Can CodeLlama 13B Instruct run on GTX 1070 8GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if CodeLlama 13B Instruct feels slow on GTX 1070 8GB?

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.

NO — Won't Fit

F0Won't run

Estimated from fit model

CodeLlama 13B Instruct needs ~22.1 GB but GTX 1070 8GB only has 8.0 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: No fitBandwidth: LowStack: BasicBottleneck: Memory capacity

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

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 22.1 GB, exceeds 8.0 GB available

22.1 GB required8.0 GB available

276% VRAM needed

14.1 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

2.9 tok/s

TTFT

67763 ms

Safe context

Memory

22.1 GB / 8.0 GB

Offload

60%

Memory breakdown

Weights7.9 GB

KV Cache12.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom0.8 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsCodeLlama 13B Instruct on GTX 1070 8GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Write a Python function to sort a list
Here's a Python function that sorts a list using quicksort:

def quicksort(arr):
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

# Example usage
numbers = [3, 6, 8, 10, 1, 2, 1]
print(quicksort(numbers))  # [1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10]

The algorithm picks a pivot, partitions the list into smaller, equal, and larger elements, then recursively sorts each partition and concatenates the results.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>Now add type hints and a docstring
def quicksort(arr: list[int]) -> list[int]:
    """Sort a list using the quicksort algorithm.

    Args:
        arr: List of integers to sort.

    Returns:
        A new sorted list.
    """
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

Added type hints for the input and return type, plus a Google-style docstring.
Estimated: 2.9 tok/s decode · 67.8s TTFT (warm) · 7 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.

Not enough usable memory

The model needs 22.1 GB, but this setup only exposes 8.0 GB of usable VRAM.

Older PCIe generation

PCIe 3.0 is workable, but it compounds the penalty when you offload heavily or try to scale across multiple cards.

Best improvement path

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.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	3.0 tok/s	34989 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	2.9 tok/s	67763 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	2.9 tok/s	98565 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	2.9 tok/s	80084 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	2.9 tok/s	123206 ms	4K

Inference speed

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

Estimated decode speed (tokens/sec) for CodeLlama 13B Instruct at Q4_K_M across popular GPUs and Apple Silicon, using the fastest local runtime per device. Fastest is RTX 5090 32GB at ~151 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	Q4_K_M	151.4	Fits
RTX 4090 24GB	24 GB	Q4_K_M	96.6	Offloads

Quantization options

How CodeLlama 13B Instruct (13B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1070 8GB (8.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	5.1 GB	Low	A78
Q3_K_S	3	6.4 GB	Low	F0

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs CodeLlama 13B Instruct well

RTX 4000 Ada 20GBBest value

20 GB VRAM (+12)360 GB/s (+104)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.19.2 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 562%.

~$1,250 MSRP

RTX 3090 24GBBudget pick

24 GB VRAM (+16)936 GB/s (+680)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.82.6 tok/s decode

Makes 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.

~$1,499 MSRP

RTX 4090 24GBNVIDIA upgrade

24 GB VRAM (+16)1008 GB/s (+752)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.96.6 tok/s decode

Makes 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.

~$1,599 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1070 8GB run CodeLlama 13B Instruct?

No, CodeLlama 13B Instruct requires more memory than GTX 1070 8GB provides.

How much VRAM does CodeLlama 13B Instruct need?

CodeLlama 13B Instruct (13B parameters) requires approximately 22.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for CodeLlama 13B Instruct?

The recommended quantization for CodeLlama 13B Instruct is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will CodeLlama 13B Instruct run at on GTX 1070 8GB?

On GTX 1070 8GB, CodeLlama 13B Instruct achieves approximately 2.9 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 67763ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1070 8GB run CodeLlama 13B Instruct for coding?

For coding workloads, CodeLlama 13B Instruct on GTX 1070 8GB receives a F grade with 2.9 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can CodeLlama 13B Instruct use on GTX 1070 8GB?

On GTX 1070 8GB, CodeLlama 13B Instruct can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 16K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if CodeLlama 13B Instruct feels slow on GTX 1070 8GB?

See all results for GTX 1070 8GB See all hardware for CodeLlama 13B Instruct

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