Can Command R 35B run on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

YES — With Q3_K_S

B65Good

Estimated from fit model

Command R 35B needs ~22.5 GB VRAM. RX 7900 XT 20GB has 20.0 GB. With Q3_K_S quantization, expect ~17 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: HighStack: StandardBottleneck: Host offload

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.

Command R 35B at Q4_K_M needs 26.7 GB — too much for RX 7900 XT 20GB (20.0 GB). Runs at Q3_K_S (22.5 GB) with low quality. 2 quantization levels fit.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 26.7 GB, exceeds 20.0 GB available

26.7 GB required20.0 GB available

134% VRAM needed

6.7 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

10.0 tok/s

TTFT

19383 ms

Safe context

Memory

26.7 GB / 20.0 GB

Offload

30%

Memory breakdown

Weights21.3 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom2.0 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsCommand R 35B on RX 7900 XT 20GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>What is local AI inference?
Local AI inference means running an AI language model directly on your own hardware — your laptop, desktop, or server — instead of sending requests to a remote cloud API.

When you run inference locally the model weights are loaded into your GPU or unified memory. Each token you generate requires reading those weights from memory, so memory bandwidth is the main bottleneck for decode speed.

Key benefits of running locally:
  - Full privacy: your prompts never leave your machine
  - No per-token cost or rate limits
  - Works offline once the model is downloaded
  - Latency depends only on your hardware
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>How much VRAM do I need?
It depends on the model size and quantization level. A rough rule of thumb:

  Model size     Q4 (4-bit)    Q8 (8-bit)    FP16
  7B params      ~4.3 GB       ~7.5 GB       ~14 GB
  13B params     ~7.9 GB       ~13.9 GB      ~26 GB
  70B params     ~42.7 GB      ~74.9 GB      ~140 GB

Most people use 4-bit quantization (Q4_K_M) which gives 90-95% of full quality at a fraction of the memory. A 24 GB GPU can comfortably run most 7B-13B models.
Estimated: 10.0 tok/s decode · 19.4s TTFT (warm) · 25 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

It fits through host-memory offload, and offload is the main reason performance drops.

CPU or host-memory offload is active

About 10% of the working set spills out of accelerator memory, which usually hurts latency and sustained decode throughput.

Very little memory headroom

You can run the model, but there is not much room left for longer context, bigger batches, extra apps, or future model updates.

Best improvement path

Remove offload with more accelerator memory

Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly 1.9 GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	11.0 tok/s	9580 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	10.0 tok/s	19383 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	8.3 tok/s	33897 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	10.0 tok/s	22907 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	8.3 tok/s	42371 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Command R 35B (35B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 7900 XT 20GB (20.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	13.7 GB	Low	A76
Q3_K_S	3	17.2 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4	19.6 GB	Medium	F0
Q4_K_M	4	21.3 GB	Medium	F0
Q5_K_M	5	25.2 GB	High	F0
Q6_K	6	28.7 GB	High	F0
Q8_0	8	37.5 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	71.8 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Command R 35B on your machine.

Run

ollama run command-r

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Command R 35B well

RX 7900 XTX 24GBBest value

24 GB VRAM (+4)960 GB/s (+160)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.20.5 tok/s decode

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

Raises estimated decode speed by about 105%.

~$999 MSRP

Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GBBudget pick

32 GB VRAM (+12)

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.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$1,899 MSRP

Radeon Pro W6800 32GBAMD upgrade

32 GB VRAM (+12)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.14.6 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.

~$2,249 MSRP

NVIDIA A100 40GBBiggest leap

40 GB VRAM (+20)1555 GB/s (+755)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.66.5 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.

~$10,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Command R 35B?

Yes, RX 7900 XT 20GB can run Command R 35B at Q3_K_S quantization (Very compromised (needs ~1.9 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 26.7 GB which exceeds available memory, but at Q3_K_S it needs only 22.5 GB. Expected decode speed: 16.6 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Command R 35B need?

Command R 35B (35B parameters) requires approximately 26.7 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On RX 7900 XT 20GB, it fits at Q3_K_S using 22.5 GB.

What is the best quantization for Command R 35B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on RX 7900 XT 20GB the best fitting quantization is Q3_K_S, which uses 22.5 GB.

What speed will Command R 35B run at on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Command R 35B achieves approximately 16.6 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 11676ms using Q3_K_S quantization.

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Command R 35B for coding?

For coding workloads, Command R 35B on RX 7900 XT 20GB receives a F grade with 10.0 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Command R 35B use on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Command R 35B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at Q3_K_S quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Command R 35B feels slow on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

Remove offload with more accelerator memory. Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

See all results for RX 7900 XT 20GB See all hardware for Command R 35B

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Preview:

What limits this setup

It fits through host-memory offload, and offload is the main reason performance drops.

CPU or host-memory offload is active

About 10% of the working set spills out of accelerator memory, which usually hurts latency and sustained decode throughput.

Very little memory headroom

You can run the model, but there is not much room left for longer context, bigger batches, extra apps, or future model updates.

Best improvement path

Remove offload with more accelerator memory

Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly 1.9 GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Workload

Grade

Fit

Decode

TTFT

Context

Chat

Too heavy

11.0 tok/s

9580 ms

Coding

Too heavy

10.0 tok/s

19383 ms

Agentic Coding

Too heavy

8.3 tok/s

33897 ms

Reasoning

Too heavy

10.0 tok/s

22907 ms

RAG

Too heavy

8.3 tok/s

42371 ms

Quantization options

How Command R 35B (35B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 7900 XT 20GB (20.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	13.7 GB	Low	A76
Q3_K_S	3	17.2 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4	19.6 GB	Medium	F0
Q4_K_M	4	21.3 GB	Medium	F0
Q5_K_M	5	25.2 GB	High	F0
Q6_K	6	28.7 GB	High	F0
Q8_0	8	37.5 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	71.8 GB	Maximum	F0

Frequently asked questions

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Command R 35B?

How much VRAM does Command R 35B need?

Command R 35B (35B parameters) requires approximately 26.7 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On RX 7900 XT 20GB, it fits at Q3_K_S using 22.5 GB.

What is the best quantization for Command R 35B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on RX 7900 XT 20GB the best fitting quantization is Q3_K_S, which uses 22.5 GB.

What speed will Command R 35B run at on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Command R 35B achieves approximately 16.6 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 11676ms using Q3_K_S quantization.

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Command R 35B for coding?

For coding workloads, Command R 35B on RX 7900 XT 20GB receives a F grade with 10.0 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Command R 35B use on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Command R 35B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at Q3_K_S quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Command R 35B feels slow on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

Remove offload with more accelerator memory. Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.