Can DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B run on AMD Instinct MI250 128GB?

YES — Runs Great

B62Good

Estimated from fit model

DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B needs ~20.5 GB VRAM. AMD Instinct MI250 128GB has 128.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~112 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: HighStack: StandardBottleneck: 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

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 20.5 GB, 112.0 tok/s, Runs well

20.5 GB required128.0 GB available

16% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

112.0 tok/s

TTFT

1729 ms

Safe context

33K

Memory

20.5 GB / 128.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.9 GB

KV Cache2.0 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom12.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsDeepSeek R1 Distill 8B on AMD Instinct MI250 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: 112.0 tok/s decode · 1.7s TTFT (warm) · 280 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

No major red flags

This recommendation has enough memory headroom and acceptable estimated speed for the selected workload.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	B	Runs well	112.0 tok/s	943 ms	33K
Coding	B	Runs well	112.0 tok/s	1729 ms	33K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs well	112.0 tok/s	2514 ms	33K
Reasoning	B	Runs well	112.0 tok/s	2043 ms	33K
RAG	B	Runs well	112.0 tok/s	3143 ms	33K

Quantization options

How DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B (8B params) fits at each quantization level on AMD Instinct MI250 128GB (128.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.1 GB	Low	C55
Q3_K_S	3	3.9 GB	Low	C55
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B on your machine.

Run

ollama run deepseek-r1:8b

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B well

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GBBudget pick

256 GB Unified (+128)

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.112 tok/s decode

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

~$6,999 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can AMD Instinct MI250 128GB run DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B?

Yes, AMD Instinct MI250 128GB can run DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B with a B grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 112.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B need?

DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B (8B parameters) requires approximately 20.5 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B?

The recommended quantization for DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B run at on AMD Instinct MI250 128GB?

On AMD Instinct MI250 128GB, DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B achieves approximately 112.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1729ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can AMD Instinct MI250 128GB run DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B for coding?

For coding workloads, DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B on AMD Instinct MI250 128GB receives a B grade with 112.0 tok/s and 33K context.

What context window can DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B use on AMD Instinct MI250 128GB?

On AMD Instinct MI250 128GB, DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B can safely use up to 33K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 33K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for AMD Instinct MI250 128GB See all hardware for DeepSeek R1 Distill 8B

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