671B
Parameters
37B
Active (MoE)
128K
Context
362 GB
RAM (Q4_K_M)

RAM by quantization

Lower quantization = less RAM but lower quality. Q4_K_M is the recommended sweet spot for most users.

FormatBitsRAMQualityVerdict
Q2_K2183 GBLowToo heavy
Q3_K_M3272 GBModerateToo heavy
Q4_K_MREC4362 GBGoodToo heavy
Q8_08671 GBExcellentToo heavy

Which Mac can run DeepSeek R1?

Based on the recommended Q4_K_M quantization. You need RAM for both the model and your running apps — DevPulse calculates this for you. No CUDA installation. No driver hell. Just Apple Silicon doing what Jensen charges $30K for.

8 GB
Can’t run
16 GB
Can’t run
24 GB
Can’t run
32 GB
Can’t run
36 GB
Can’t run
48 GB
Can’t run
64 GB
Can’t run
96 GB
Can’t run
128 GB
Can’t run
192 GB
Can’t run

Tips for running DeepSeek R1

1 Requires specialized hardware — no consumer Mac can run the full model

2 Use the 32B distilled version (deepseek-r1-distill-32b) instead for local development

3 Even Q2_K needs 183 GB — this is server/cluster territory

4 Consider the distilled 7B or 14B variants for testing reasoning on consumer hardware

Related Pages

Run DeepSeek R1 locally. No GPU required.

While cloud GPU prices keep climbing, your Mac can run DeepSeek R1 for free. DevPulse tells you if it fits alongside your dev tools — before you download 362 GB of model weights.

Download for macOS

macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · Free during launch