Can the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB run Gemma 2 27B?

RTX 3060 12GB × Gemma 2 27B8K context
NoDoes not fit in memory
Memory at Q4_K_M20.2 GB of 12 GB
Weights 16.5 GBKV cache 3.1 GBRuntime 0.6 GB
  1. FP16
  2. Q8_0
  3. Q6_K
  4. Q5_K_M
  5. Q4_K_M
  6. Q3_K_M
  7. Q2_K

No. Even at Q4_K_M, Gemma 2 27B needs about 20.2 GB, but the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB has 12 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.

Run it on a rented GPU

On a cloud GPU with enough memory, the same command you'd use locally works:

ollama run gemma2:27b

At Q4_K_M it needs about 20.2 GB, so pick a GPU with at least 24 GB.

Run it in the cloud

Too big for the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB? Run Gemma 2 27B on a rented GPU instead.

Rent a cloud GPU by the hour. No upfront cost, stop any time.

Memory needed by quantization

At 8,192 tokens of context. The black line marks the 12 GB the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB can use.

QuantQualityMemoryFits?Speed
FP16Full quality58.1 GBToo big—
Q8_0Near-lossless32.6 GBToo big—
Q6_KExcellent26 GBToo big—
Q5_K_MVery good23 GBToo big—
Q4_K_MGood, most popular20.2 GBToo big—
Q3_K_MNoticeably degraded17 GBToo big—
Q2_KHeavily degraded13.9 GBToo big—

Frequently asked questions

Can NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB run Gemma 2 27B?

No. Even at Q4_K_M, Gemma 2 27B needs about 20.2 GB, but the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB has 12 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.

How much VRAM does Gemma 2 27B need?

About 20.2 GB at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, and about 58.1 GB at full FP16 precision.

How fast is Gemma 2 27B on the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB?

It does not fit in the NVIDIA RTX 3060 12GB's memory, so most layers would run from system RAM and generation would be very slow.