Can the NVIDIA RTX 4060 run Gemma 3 12B?
- FP16
- Q8_0
- Q6_K
- Q5_K_M
- Q4_K_M
- Q3_K_M
- Q2_K
No. Even at Q4_K_M, Gemma 3 12B needs about 11.2 GB, but the NVIDIA RTX 4060 has 8 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.
Run it on a rented GPU
On a cloud GPU with enough memory, the same command you'd use locally works:
ollama run gemma3:12bAt Q4_K_M it needs about 11.2 GB, so pick a GPU with at least 16 GB.
Run it in the cloud
Too big for the NVIDIA RTX 4060? Run Gemma 3 12B on a rented GPU instead.
Rent a cloud GPU by the hour. No upfront cost, stop any time.
Memory needed by quantization
At 8,192 tokens of context. The black line marks the 8 GB the NVIDIA RTX 4060 can use.
| Quant | Quality | Memory | Fits? | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP16 | Full quality | 28.2 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q8_0 | Near-lossless | 16.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q6_K | Excellent | 13.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q5_K_M | Very good | 12.5 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q4_K_M | Good, most popular | 11.2 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q3_K_M | Noticeably degraded | 9.8 GB | Too big | — | |
| Q2_K | Heavily degraded | 8.4 GB | Too big | — |
GPUs that run Gemma 3 12B comfortably
Models that run well on the NVIDIA RTX 4060
Frequently asked questions
Can NVIDIA RTX 4060 run Gemma 3 12B?
No. Even at Q4_K_M, Gemma 3 12B needs about 11.2 GB, but the NVIDIA RTX 4060 has 8 GB usable. You could offload some layers to system RAM, but it will be very slow.
How much VRAM does Gemma 3 12B need?
About 11.2 GB at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, and about 28.2 GB at full FP16 precision.
How fast is Gemma 3 12B on the NVIDIA RTX 4060?
It does not fit in the NVIDIA RTX 4060's memory, so most layers would run from system RAM and generation would be very slow.