# Can I run Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 5070 Ti? | What Can I Run AI

> Yes, but it is tight. Gemma 3 12B at Q8_0 needs about 15.9 GB; RTX 5070 Ti has 16.0 GB usable. Estimated tokens/sec and context headroom.

Source: https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-5070-ti/

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**Yes, but it is tight.** Gemma 3 12B at Q8\_0 needs about 15.9 GB, and the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has 16.0 GB usable at a \~4k context.

# Can I run Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 5070 Ti?

Gemma 3 12B at Q8\_0 needs about 15.9 GB, and the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has 16.0 GB usable. That figure is 16 GB of VRAM on the spec sheet, of which 16.0 GB is usable for weights and cache, at 896 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](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/method/), not measured benchmarks.

Quant that fits

Q8\_0 Fits, short context only

Memory needed

15.9 GB at Q8\_0, \~4k context

Usable VRAM

16.0 GB of 16 GB VRAM

Est. tokens/sec

42–59 estimate

[gemma-3-12b-it](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/models/gemma-3-12b-it/) · [GeForce RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/hardware/rtx-5070-ti/) · [Everything this machine runs](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/what-can-i-run/rtx-5070-ti/) · [Q4 vs Q8 vs FP16](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/quantization/)

## Memory at each quant

| Quant    | Need vs 16.0 GB | Verdict       |
| -------- | --------------- | ------------- |
| Q4\_K\_M | 9.5 GB          | Q4Fits        |
| Q8\_0    | 15.9 GB         | Q8Tight       |
| FP16     | 29.0 GB         | FP16Won’t fit |

## Estimated tokens per second

Estimate: **42–59 tokens/sec** at Q8\_0\. This is a bandwidth-derived range, not a bench. Efficiency is a 60–85% GPU band from [How we calculate](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/method/).

## 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](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/vram-calculator/) to explore longer chats.

## What to do instead

* Run [Qwen3-8B](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/qwen3-8b/rtx-5070-ti/) instead (6.7 GB at Q4). It is a different model, not a drop-in, but it does fit this machine.
* Keep context short, close other GPU work, and avoid a higher quant. The [VRAM calculator](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/vram-calculator/) shows how the KV cache grows.
* See the [best GPU for this model family](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/best-gpu-for/gemma-3/) and the [gemma-3-12b-it model page](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/models/gemma-3-12b-it/).

## Other hardware for Gemma 3 12B

* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3060 12GB](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-3060-12gb/)Fits
* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-3070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 3080](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-3080-10gb/)Tight
* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4060 Ti 16GB](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-4060-ti-16gb/)Tight
* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4070 Ti Super](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-4070-ti-super/)Tight
* [Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 4090](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-12b-it/rtx-4090/)Fits

## Other models on an RTX 5070 Ti

* [Qwen3-32B on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/qwen3-32b/rtx-5070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [Qwen3-30B-A3B on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/qwen3-30b-a3b/rtx-5070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [Qwen3.8-27B on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/qwen3.8-27b/rtx-5070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [Gemma 3 27B on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-3-27b-it/rtx-5070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [Gemma 4 31B on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gemma-4-31b-it/rtx-5070-ti/)Won’t fit
* [gpt-oss-20b on an RTX 5070 Ti](https://whatcanirunai.vercel.app/can-i-run/gpt-oss-20b/rtx-5070-ti/)Tight

## Quick answers

Can I run Gemma 3 12B on an RTX 5070 Ti?

Yes, but it is tight. Gemma 3 12B at Q8\_0 needs about 15.9 GB, and the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has 16.0 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 5070 Ti?

Our estimate is 42–59 tokens per second at Q8\_0\. It is not a measured benchmark.

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