 | Won't fit | −110GB | — |
| Ascent GX10, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $3,999.99 | Won't fit | −49GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 96GB | $4,329 | Won't fit | −81GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M4 Max, refurb | 128GB | $4,409 | Won't fit | −49GB | — |
| DGX Spark, GB10 Grace Blackwell | 128GB | $4,699 | Won't fit | −49GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Max | 128GB | $5,099 | Won't fit | −49GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 96GB | $5,499 | Won't fit | −81GB | — |
| Mac Studio, M3 Ultra, refurb | 256GB | $7,729 | Fits | 79GB | 26.3 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 256GB | $9,499 | Fits | 79GB | 38.5 tok/s |
| Mac Studio, M5 Ultra | 512GB | — | Fits | 335GB | 38.5 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 = 235B × 0.709 B/param (5.67 bits) + 0.193 GB/1K × 8K K/V + 1.2 GB runtime
speed = bandwidth × 0.5 ÷ (22B active × 0.709 B/param) = 15.6 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
- DeepSeek-V4-FlashQ6_K, est. 38.4 tok/s
- Qwen3-235B-A22BQ6_K, est. 22.7 tok/s
- MiniMax-M2Q8_0, est. 38.5 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.