Command R (35B) — VRAM, Speed & Local Setup

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated March 11, 2024

Model library → Command R Family → Command R (35B)

The RAG specialist. Designed to work with your data. Excellent at following complex instructions and tool use.

Command R (35B) needs about 22 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus framework overhead, before any KV cache. On Apple Silicon that figure comes out of unified memory.

Specifications

Parameters35 Billion
Context window128,000
ArchitectureDense
ProviderCohere
LicenceCC-BY-NC
Specified atQ4_K_M
System RAM32 GB
Record updated2024-03-11

Licence

CC-BY-NC-4.0 — research / non-commercial only. Research / non-commercial only — this licence does NOT permit shipping a commercial product.

VRAM and Speed by Quantization

Modelled on a reference NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24 GB), at 8K context. Speed figures are ESTIMATES from the memory-bandwidth roofline described on the methodology page, not benchmarks we ran — rows marked measured come from published or reader-submitted runs. VRAM here includes the KV cache, so it reads higher than the headline figure above, which does not.

QuantWeightsVRAM neededEst. speedFit on 24 GB
Q2_K11.5 GB23.0 GB~41 tok/s (est.)Tight fit
Q3_K_M14.9 GB26.5 GB~5 tok/s (est.)Offloads to system RAM (slow)
Q4_K_M21.1 GB32.7 GB~4 tok/s (est.)Offloads to system RAM (slow)
Q5_K_M24.8 GB36.3 GB~4 tok/s (est.)Offloads to system RAM (slow)
Q6_K28.7 GB40.2 GB~3 tok/s (est.)Offloads to system RAM (slow)
Q8_037.2 GB48.7 GB~3 tok/s (est.)Offloads to system RAM (slow)
F1670.0 GB81.5 GB—Won't fit

Want the memory numbers alone, at every quantization level and your own context length? Use the Command R (35B) VRAM calculator.

Buy This HardwareAMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB — 24 GB VRAM · 355 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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Recommended GPU

The cheapest catalogued GPU that runs Command R (35B) is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24 GB).

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AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB
24 GB VRAM · 355 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
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How to Run Command R (35B)

Install Ollama, then run:

ollama run command-r

Weights on Hugging Face: CohereForAI/c4ai-command-r-v01.

Best for: rag, agent, work.

Can I Run Command R (35B) on My GPU?

Other Command R Family Sizes

Command R (35B) — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does Command R (35B) need?
About 22 GB at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus framework overhead, before any KV cache. The cache grows with context length and is added on top; the table above folds it in. Apple Silicon counts unified memory toward the same figure.
Does Command R (35B) run on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?
Yes. Command R (35B) needs about 22 GB at Q4_K_M, inside a 24 GB card, at an estimated 4 tokens/sec.
How do I run Command R (35B) locally?
Install Ollama and run `ollama run command-r`. That pulls the weights and starts a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint; after the download nothing leaves the machine.
What other sizes does Command R Family come in?
Command R (35B) (22 GB), Command R+ (104B) (64 GB). Every size shares the family's training and licence; the larger ones score higher and need proportionally more memory.

← All Command R Family models | VRAM calculator | Check your own hardware