64GB Mac users debate best sub-40B MoE: is Qwen-3.8-35B worth the wait?
chibop1 · reddit · 2026-09-03
An r/LocalLLaMA user with an M3 Max 64GB machine asks for the best MoE model under 40B parameters. They find Qwen-3.8-27B excellent but slow on their machine, and wonder whether Qwen-3.6-35B is still the top pick or if Qwen-3.8-35B is worth waiting for.
The thread highlights a real pain point for 64GB unified-memory Mac users: even with MoE's efficiency, speed-vs-quality tradeoffs remain when picking local models.
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