HomeCan I run it?Gemma 3 12BGemma 3 12B on an RTX 3080
Yes, but it is tight. Gemma 3 12B at Q4_K_M needs about 9.5 GB, and the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB has 10.0 GB usable at a ~4k context.
Can I run Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3080?
Gemma 3 12B at Q4_K_M needs about 9.5 GB, and the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB has 10.0 GB usable. That figure is 10 GB of VRAM on the spec sheet, of which 10.0 GB is usable for weights and cache, at 760 GB/s memory bandwidth. Google’s mid-small Gemma 3, sized for 12–16 GB cards that want more than a 4B or 8B. These are estimates from our formula, not measured benchmarks.
- Quant that fits
- Q4_K_M Fits, short context only
- Memory needed
- 9.5 GB at Q4_K_M, ~4k context
- Usable VRAM
- 10.0 GB of 10 GB VRAM
- Est. tokens/sec
- 62–87 estimate
Memory at each quant
| Quant | Need vs 10.0 GB | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 9.5 GB | Q4Tight |
| Q8_0 | 15.9 GB | Q8Won’t fit |
| FP16 | 29.0 GB | FP16Won’t fit |
Estimated tokens per second
Estimate: 62–87 tokens/sec at Q4_K_M. This is a bandwidth-derived range, not a bench. Efficiency is a 60–85% GPU band from How we calculate.
Context headroom
We do not have a published KV config for this model, so the memory need is the ~4k-context estimate only. Use the VRAM calculator to explore longer chats.
What to do instead
- Run Qwen3-8B instead (6.7 GB at Q4). It is a different model, not a drop-in, but it does fit this machine.
- Q8_0 needs 15.9 GB and does not fit here. The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB has 16.0 GB usable, enough for Q8.
- See the best GPU for this model family and the gemma-3-12b-it model page.
Other hardware for Gemma 3 12B
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3060 12GBFits
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3070 TiWon’t fit
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4060 Ti 16GBTight
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4070 Ti SuperTight
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4090Fits
- Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 5070 TiTight
Other models on an RTX 3080
- Qwen3-32B on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
- Qwen3-30B-A3B on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
- Qwen3.8-27B on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
- Gemma 3 27B on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
- Gemma 4 31B on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
- gpt-oss-20b on an RTX 3080Won’t fit
Quick answers
- Can I run Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3080?
- Yes, but it is tight. Gemma 3 12B at Q4_K_M needs about 9.5 GB, and the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB has 10.0 GB usable.
- How much VRAM does Gemma 3 12B need?
- About 9.5 GB at Q4_K_M, 15.9 GB at Q8_0 and 29.0 GB at FP16, estimated for a ~4k context.
- How fast is Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3080?
- Our estimate is 62–87 tokens per second at Q4_K_M. It is not a measured benchmark.