DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) — VRAM, Speed & Local Setup

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated December 26, 2024

Model library → DeepSeek V3 → DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE)

The complete model. Only 37B parameters activate per token — far cheaper inference than size suggests. Requires enterprise multi-GPU setup (400GB+ VRAM). Typically accessed via API or on-prem clusters. Rivals GPT-4o on most benchmarks.

DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) needs about 414 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

Parameters685 Billion (37B active)
Context window128,000
ArchitectureMoE (256 experts)
ProviderDeepSeek
LicenceMIT
Specified atQ4_K_M
System RAM700 GB
Record updated2024-12-26

Licence

MIT — commercial use permitted. Commercial use permitted. No usage restrictions beyond attribution.

VRAM and Speed by Quantization

Modelled on a reference NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24 GB), with no KV cache (this record has no published architecture). 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_K225.2 GB226.0 GB—Won't fit
Q3_K_M292.0 GB292.8 GB—Won't fit
Q4_K_M413.6 GB414.4 GB—Won't fit
Q5_K_M485.5 GB486.3 GB—Won't fit
Q6_K561.7 GB562.5 GB—Won't fit
Q8_0727.8 GB728.6 GB—Won't fit
F161370.0 GB1370.8 GB—Won't fit

Want the memory numbers alone, at every quantization level and your own context length? Use the DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) VRAM calculator.

Buy This HardwareApple Mac Studio M3 Ultra — 512 GB VRAM · 60 W board powerDeploy in the Cloud NowRunPod

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Recommended GPU

The cheapest catalogued GPU that runs DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) is the Apple M3 Ultra (512 GB).

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Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra
512 GB VRAM · 60 W board power
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How to Run DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE)

Install Ollama, then run:

ollama run deepseek-v3

Weights on Hugging Face: deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V3.

Best for: coding, math, enterprise, research.

Can I Run DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) on My GPU?

DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) need?
About 414 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 DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) run on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?
No. DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) needs about 414 GB at Q4_K_M, more than a single RTX 4090's 24 GB. It needs a larger card, several GPUs, or Apple Silicon with enough unified memory — or it runs with part of the weights offloaded to system RAM, which is much slower.
How do I run DeepSeek V3 (685B MoE) locally?
Install Ollama and run `ollama run deepseek-v3`. That pulls the weights and starts a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint; after the download nothing leaves the machine.

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