Best GPU for running Gemma 3 locally
Which GPU or Mac you need for Google’s Gemma 3 models, from the cheapest card that runs the small one to what it takes for gemma-3-27b-it. All checks are at Q4_K_M, about 4k context.
Cheapest way in: Intel Arc B570 runs gemma-3-4b-it for $219. For gemma-3-27b-it, the cheapest fit we track is Intel Arc Pro B70 32GB at $949.
Cheapest hardware per model
| Model | Cheapest GPU that fits | Cheapest Mac or mini-PC that fits |
|---|---|---|
| gemma-3-4b-it~4.0 GB at Q4 | Intel Arc B570$219 list | Mac mini M6 16GB$899 Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 16GB/256GB |
| gemma-3-12b-it~9.5 GB at Q4 | Intel Arc B580$249 list | Mac mini M6 16GB$899 Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 16GB/256GB |
| gemma-3-27b-it~20.1 GB at Q4 | Intel Arc Pro B70 32GB$949 list | Mac mini M6 32GB$1799 Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 32GB/1TB |
Every priced machine, cheapest first
Q4 verdict for each Gemma 3 model.FitsTightWon’t fit
| Hardware | Price | gemma-3-4b-it | gemma-3-12b-it | gemma-3-27b-it | Check price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Arc B57010 GB usable | $219 | Fits | Tight | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3050 8GB8 GB usable | $249 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Intel Arc B58012 GB usable | $249 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 76008 GB usable | $269 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Intel Arc A7508 GB usable | $289 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 40608 GB usable | $299 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 50608 GB usable | $299 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB8 GB usable | $299 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB usable | $329 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7600 XT16 GB usable | $329 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 2060 6GB6 GB usable | $349 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB16 GB usable | $349 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Intel Arc A770 16GB16 GB usable | $349 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB8 GB usable | $379 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3060 Ti8 GB usable | $399 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 2060 Super8 GB usable | $399 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB8 GB usable | $399 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB usable | $429 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7700 XT12 GB usable | $449 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 6700 XT12 GB usable | $479 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 30708 GB usable | $499 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB usable | $499 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7800 XT16 GB usable | $499 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 20708 GB usable | $499 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 2070 Super8 GB usable | $499 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 507012 GB usable | $549 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 6750 XT12 GB usable | $549 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7900 GRE16 GB usable | $549 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 907016 GB usable | $549 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 680016 GB usable | $579 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 407012 GB usable | $599 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Super12 GB usable | $599 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3070 Ti8 GB usable | $599 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 9070 XT16 GB usable | $599 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 6800 XT16 GB usable | $649 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada 16GB16 GB usable | $649 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB usable | $699 | Fits | Tight | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 20808 GB usable | $699 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Super8 GB usable | $699 | Fits | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 5070 Ti16 GB usable | $749 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Mac mini M4 16GB12 GB usable | $789 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super16 GB usable | $799 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3080 12GB12 GB usable | $799 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Ti12 GB usable | $799 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7900 XT20 GB usable | $899 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Mac mini M6 16GB12 GB usable | $899 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Intel Arc Pro B70 32GB32 GB usable | $949 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 4080 Super16 GB usable | $999 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 508016 GB usable | $999 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 7900 XTX24 GB usable | $999 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Ti11 GB usable | $999 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 6900 XT16 GB usable | $999 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX A400016 GB usable | $1000 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Radeon RX 6950 XT16 GB usable | $1099 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3080 Ti12 GB usable | $1199 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 408016 GB usable | $1199 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada 20GB20 GB usable | $1250 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| Mac mini M6 24GB18 GB usable | $1299 | Fits | Fits | Won’t fit | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 309024 GB usable | $1499 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 409024 GB usable | $1599 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| Mac mini M6 32GB24 GB usable | $1799 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 3090 Ti24 GB usable | $1999 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| GeForce RTX 509032 GB usable | $1999 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX A500024 GB usable | $2250 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| MacBook Pro M6 32GB24 GB usable | $2399 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA Titan RTX24 GB usable | $2499 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| Mac mini M5 Pro 64GB48 GB usable | $3199 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) 128GB96 GB usable | $3449 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX A600048 GB usable | $4649 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB96 GB usable | $4999 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark 64GB48 GB usable | $4999 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB96 GB usable | $6699 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada 48GB48 GB usable | $6799 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB96 GB usable | $6950 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell 96GB96 GB usable | $8565 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB192 GB usable | $9499 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB384 GB usable | $22299 | Fits | Fits | Fits | AmazoneBay |
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Quick answers
- What is the cheapest GPU for running Gemma 3 locally?
- Of the devices we track, the Intel Arc B570 ($219) is the cheapest that runs gemma-3-4b-it at Q4.
- What hardware do I need for gemma-3-27b-it?
- The cheapest fit we track is the Intel Arc Pro B70 32GB at $949. gemma-3-27b-it needs about 20.1 GB at Q4.
- How much VRAM does Gemma 3 need?
- gemma-3-4b-it needs about 4.0 GB at Q4; gemma-3-27b-it needs about 20.1 GB. These are estimates at Q4_K_M with about 4k context.
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