Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — VRAM, Speed & Local Setup

作者: Jakub Rusinowski · 最后更新: 2024年7月23日

Model libraryLlama 3.1 Family → Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

The go-to model for consumer hardware. Excellent reasoning, tool use, and multilingual support.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct needs about 6 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus framework overhead, before any KV cache. On Apple Silicon that figure comes out of unified memory.

Specifications

Parameters8 Billion
Context window128,000
ArchitectureDense Decoder-only
ProviderMeta
LicenceLlama Community License
Specified atQ4_K_M
System RAM16 GB
Record updated2024-07-23

Licence

Llama Communitycommercial use permitted. Weights are downloadable and commercial use is permitted, subject to the licence’s acceptable-use terms.

VRAM and Speed by Quantization

Modelled on a reference NVIDIA RTX 4090 (24 GB), at 8K context. Speed figures are ESTIMATES from the memory-bandwidth roofline described on the methodology page, not benchmarks we ran — rows marked measured come from published or reader-submitted runs. VRAM here includes the KV cache, so it reads higher than the headline figure above, which does not.

QuantWeightsVRAM neededEst. speedFit on 24 GB
Q2_K2.6 GB4.5 GB~155 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q3_K_M3.4 GB5.3 GB~134 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q4_K_M4.8 GB6.7 GB~107 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q5_K_M5.7 GB7.5 GB~96 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q6_K6.6 GB8.4 GB~86 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
Q8_08.5 GB10.4 GB~70 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably
F1616.0 GB17.9 GB~41 tok/s (est.)Fits comfortably

Want the memory numbers alone, at every quantization level and your own context length? Use the Llama 3.1 8B Instruct VRAM calculator.

Buy This HardwareIntel Arc B570 10GB — 10 GB VRAM · 150 W board powerDeploy in the Cloud NowRTX 4090 on RunPod — from $0.34/hr · rate checked 2026-07

or compare on Vast.ai from $0.35/hr (typical low · varies)

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Cloud GPU links are referral links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Recommended GPU

The cheapest catalogued GPU that runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the Intel Arc B570 (10 GB).

联盟营销声明: 本页部分链接为联盟推广链接——如果你通过它们购买,LLM Configurator 可能会获得佣金,而你无需支付任何额外费用。作为亚马逊联盟成员(Amazon Associate),LLM Configurator 会从符合条件的购买中获得收益。
Intel Arc B570 10GB
10 GB VRAM · 150 W board power
2026年价格波动较大——请以当前商品页价格为准。
在亚马逊查看价格

How to Run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Install Ollama, then run:

ollama run llama3.1

Weights on Hugging Face: meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct.

Download Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — GGUF Quantizations

Pick a quantization and open it in LM Studio, Ollama, or Jan, or download the raw .gguf file directly. Quant list and sizes resolved from Hugging Face.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — GGUF quants · bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF

QuantSizeDownload (.gguf)
Q3_K_M3.41 GB (est.)Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q3_K_M.gguf
Q4_K_M4.83 GB (est.)Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q4_K_M.gguf
Q5_K_M5.67 GB (est.)Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q5_K_M.gguf
Q6_K6.56 GB (est.)Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q6_K.gguf
Q8_08.50 GB (est.)Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q8_0.gguf

Download in LM Studio: lms get bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF

Want this model on your phone? You can run it on your desktop with LM Studio and chat from your iPhone or iPad over an encrypted link — see Run LM Studio Models on Your Phone (LM Link).

Best for: chat, rag, agents.

Can I Run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct on My GPU?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does Llama 3.1 8B Instruct need?
About 6 GB at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus framework overhead, before any KV cache. The cache grows with context length and is added on top; the table above folds it in. Apple Silicon counts unified memory toward the same figure.
Does Llama 3.1 8B Instruct run on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?
Yes. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct needs about 6 GB at Q4_K_M, inside a 24 GB card, at an estimated 107 tokens/sec.
How do I run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct locally?
Install Ollama and run `ollama run llama3.1`. That pulls the weights and starts a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint; after the download nothing leaves the machine.

← All Llama 3.1 Family models | VRAM calculator | Check your own hardware