Would CUDA be a better path than Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB for Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B?

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 Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B run on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B feels slow on Intel Arc Pro A40 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 NVFP4

D37Poor

Estimated from fit model

Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B needs ~6.9 GB VRAM. Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB has 6.0 GB. With NVFP4 quantization, expect ~12 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.

Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B at Q4_K_M needs 7.3 GB — too much for Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB (6.0 GB). Runs at NVFP4 (6.9 GB) with medium quality. 3 quantization levels fit.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 7.3 GB, exceeds 6.0 GB available

7.3 GB required6.0 GB available

122% VRAM needed

1.3 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

9.5 tok/s

TTFT

20335 ms

Safe context

Memory

7.3 GB / 6.0 GB

Offload

20%

Memory breakdown

Weights4.9 GB

KV Cache0.9 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsHermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B on Intel Arc Pro A40 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: 9.5 tok/s decode · 20.3s TTFT (warm) · 24 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	D	Very compromised (needs ~0.6 GB host RAM)	10.9 tok/s	9649 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	9.5 tok/s	20335 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	7.4 tok/s	38122 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	9.5 tok/s	24032 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	7.4 tok/s	47652 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B (8B params) fits at each quantization level on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_KBest for your GPU	2	3.1 GB	Low	C54
Q3_K_S	3	3.9 GB	Low	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-nousresearch--hermes-3-llama-3-1-8b-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B well

Intel Arc A580 8GBBudget pick

8 GB VRAM (+2)512 GB/s (+320)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.51.4 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.

~$179 MSRP

Intel Arc B570 10GBBest value

10 GB VRAM (+4)380 GB/s (+188)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.42 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 (+264)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.44.9 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 Pro A40 6GB run Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B?

Yes, Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB can run Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B at NVFP4 quantization (Very compromised (needs ~0.6 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 7.3 GB which exceeds available memory, but at NVFP4 it needs only 6.9 GB. Expected decode speed: 12.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B need?

Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B (8B parameters) requires approximately 7.3 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB, it fits at NVFP4 using 6.9 GB.

What is the best quantization for Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB the best fitting quantization is NVFP4, which uses 6.9 GB.

What speed will Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B run at on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB?

On Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB, Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B achieves approximately 12.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 15795ms using NVFP4 quantization.

Can Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB run Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B for coding?

For coding workloads, Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB receives a F grade with 9.5 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B use on Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB?

On Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB, Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at NVFP4 quantization. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for Intel Arc Pro A40 6GB See all hardware for Hermes 3 Llama 3.1 8B

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