Can I Run Llama 3.1 Family on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070?

Superseded model. Llama 3.1 Family has been superseded by Llama 4. This page is kept for reference; the newer family is a better starting point. View Llama 4 →

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~3.2 GB of headroom running Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q4_K_M (4.83 GB, ~47 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 16K context.

Buy This HardwareNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB — 8 GB VRAM · 220 W board powerDeploy in the Cloud NowRTX 4090 on RunPod — from $0.34/hr · rate checked 2026-07

or compare on Vast.ai from $0.35/hr (typical low · varies)

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB
8 GB VRAM · 220 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
Check price on Amazon

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Specs

VRAM8 GB
Memory Bandwidth448 GB/s

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070: VRAM by quantization

QuantVRAM neededFits 8 GB?Max context
F1617.3 GB✗ No
Q8_09.8 GB✗ No
Q6_K7.9 GB✓ Yes4K
Q5_K_M7 GB✓ Yes8K
Q4_K_M6.2 GB✓ Yes16K
Q3_K_M4.7 GB✓ Yes16K
Q2_K4 GB✓ Yes32K

VRAM needed assumes a 4K-token context with an f16 KV cache; “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 8 GB. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.

Llama 3.1 Family Sizes That Fit the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

Llama 3.1 8B InstructQ4_K_M · 4.83 GB · ~47 tok/s (est.)
Buy vs. rent Llama 3.1 Family
Buy the GPU
~$499
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 · MSRP
Rent by the hour
from $0.34/hr
RTX 4090 (24 GB) class

At 2 hrs/day, buying (~$499) beats renting at $0.34/hr after about 2.0 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

Does the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 have enough VRAM for Llama 3.1 Family?

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~3.2 GB of headroom running Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q4_K_M (4.83 GB, ~47 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 16K context.

Which quantization of Llama 3.1 Family should I use on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q4_K_M quantization (4.83 GB), estimated ~47 tokens/sec, up to 16K context.

Llama 3.1 Family on Other GPUs

Popular Models on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

VRAM Tier

Troubleshooting

Buying Guide

← Can I Run It? | Llama 3.1 Family Model Page | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU Page | Check Your Hardware