Can I Run Gemma 3 on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~2.8 GB of headroom running Gemma 3 12B Instruct at Q4_K_M (7.245 GB, ~48 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 4K context.

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
10 GB VRAM · 320 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB) Specs

VRAM10 GB
Memory Bandwidth760 GB/s

Gemma 3 12B Instruct on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB): VRAM by quantization

QuantVRAM neededFits 10 GB?Max context
F1626.3 GB✗ No
Q8_015.1 GB✗ No
Q6_K12.2 GB✗ No
Q5_K_M10.8 GB✗ No
Q4_K_M9.6 GB✓ Yes4K
Q3_K_M7.5 GB✓ Yes8K
Q2_K6.3 GB✓ Yes8K

VRAM needed assumes a 4K-token context with an f16 KV cache; “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 10 GB. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.

Gemma 3 Sizes That Fit the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB)

Gemma 3 12B InstructQ4_K_M · 7.245 GB · ~48 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 3 4B InstructQ4_K_M · 2.415 GB · ~117 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 3 1B InstructQ4_K_M · 0.60375 GB · ~240 tok/s (est.)
Buy vs. rent Gemma 3
Buy the GPU
~$699
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB) · MSRP
Rent by the hour
from $0.34/hr
RTX 4090 (24 GB) class

At 2 hrs/day, buying (~$699) beats renting at $0.34/hr after about 2.9 years.

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RunPod $0.34/hr
Rent on RunPod →
Vast.ai $0.35/hr · typical low · varies
Rent on Vast.ai →

Cloud rates verified 2026-07 — estimates, and marketplace prices vary. Buying price is GPU MSRP only, not a full PC.

FAQ

Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB) enough to run Gemma 3 locally?

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~2.8 GB of headroom running Gemma 3 12B Instruct at Q4_K_M (7.245 GB, ~48 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 4K context.

What's the best Gemma 3 size for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB)?

Gemma 3 12B Instruct at Q4_K_M quantization (7.245 GB), estimated ~48 tokens/sec, up to 4K context.

Gemma 3 on Other GPUs

Popular Models on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB)

VRAM Tier

Troubleshooting

Buying Guide

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