Yi 1.5 Family — local AI model by 01.AI

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated

Newer alternative. 01.AI has not released a newer model in this library. If you are choosing today, Qwen 3 is a comparable current option. View Qwen 3 →

High-performance models from 01.AI. Known for strong bilingual (English/Chinese) capabilities and coding performance.

Hugging Face

Variants

The smallest Yi 1.5 Family variant needs about 6 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus framework overhead, before any KV cache.

ModelVRAM
Yi 1.5 34B Chat →
34B
~21.6 GB
Yi 1.5 9B Chat →
9B
~6.1 GB

Memory is quantized weights plus overhead at Q4_K_M, from the same engine as the GPU & VRAM checker.

How to run Yi 1.5 Family locally

Install Ollama, then pull the tag.

ollama run yi:34b

Pick a size above for its own VRAM figure, speed estimate and install command.

Licence

Yi LicenseCommercial use permitted

Weights are downloadable and commercial use is permitted, subject to the licence’s acceptable-use terms.

Applies to: Yi 1.5 34B Chat, Yi 1.5 9B Chat

Recommended GPU

The cheapest catalogued GPU that runs Yi 1.5 Family locally (min 6 GB VRAM) 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.

Can I run Yi 1.5 Family on my GPU?

Yi 1.5 Family — frequently asked questions

How much VRAM does Yi 1.5 Family need?

Yi 1.5 Family needs about 6 GB VRAM at Q4_K_M quantization for its smallest variant. Variants: Yi 1.5 34B Chat (22 GB, Q4_K_M); Yi 1.5 9B Chat (6 GB, Q4_K_M). On Apple Silicon, unified memory counts toward this requirement.

Can I run Yi 1.5 Family on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?

Yes — Yi 1.5 Family runs on an RTX 4090 (24 GB) and other 24 GB cards such as the RTX 3090. Smaller variants also fit comfortably on 8–16 GB GPUs at Q4_K_M.

What quantization should I use for Yi 1.5 Family?

Q4_K_M is the best balance of quality and VRAM for Yi 1.5 Family in most cases. Choose Q8_0 for near-lossless quality if you have spare VRAM, or smaller quants (Q3/Q2) only when memory is tight.

How do I run Yi 1.5 Family with Ollama?

Install Ollama, then run: ollama run yi:34b. This downloads Yi 1.5 Family and starts a local, OpenAI-compatible endpoint — no internet connection is needed after the initial download.