Aya Expanse 32B needs ~24.4 GB but RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB only has 12.0 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.
Operating mode
Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.
Current mode
Balanced
Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.
Select quantization to explore
12.4 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization
Fit status
Too heavy
Decode
2.3 tok/s
TTFT
83862 ms
Safe context
4K
Memory
24.4 GB / 12.0 GB
Offload
50%
Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.
Not enough usable memory
The model needs 24.4 GB, but this setup only exposes 12.0 GB of usable VRAM.
Add more VRAM headroom
The first useful upgrade is more dedicated VRAM so you can fit the model without shrinking context or dropping to a much lower quant.
| Workload | Grade | Fit | Decode | TTFT | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | F | Too heavy | 2.6 tok/s | 41051 ms | 4K |
| Coding | F | Too heavy | 2.1 tok/s | 91200 ms | 4K |
| Agentic Coding | F | Too heavy | 2.0 tok/s | 137382 ms | 4K |
| Reasoning | F | Too heavy | 2.3 tok/s | 99109 ms | 4K |
| RAG | F | Too heavy | 2.0 tok/s | 171727 ms | 4K |
How Aya Expanse 32B (32B params) fits at each quantization level on RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB (12.0 GB usable).
| Quant | Bits | VRAM | Quality | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q2_K | 2 | 12.5 GB | Low | F0 |
Q3_K_S | 3 | 15.7 GB | Low | F0 |
NVFP4 | 4 |
Upgrade options
RTX 3090 24GBBudget pickMakes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.
Raises estimated decode speed by about 943%.
~$1,499 MSRP
RTX 4090 24GBNVIDIA upgradeMakes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.
Raises estimated decode speed by about 1117%.
~$1,599 MSRP
RTX 5090 32GBBest valueMakes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.
Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.
~$1,999 MSRP
No, Aya Expanse 32B requires more memory than RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB provides.
Aya Expanse 32B (32B parameters) requires approximately 24.4 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.
The recommended quantization for Aya Expanse 32B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.
On RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB, Aya Expanse 32B achieves approximately 2.1 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 91200ms using Q4_K_M quantization.
For coding workloads, Aya Expanse 32B on RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB receives a F grade with 2.1 tok/s and 4K context.
On RTX 3500 Ada Laptop 12GB, Aya Expanse 32B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 8K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.
Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.
<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/aya-expanse-32b-on-rtx-3500-ada-laptop-12gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>
Preview:
| Medium |
| F0 |
Q4_K_M | 4 | 19.5 GB | Medium | F0 |
Q5_K_M | 5 | 23.0 GB | High | F0 |
Q6_K | 6 | 26.2 GB | High | F0 |
Q8_0 | 8 | 34.2 GB | Very High | F0 |
F16 | 16 | 65.6 GB | Maximum | F0 |
Add more VRAM headroom. The first useful upgrade is more dedicated VRAM so you can fit the model without shrinking context or dropping to a much lower quant.
