diff --git a/deepseek_qwen2_5_integration_r1.py b/deepseek_qwen2_5_integration_r1.py
index 0dcbde5..847b4b1 100644
--- a/deepseek_qwen2_5_integration_r1.py
+++ b/deepseek_qwen2_5_integration_r1.py
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@
 import os
 import math
 import random
+import platform
+import subprocess
 import torch
 import torch.nn as nn
 import torch.nn.functional as F
@@ -57,6 +59,83 @@
 _DEVSTRAL_MODEL = None
 
 
+def _read_sysctl_value(name: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Read a sysctl value on macOS, returning None if unavailable."""
+
+    if platform.system() != "Darwin":
+        return None
+    try:
+        output = subprocess.check_output(["sysctl", "-n", name])
+    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError, OSError):
+        return None
+    return output.decode().strip()
+
+
+def _mac_total_memory_bytes() -> Optional[int]:
+    raw_value = _read_sysctl_value("hw.memsize")
+    if raw_value is None:
+        return None
+    try:
+        return int(raw_value)
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+
+
+def _apple_chip_name() -> Optional[str]:
+    chip_name = _read_sysctl_value("machdep.cpu.brand_string")
+    return chip_name.strip() if chip_name else None
+
+
+def _is_supported_mps_device(required_mem_gb: int = 128) -> bool:
+    """Return True if running on an Apple M3 Max with at least required_mem_gb."""
+
+    if platform.system() != "Darwin":
+        return False
+    mps_backend = getattr(torch.backends, "mps", None)
+    if mps_backend is None or not mps_backend.is_available():
+        return False
+
+    chip_name = _apple_chip_name()
+    if not chip_name or "m3" not in chip_name.lower() or "max" not in chip_name.lower():
+        return False
+
+    total_mem_bytes = _mac_total_memory_bytes()
+    required_mem_bytes = required_mem_gb * (1024**3)
+    if total_mem_bytes is None or total_mem_bytes < required_mem_bytes:
+        return False
+
+    return True
+
+
+def select_device() -> torch.device:
+    """Choose the best available device with CUDA priority, then restricted MPS."""
+
+    if torch.cuda.is_available():
+        return torch.device("cuda")
+
+    mps_backend = getattr(torch.backends, "mps", None)
+    if mps_backend is not None:
+        if _is_supported_mps_device():
+            return torch.device("mps")
+        if mps_backend.is_available():
+            chip_name = _apple_chip_name() or "unknown"
+            total_mem_bytes = _mac_total_memory_bytes()
+            if total_mem_bytes is not None:
+                mem_gb = total_mem_bytes / (1024**3)
+                print(
+                    "Warning: MPS backend detected but restricted to Apple M3 Max systems "
+                    "with 128GB memory. "
+                    f"Detected chip '{chip_name}' with {mem_gb:.1f}GB. Falling back to CPU."
+                )
+            else:
+                print(
+                    "Warning: MPS backend detected but unable to verify Apple M3 Max 128GB "
+                    "requirement. Falling back to CPU."
+                )
+
+    return torch.device("cpu")
+
+
 @dataclass
 class RewardConfig:
     """Configuration for modular reward functions."""
@@ -993,7 +1072,8 @@ def main():
     ###########################################################################
     # Device Setup
     ###########################################################################
-    device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
+    device = select_device()
+    print(f"Using device: {device}")
 
     ###########################################################################
     # Stage 0: Gather Data
@@ -1035,7 +1115,7 @@ def main():
         tokenizer.pad_token_id = tokenizer.eos_token_id
 
     model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained(
-        base_ckpt, torch_dtype="auto", device_map="auto", trust_remote_code=True
+        base_ckpt, torch_dtype="auto", trust_remote_code=True
     )
     print("Loaded base Qwen 7B Instruct model successfully.")