Can I Run Nemotron 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090?
Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026
No — Nemotron 70B Instruct at Q4_K_M needs 46.1 GB at 8K context (42.6 GB weights + 3.5 GB KV cache/overhead), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090's 24 GB leaves it ~22.1 GB short. The cheapest card that runs it is the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (48 GB).
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Specs
| VRAM | 24 GB |
| Memory Bandwidth | 936 GB/s |
Nemotron 70B Instruct on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090: VRAM by quantization
| Quant | VRAM needed | Fits 24 GB? | Max context | Whole PC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16 | 144.7 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q8_0 | 78.5 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q6_K | 61.4 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q5_K_M | 53.5 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q4_K_M | 46.1 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q3_K_M | 33.6 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
| Q2_K | 26.7 GB | ✗ No | — | — |
Assumes an 8K-token context with an f16 KV cache. A longer window needs more; a quantized KV cache needs less. “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 24 GB. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.
Context costs VRAM too. At Q4_K_M on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090: 8K 46.1 GB ✗ · 32K 54.2 GB ✗ · 125K 85.4 GB ✗. Past 8K it no longer fits 24 GB — a q8_0 KV cache buys roughly half of that back, which the calculator will price for you.
No compatible GPU? Nemotron 70B Instruct on 256 GB of system RAM, CPU only: runs, but too slowly to be worth it.
Why It Does Not Fit
Every Nemotron 70B variant requires more VRAM than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 provides (24 GB).
Nearest GPU That Fits
NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (48 GB VRAM).
Nemotron 70B needs ~46 GB but this GPU has 24 GB. Rent a A100 (80 GB)-class GPU by the hour instead of buying one:
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FAQ
Can I run Nemotron 70B on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090?
No — Nemotron 70B Instruct at Q4_K_M needs 46.1 GB at 8K context (42.6 GB weights + 3.5 GB KV cache/overhead), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090's 24 GB leaves it ~22.1 GB short. The cheapest card that runs it is the NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (48 GB).
What's the cheapest GPU that runs Nemotron 70B?
The NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation (48 GB VRAM) is the cheapest upgrade that fits it.
Nemotron 70B on Other GPUs
- Nemotron 70B on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- Nemotron 70B on AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- Nemotron 70B on Apple M4 Pro
- Nemotron 70B on Apple M3
- Nemotron 70B on Apple M2
Popular Models on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
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VRAM Tier
Troubleshooting
- CUDA out of memory — why it happens and how to fix it
- Which GGUF quant should I download? (Q4 vs Q5 vs Q8)
Buying Guide
← Can I Run It? | Nemotron 70B Model Page | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU Page | VRAM calculator | Check Your Hardware