Can I Run Llama 3.1 Family on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Superseded model. Llama 3.1 Family has been superseded by Llama 4. This page is kept for reference; the newer family is a better starting point. View Llama 4 →

作者: Jakub Rusinowski · 最后更新: 2024年7月23日

Yes

Yes — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q8_0 needs about 10.4 GB of the 12 GB usable on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM) (~1.6 GB spare), at ~28 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.

Confidence: high · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~28 tok/s

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RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models12 GB
Memory bandwidth360 GB/s
Form factorDesktop
Operating systemWindows or Linux
Memory upgradeableYes

Llama 3.1 Family on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM): memory by quantization

QuantMemory neededFits 12 GB?Max contextEst. speedDownload
F1617.9 GB✗ No16 GB
Q8_010.4 GB✓ Yes16K~28 tok/s8.5 GB
Q6_K8.4 GB✓ Yes32K~35 tok/s6.6 GB
Q5_K_M7.5 GB✓ Yes32K~39.6 tok/s5.7 GB
Q4_K_M6.7 GB✓ Yes32K~45.2 tok/s4.8 GB
Q3_K_M5.3 GB✓ Yes32K~59.3 tok/s3.4 GB
Q2_K4.5 GB✓ Yes32K~71.6 tok/s2.6 GB

RTX 3060 12 GB desktop limitations

Recommended setup

Ollama or llama.cpp (CUDA/ROCm) — vLLM if you need concurrent serving

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

Can I run Llama 3.1 Family on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Yes — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct at Q8_0 needs about 10.4 GB of the 12 GB usable on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM) (~1.6 GB spare), at ~28 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 16,384 tokens of context.

Which quantization of Llama 3.1 Family should I use on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Q8_0 — it needs about 10.4 GB of the 12 GB available, downloads as roughly 8.5 GB, and runs at an estimated 28 tokens/sec with up to 16K of context.

What limits Llama 3.1 Family on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)?

Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.

Which runtime should I use?

Ollama or llama.cpp (CUDA/ROCm) — vLLM if you need concurrent serving

Other Computers

Other Models on RTX 3060 12 GB Desktop (12 GB VRAM, 32 GB RAM)

Llama 3.1 Family on GPUs

What This Model Is Good At

Model & Tools

← Can I Run It? | Llama 3.1 Family model page | Check your hardware