Can Granite 4.1 3B run on GTX 1060 6GB?

YES — Runs Great

A71Great

Estimated from fit model

Granite 4.1 3B needs ~4.9 GB VRAM. GTX 1060 6GB has 6.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~42 tok/s.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: BasicBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

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) — 4.9 GB, 42.0 tok/s, Runs well

4.9 GB required6.0 GB available

82% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

42.0 tok/s

TTFT

4610 ms

Safe context

31K

Memory

4.9 GB / 6.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights1.8 GB

KV Cache1.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGranite 4.1 3B on GTX 1060 6GB
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: 42.0 tok/s decode · 4.6s TTFT (warm) · 105 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

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

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	2514 ms	31K
Coding	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	4610 ms	31K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)	42.0 tok/s	6705 ms	31K
Reasoning	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	5448 ms	31K
RAG	B	Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)	42.0 tok/s	8381 ms	31K

Quantization options

How Granite 4.1 3B (3B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1060 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.2 GB	Low	A70
Q3_K_S	3	1.5 GB	Low	A71
NVFP4	4	1.7 GB	Medium	A72
Q4_K_M	4	1.8 GB	Medium	A72
Q5_K_M	5	2.2 GB	High	A71
Q6_K	6	2.5 GB	High	A71
Q8_0Best for your GPU	8	3.2 GB	Very High	A71
F16	16	6.1 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Granite 4.1 3B on your machine.

Run

ollama run granite4.1:3b

Your hardware

More models your GTX 1060 6GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode
Qwen 3.5 4B	4B	A	31.2 tok/s
Phi-4 Mini Reasoning 4B	3.8B	S	52.5 tok/s
Qwen 3 4B	4B	A	31.2 tok/s
Qwen 2.5 VL 7B	7B	B	15.3 tok/s
Qwen 2.5 7B	7B	B	15.3 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1060 6GB run Granite 4.1 3B?

Yes, GTX 1060 6GB can run Granite 4.1 3B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 42.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Granite 4.1 3B need?

Granite 4.1 3B (3B parameters) requires approximately 4.9 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Granite 4.1 3B?

The recommended quantization for Granite 4.1 3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Granite 4.1 3B run at on GTX 1060 6GB?

On GTX 1060 6GB, Granite 4.1 3B achieves approximately 42.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 4610ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1060 6GB run Granite 4.1 3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Granite 4.1 3B on GTX 1060 6GB receives a A grade with 42.0 tok/s and 31K context.

What context window can Granite 4.1 3B use on GTX 1060 6GB?

On GTX 1060 6GB, Granite 4.1 3B can safely use up to 31K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for GTX 1060 6GB See all hardware for Granite 4.1 3B

Embed this result▼

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<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/granite-4.1-3b-on-gtx-1060-6gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview:

Workload

Grade

Fit

Decode

TTFT

Context

Chat

Runs well

42.0 tok/s

2514 ms

31K

Coding

Runs well

42.0 tok/s

4610 ms

31K

Agentic Coding

Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)

42.0 tok/s

6705 ms

31K

Reasoning

Runs well

42.0 tok/s

5448 ms

31K

RAG

Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)

42.0 tok/s

8381 ms

31K

Quant

Bits

VRAM

Quality

Fit

Q2_K

1.2 GB

Low

A70

Q3_K_S

1.5 GB

Low

A71

NVFP4

1.7 GB

Medium

A72

Q4_K_M

1.8 GB

Medium

A72

Q5_K_M

2.2 GB

High

A71

Q6_K

2.5 GB

High

A71

Q8_0Best for your GPU

3.2 GB

Very High

A71

F16

6.1 GB

Maximum

Model

Params

Grade

Decode

Capabilities

Qwen 3.5 4B

31.2 tok/s

Phi-4 Mini Reasoning 4B

3.8B

52.5 tok/s

Qwen 3 4B

31.2 tok/s

Qwen 2.5 VL 7B

15.3 tok/s

Qwen 2.5 7B

15.3 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1060 6GB run Granite 4.1 3B?

Yes, GTX 1060 6GB can run Granite 4.1 3B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 42.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Granite 4.1 3B need?

Granite 4.1 3B (3B parameters) requires approximately 4.9 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Granite 4.1 3B?

The recommended quantization for Granite 4.1 3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Granite 4.1 3B run at on GTX 1060 6GB?

On GTX 1060 6GB, Granite 4.1 3B achieves approximately 42.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 4610ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1060 6GB run Granite 4.1 3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Granite 4.1 3B on GTX 1060 6GB receives a A grade with 42.0 tok/s and 31K context.

What context window can Granite 4.1 3B use on GTX 1060 6GB?

On GTX 1060 6GB, Granite 4.1 3B can safely use up to 31K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.