Can I Run OLMo 2 on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated November 26, 2024

Yes, but it is tight

Yes, but it is tight — OLMo 2 7B Instruct at Q6_K needs about 11.1 GB of the 12 GB usable on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM), leaving only ~0.9 GB before the runtime starts swapping. Expect ~30.9 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 4,096 tokens of context.

Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q6_K · Estimated speed: ~30.9 tok/s

RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models12 GB
Memory bandwidth360 GB/s
Form factorDesktop
Operating systemWindows or Linux
Memory upgradeableYes

OLMo 2 on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM): memory by quantization

QuantMemory neededFits 12 GB?Max contextEst. speedDownload
F1619.7 GB✗ No14.6 GB
Q8_012.9 GB✗ No7.8 GB
Q6_K11.1 GB✓ Yes4K~30.9 tok/s6 GB
Q5_K_M10.3 GB✓ Yes4K~34.1 tok/s5.2 GB
Q4_K_M9.5 GB✓ Yes4K~37.7 tok/s4.4 GB
Q3_K_M8.2 GB✓ Yes4K~46 tok/s3.1 GB
Q2_K7.5 GB✓ Yes4K~52.4 tok/s2.4 GB

Which OLMo 2 sizes fit

VariantNeeds at Q4_K_MFits?Est. speed
OLMo 2 13B Instruct15.8 GB✗ Too large
OLMo 2 7B Instruct9.5 GB✓ Fits~37.7 tok/s

What to watch out for

RTX 3060 12 GB desktop limitations

Recommended setup

Ollama or llama.cpp (CUDA/ROCm) — vLLM if you need concurrent serving

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

Can I run OLMo 2 on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Yes, but it is tight — OLMo 2 7B Instruct at Q6_K needs about 11.1 GB of the 12 GB usable on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM), leaving only ~0.9 GB before the runtime starts swapping. Expect ~30.9 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 4,096 tokens of context.

Which quantization of OLMo 2 should I use on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Q6_K — it needs about 11.1 GB of the 12 GB available, downloads as roughly 6 GB, and runs at an estimated 30.9 tokens/sec with up to 4K of context.

What limits OLMo 2 on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.

Which runtime should I use?

Ollama or llama.cpp (CUDA/ROCm) — vLLM if you need concurrent serving

Other Computers

Other Models on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)

OLMo 2 on GPUs

What This Model Is Good At

Model & Tools

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