Would CUDA be a better path than Intel Arc A380 6GB for Qwen3.5 9B?

Often yes, if your goal is the easiest setup and the widest runtime support. Intel can offer attractive memory capacity, but CUDA still tends to win on tooling maturity, guides, kernels, and model coverage for local AI.

Can Qwen3.5 9B run on Intel Arc A380 6GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen3.5 9B feels slow on Intel Arc A380 6GB?

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.

YES — With Q3_K_S

D37Poor

Estimated from fit model

Qwen3.5 9B needs ~7.0 GB VRAM. Intel Arc A380 6GB has 6.0 GB. With Q3_K_S quantization, expect ~11 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: Very lowStack: 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.

Qwen3.5 9B at Q4_K_M needs 8.0 GB — too much for Intel Arc A380 6GB (6.0 GB). Runs at Q3_K_S (7.0 GB) with low quality. 2 quantization levels fit.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 8.0 GB, exceeds 6.0 GB available

8.0 GB required6.0 GB available

133% VRAM needed

2.0 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

6.7 tok/s

TTFT

28827 ms

Safe context

Memory

8.0 GB / 6.0 GB

Offload

30%

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.1 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsQwen3.5 9B on Intel Arc A380 6GB
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: 6.7 tok/s decode · 28.8s TTFT (warm) · 17 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.

Runtime ecosystem is narrower than CUDA

Intel GPUs can look attractive on memory per dollar, but local AI tooling, kernels, and model coverage are still broader and easier on CUDA today.

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.

Prefer CUDA if you want the path of least resistance

If your goal is maximum runtime coverage, easier troubleshooting, and better support for new local AI releases, CUDA is usually still the safer upgrade path.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

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

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	7.7 tok/s	13632 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	6.7 tok/s	28827 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	5.2 tok/s	54343 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	6.7 tok/s	34068 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	5.2 tok/s	67929 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Qwen3.5 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Intel Arc A380 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	3.5 GB	Low	C54
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen3.5 9B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
  --hf-repo "lmstudio-community/Qwen3.5-9B-GGUF" \
  --hf-file "Qwen3.5-9B-GGUF-Q4_K_M.gguf" \
  -c 4096 -ngl 99

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen3.5 9B well

Intel Arc A580 8GBBudget pick

8 GB VRAM (+2)512 GB/s (+326)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.32.2 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.

~$179 MSRP

Intel Arc B570 10GBBest value

10 GB VRAM (+4)380 GB/s (+194)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.37.4 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.

~$219 MSRP

Intel Arc B580 12GBIntel upgrade

12 GB VRAM (+6)456 GB/s (+270)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.39.9 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.

~$249 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can Intel Arc A380 6GB run Qwen3.5 9B?

Yes, Intel Arc A380 6GB can run Qwen3.5 9B at Q3_K_S quantization (Very compromised (needs ~0.6 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 8.0 GB which exceeds available memory, but at Q3_K_S it needs only 7.0 GB. Expected decode speed: 10.5 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen3.5 9B need?

Qwen3.5 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 8.0 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On Intel Arc A380 6GB, it fits at Q3_K_S using 7.0 GB.

What is the best quantization for Qwen3.5 9B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on Intel Arc A380 6GB the best fitting quantization is Q3_K_S, which uses 7.0 GB.

What speed will Qwen3.5 9B run at on Intel Arc A380 6GB?

On Intel Arc A380 6GB, Qwen3.5 9B achieves approximately 10.5 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 18382ms using Q3_K_S quantization.

Can Intel Arc A380 6GB run Qwen3.5 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen3.5 9B on Intel Arc A380 6GB receives a F grade with 6.7 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Qwen3.5 9B use on Intel Arc A380 6GB?

On Intel Arc A380 6GB, Qwen3.5 9B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at Q3_K_S quantization. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for Intel Arc A380 6GB See all hardware for Qwen3.5 9B

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