Falcon 3 3B Instruct — VRAM, Speed & Local Setup

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated December 18, 2024

Model library → Falcon 3 → Falcon 3 3B Instruct

A remarkably capable 3B model for commercial use. Outperforms Phi-3.5 Mini on several benchmarks. Great for low-VRAM or phone deployment where Apache 2.0 licensing is required.

Falcon 3 3B Instruct needs about 3 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

Parameters3 Billion
Context window32,768
ArchitectureDense
ProviderTII (UAE)
LicenceApache 2.0
Specified atQ4_K_M
System RAM8 GB
Record updated2024-12-18

Licence

Apache-2.0 — 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), 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_K1.1 GB2.6 GB~242 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q3_K_M1.4 GB2.9 GB~220 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q4_K_M2.0 GB3.5 GB~188 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q5_K_M2.3 GB3.8 GB~174 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q6_K2.6 GB4.2 GB~160 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q8_03.4 GB5.0 GB~137 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
F166.5 GB8.0 GB~89 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably

Want the memory numbers alone, at every quantization level and your own context length? Use the Falcon 3 3B Instruct VRAM calculator.

Buy This HardwareIntel Arc B570 10GB — 10 GB VRAM · 150 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 Falcon 3 3B Instruct is the Intel Arc B570 (10 GB).

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Intel Arc B570 10GB
10 GB VRAM · 150 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
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How to Run Falcon 3 3B Instruct

Install Ollama, then run:

ollama run falcon3:3b

Weights on Hugging Face: tiiuae/Falcon3-3B-Instruct.

Best for: mobile, edge devices, commercial.

Can I Run Falcon 3 3B Instruct on My GPU?

Other Falcon 3 Sizes

Falcon 3 3B Instruct — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does Falcon 3 3B Instruct need?
About 3 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 Falcon 3 3B Instruct run on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?
Yes. Falcon 3 3B Instruct needs about 3 GB at Q4_K_M, inside a 24 GB card, at an estimated 188 tokens/sec.
How do I run Falcon 3 3B Instruct locally?
Install Ollama and run `ollama run falcon3:3b`. That pulls the weights and starts a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint; after the download nothing leaves the machine.
What other sizes does Falcon 3 come in?
Falcon 3 3B Instruct (3 GB), Falcon 3 7B Instruct (5 GB), Falcon 3 10B Instruct (7 GB). Every size shares the family's training and licence; the larger ones score higher and need proportionally more memory.

← All Falcon 3 models | VRAM calculator | Check your own hardware