Can Baichuan 13B run on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

Q: Is unified memory on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB as fast as VRAM for Baichuan 13B?

Not always. NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.

YES — Runs Great

B60Good

Estimated from fit model

Baichuan 13B needs ~35.8 GB VRAM. NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB has 108.8 GB. With Q5_K_M quantization, expect ~18 tok/s.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: BasicBottleneck: Balanced

Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

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.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q5_K_M (High quality) — 35.8 GB, 17.9 tok/s, Runs well

35.8 GB required108.8 GB available

33% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

17.9 tok/s

TTFT

10846 ms

Safe context

Memory

35.8 GB / 108.8 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights9.4 GB

KV Cache12.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom13.1 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsBaichuan 13B on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step.

Given information:
  - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour)
  - Time  = 2.5 hours

Formula: Distance = Speed x Time

Calculation:
  Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h
           = 150 miles

The train travels 150 miles.

Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time.

Breakdown:
  - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles
  - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance)
  - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles

Total distance: 150 miles (same)
Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours
Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph

The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 17.9 tok/s decode · 10.8s TTFT (warm) · 45 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	B	Runs well	17.9 tok/s	5916 ms	8K
Coding	B	Runs well	17.9 tok/s	10846 ms	8K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	17.9 tok/s	15776 ms	8K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	17.9 tok/s	12818 ms	8K
RAG	B	Runs well	17.9 tok/s	19720 ms	8K

Inference speed

Baichuan 13B inference speed — tokens per second by GPU & Mac

Estimated decode speed (tokens/sec) for Baichuan 13B at Q5_K_M across popular GPUs and Apple Silicon, using the fastest local runtime per device. Fastest is RTX 5090 32GB at ~131 tok/s. Speed is memory-bandwidth bound, so cards that fit the whole model in VRAM run far faster than ones that offload to system RAM.

GPU / Mac	Memory	Quant	Speed (tok/s)	Fits?
RTX 5090 32GB	32 GB	Q5_K_M	130.8	Fits
RTX 4090 24GB	24 GB	Q5_K_M	61.0	Offloads

Quantization options

How Baichuan 13B (13B params) fits at each quantization level on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB (92.2 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	5.1 GB	Low	B55
Q3_K_S	3	6.4 GB	Low	B55
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Baichuan 13B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
  --hf-repo "baichuan-inc/Baichuan-13B-Chat" \
  --hf-file "Baichuan-13B-Chat-Q5_K_M.gguf" \
  -c 4096 -ngl 99

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Baichuan 13B well

NVIDIA H200 141GBBudget pick

141 GB VRAM (+13)4800 GB/s (+4527)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.182 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$30,000 MSRP

NVIDIA H200 PCIe 141GBBest value

141 GB VRAM (+13)4800 GB/s (+4527)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.182 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$30,000 MSRP

NVIDIA B200 180GBNVIDIA upgrade

180 GB VRAM (+52)8000 GB/s (+7727)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.182 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 917%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$30,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB run Baichuan 13B?

Yes, NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB can run Baichuan 13B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 17.9 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Baichuan 13B need?

Baichuan 13B (13B parameters) requires approximately 35.8 GB of memory with Q5_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Baichuan 13B?

The recommended quantization for Baichuan 13B is Q5_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Baichuan 13B run at on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

On NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB, Baichuan 13B achieves approximately 17.9 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 10846ms using Q5_K_M quantization.

Can NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB run Baichuan 13B for coding?

For coding workloads, Baichuan 13B on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB receives a B grade with 17.9 tok/s and 8K context.

What context window can Baichuan 13B use on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

On NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB, Baichuan 13B can safely use up to 8K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 8K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB as fast as VRAM for Baichuan 13B?

See all results for NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB See all hardware for Baichuan 13B

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