HomeCan I run it?Phi-4Phi-4 on an RTX 3080
No. Phi-4 at Q4_K_M needs about 11.2 GB, and the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB has 10.0 GB usable at a ~4k context.
Can I run Phi-4 on an RTX 3080?
Phi-4 at Q4_K_M needs about 11.2 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. Microsoft’s Phi-4, a dense 14B-class model often compared with other 12B–14B instruct weights. These are estimates from our formula, not measured benchmarks.
- Quant that fits
- None of Q4, Q8 or FP16 needs 11.2 GB
- Memory needed
- 11.2 GB at Q4_K_M, ~4k context
- Usable VRAM
- 10.0 GB of 10 GB VRAM
- Est. tokens/sec
- n/a does not fit
Memory at each quant
| Quant | Need vs 10.0 GB | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 11.2 GB | Q4Won’t fit |
| Q8_0 | 18.9 GB | Q8Won’t fit |
| FP16 | 34.7 GB | FP16Won’t fit |
Estimated tokens per second
No speed estimate: Phi-4 does not fit in the 10.0 GB this machine can use, so we do not publish a tokens/sec figure for CPU offload.
Context headroom
Even at a short ~4k context, the weights do not fit. Extending context would only increase the gap.
| Context | KV cache (FP16) | Total at Q4_K_M | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4k | 0.8 GB | 11.2 GB | Won’t fit |
| 8k | 1.7 GB | 12.1 GB | Won’t fit |
| 16k | 3.4 GB | 13.7 GB | Won’t fit |
| 32k | 6.7 GB | 17.1 GB | Won’t fit |
| 64k | 13.4 GB | 23.8 GB | Won’t fit |
| 128k | 26.8 GB | 37.2 GB | Won’t fit |
What to do instead
- Run Gemma 3 12B instead (9.5 GB at Q4). It is a different model, not a drop-in, but it does fit this machine.
- To hold Phi-4 at Q4, you need about 11.2 GB. The GeForce RTX 3060 12GB has 12.0 GB usable ($329 list price).
- Our estimate is only 1.2 GB over this machine’s usable memory, so a tighter quant or a shorter context may work in practice. We still mark it as a no under the published formula.
- CPU offload can load the weights anyway, but it is slow. We do not publish an offload tokens/sec figure.
- Full hardware list: phi-4. Specs for this machine: GeForce RTX 3080 10GB.
Other hardware for Phi-4
- Phi-4 on an RTX 3060 12GBTight
- Phi-4 on an RTX 3070 TiWon’t fit
- Phi-4 on an RTX 4060 Ti 16GBFits
- Phi-4 on an RTX 4070 Ti SuperFits
- Phi-4 on an RTX 4090Fits
- Phi-4 on an RTX 5070 TiFits
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 Phi-4 on an RTX 3080?
- No. Phi-4 at Q4_K_M needs about 11.2 GB, and the GeForce RTX 3080 10GB has 10.0 GB usable.
- How much VRAM does Phi-4 need?
- About 11.2 GB at Q4_K_M, 18.9 GB at Q8_0 and 34.7 GB at FP16, estimated for a ~4k context.
- How fast is Phi-4 on an RTX 3080?
- We do not estimate tokens/sec when the model does not fit. CPU offload is possible but slow.
- What context length can I use?
- The weights already do not fit, so longer context is not the limiting factor.