Would CUDA be a better path than Intel Arc A730M 12GB for Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1?

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 Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 run on Intel Arc A730M 12GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 feels slow on Intel Arc A730M 12GB?

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

D36Poor

Estimated from fit model

Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 needs ~13.6 GB VRAM. Intel Arc A730M 12GB has 12.0 GB. With Q3_K_S quantization, expect ~9 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: 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.

Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 at Q4_K_M needs 15.9 GB — too much for Intel Arc A730M 12GB (12.0 GB). Runs at Q3_K_S (13.6 GB) with low quality. 2 quantization levels fit.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 15.9 GB, exceeds 12.0 GB available

15.9 GB required12.0 GB available

133% VRAM needed

3.9 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

5.9 tok/s

TTFT

32931 ms

Safe context

Memory

15.9 GB / 12.0 GB

Offload

20%

Memory breakdown

Weights11.6 GB

KV Cache2.2 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.2 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsCodestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 on Intel Arc A730M 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: 5.9 tok/s decode · 32.9s TTFT (warm) · 15 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	6.8 tok/s	15420 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	5.9 tok/s	32931 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	4.5 tok/s	63100 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	5.9 tok/s	38919 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	4.5 tok/s	78875 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 (19B params) fits at each quantization level on Intel Arc A730M 12GB (12.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	7.4 GB	Low	C51
Q3_K_S	3	9.3 GB	Low	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-mradermacher--codestral-rag-19b-pruned-i1-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 well

Intel Arc A770 16GBBudget pick

16 GB VRAM (+4)560 GB/s (+224)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.15.6 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.

~$349 MSRP

Intel Arc Pro B50 16GBBest value

16 GB VRAM (+4)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.7.7 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.

~$399 MSRP

Intel Arc Pro B60 24GBIntel upgrade

24 GB VRAM (+12)456 GB/s (+120)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.21.2 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.

~$599 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can Intel Arc A730M 12GB run Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1?

Yes, Intel Arc A730M 12GB can run Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 at Q3_K_S quantization (Very compromised (needs ~1.1 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 15.9 GB which exceeds available memory, but at Q3_K_S it needs only 13.6 GB. Expected decode speed: 9.4 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 need?

Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 (19B parameters) requires approximately 15.9 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On Intel Arc A730M 12GB, it fits at Q3_K_S using 13.6 GB.

What is the best quantization for Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on Intel Arc A730M 12GB the best fitting quantization is Q3_K_S, which uses 13.6 GB.

What speed will Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 run at on Intel Arc A730M 12GB?

On Intel Arc A730M 12GB, Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 achieves approximately 9.4 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 20542ms using Q3_K_S quantization.

Can Intel Arc A730M 12GB run Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 for coding?

For coding workloads, Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 on Intel Arc A730M 12GB receives a F grade with 5.9 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 use on Intel Arc A730M 12GB?

On Intel Arc A730M 12GB, Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1 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 A730M 12GB See all hardware for Codestral RAG 19B Pruned i1

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