Can Gemma 3 27B run on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Gemma 3 27B feels slow on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB?

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

Gemma 3 27B needs ~30.1 GB but RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB only has 12.0 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) — 30.1 GB, exceeds 12.0 GB available

30.1 GB required12.0 GB available

251% VRAM needed

18.1 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

3.2 tok/s

TTFT

60081 ms

Safe context

Memory

30.1 GB / 12.0 GB

Offload

60%

Memory breakdown

Weights16.5 GB

KV Cache11.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom1.2 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsGemma 3 27B on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB
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: 3.2 tok/s decode · 60.1s TTFT (warm) · 8 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.

Not enough usable memory

The model needs 30.1 GB, but this setup only exposes 12.0 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	F	Too heavy	3.6 tok/s	29410 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	3.2 tok/s	60081 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	3.2 tok/s	87391 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	3.2 tok/s	71005 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	3.2 tok/s	109239 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Gemma 3 27B (27B params) fits at each quantization level on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB (12.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	10.5 GB	Low	F0
Q3_K_S	3	13.2 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Gemma 3 27B well

RTX 5090 32GBBudget pick

32 GB VRAM (+20)1792 GB/s (+1360)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.58.2 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.

~$1,999 MSRP

RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell 32GBBest value

32 GB VRAM (+20)896 GB/s (+464)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.36.5 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.

~$2,499 MSRP

RTX 5000 Ada 32GBNVIDIA upgrade

32 GB VRAM (+20)576 GB/s (+144)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.21.9 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.

~$4,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB run Gemma 3 27B?

No, Gemma 3 27B requires more memory than RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB provides.

How much VRAM does Gemma 3 27B need?

Gemma 3 27B (27B parameters) requires approximately 30.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Gemma 3 27B?

The recommended quantization for Gemma 3 27B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Gemma 3 27B run at on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB?

On RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB, Gemma 3 27B achieves approximately 3.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 60081ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB run Gemma 3 27B for coding?

For coding workloads, Gemma 3 27B on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB receives a F grade with 3.2 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Gemma 3 27B use on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB?

On RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB, Gemma 3 27B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Gemma 3 27B feels slow on RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB?

See all results for RTX 4080 Laptop 12GB See all hardware for Gemma 3 27B

Embed this result▼

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

<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/gemma-3-27b-on-rtx-4080-laptop-12gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview: