Can CodeLlama 13B Instruct run on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if CodeLlama 13B Instruct feels slow on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB?

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 ~22.9 GB but RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB only has 16.0 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: No fitBandwidth: MediumStack: 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) — 22.9 GB, exceeds 16.0 GB available

22.9 GB required16.0 GB available

143% VRAM needed

6.9 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

20.4 tok/s

TTFT

9481 ms

Safe context

Memory

22.9 GB / 16.0 GB

Offload

30%

Memory breakdown

Weights7.9 GB

KV Cache12.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom1.6 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsCodeLlama 13B Instruct on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB
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: 20.4 tok/s decode · 9.5s TTFT (warm) · 51 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.

Not enough usable memory

The model needs 22.9 GB, but this setup only exposes 16.0 GB of usable VRAM.

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	A	Runs with offload (needs ~0.4 GB host RAM)	39.2 tok/s	2696 ms	7K
Coding	F	Too heavy	20.4 tok/s	9481 ms	7K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	8.7 tok/s	32307 ms	7K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	20.4 tok/s	11205 ms	7K
RAG	F	Too heavy	8.7 tok/s	40384 ms	7K

Quantization options

How CodeLlama 13B Instruct (13B params) fits at each quantization level on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB (16.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	5.1 GB	Low	A74
Q3_K_S	3	6.4 GB	Low	A75
NVFP4	4

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs CodeLlama 13B Instruct well

RTX 4000 Ada 20GBBest value

20 GB VRAM (+4)

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.

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

~$1,250 MSRP

RTX 3090 24GBBudget pick

24 GB VRAM (+8)936 GB/s (+360)

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 (+8)1008 GB/s (+432)

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 RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB run CodeLlama 13B Instruct?

No, CodeLlama 13B Instruct requires more memory than RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB provides.

How much VRAM does CodeLlama 13B Instruct need?

CodeLlama 13B Instruct (13B parameters) requires approximately 22.9 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 RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB?

On RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB, CodeLlama 13B Instruct achieves approximately 20.4 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 9481ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB run CodeLlama 13B Instruct for coding?

For coding workloads, CodeLlama 13B Instruct on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB receives a F grade with 20.4 tok/s and 7K context.

What context window can CodeLlama 13B Instruct use on RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB?

On RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB, CodeLlama 13B Instruct can safely use up to 7K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 16K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for RTX 4090 Laptop 16GB See all hardware for CodeLlama 13B Instruct

Embed this result▼

Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.

<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/codellama-13b-instruct-on-rtx-4090-laptop-16gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview: