Granite 3.0 8B Instruct — VRAM, Speed & Local Setup

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated October 21, 2024

Model library → Granite 3.0 → Granite 3.0 8B Instruct

A robust 8B model optimized for enterprise tasks, coding, and RAG. Completely open license.

Granite 3.0 8B Instruct needs about 6 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

Parameters8 Billion
Context window4,096
ArchitectureDense
ProviderIBM
LicenceApache 2.0
Specified atQ4_K_M
System RAM16 GB
Record updated2024-10-21

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_K2.6 GB4.8 GB~151 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q3_K_M3.4 GB5.6 GB~131 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q4_K_M4.8 GB7.0 GB~105 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q5_K_M5.7 GB7.8 GB~94 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q6_K6.6 GB8.7 GB~85 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q8_08.5 GB10.6 GB~70 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
F1616.0 GB18.1 GB~41 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably

Want the memory numbers alone, at every quantization level and your own context length? Use the Granite 3.0 8B 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 Granite 3.0 8B 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.
Check price on Amazon

How to Run Granite 3.0 8B Instruct

Install Ollama, then run:

ollama run granite3-dense

Weights on Hugging Face: ibm-granite/granite-3.0-8b-instruct.

Best for: coding, enterprise, rag.

Can I Run Granite 3.0 8B Instruct on My GPU?

Granite 3.0 8B Instruct — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does Granite 3.0 8B Instruct need?
About 6 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 Granite 3.0 8B Instruct run on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?
Yes. Granite 3.0 8B Instruct needs about 6 GB at Q4_K_M, inside a 24 GB card, at an estimated 105 tokens/sec.
How do I run Granite 3.0 8B Instruct locally?
Install Ollama and run `ollama run granite3-dense`. That pulls the weights and starts a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint; after the download nothing leaves the machine.

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