Can StarCoder2 7B run on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if StarCoder2 7B feels slow on GTX 1660 Super 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.

BARELY — Tight on Memory

D40Poor

Estimated from fit model

StarCoder2 7B needs ~6.6 GB VRAM. GTX 1660 Super 6GB has 6.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~26 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.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 6.6 GB, 25.7 tok/s, Very compromised (needs ~0.4 GB host RAM)

6.6 GB required6.0 GB available

110% VRAM needed

0.6 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Very compromised (needs ~0.4 GB host RAM)

Decode

25.7 tok/s

TTFT

7536 ms

Safe context

Memory

6.6 GB / 6.0 GB

Offload

10%

Memory breakdown

Weights4.3 GB

KV Cache0.8 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsStarCoder2 7B on GTX 1660 Super 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: 25.7 tok/s decode · 7.5s TTFT (warm) · 64 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.

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

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.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

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

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly {ram} GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs with offload	29.6 tok/s	3570 ms	4K
Coding	D	Very compromised	25.7 tok/s	7536 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	19.9 tok/s	14183 ms	4K
Reasoning	D	Very compromised	25.7 tok/s	8906 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	19.9 tok/s	17729 ms	4K

Quantization options

How StarCoder2 7B (7B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1660 Super 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	2.7 GB	Low	C54
Q3_K_SBest for your GPU	3	3.4 GB	Low	C54

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run StarCoder2 7B on your machine.

Run

lms load hf-second-state--starcoder2-7b-gguf && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs StarCoder2 7B well

RTX 3050 8GBBudget pick

8 GB VRAM (+2)

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.29.1 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$249 MSRP

RTX 5060 8GBBest value

8 GB VRAM (+2)448 GB/s (+112)

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.64 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 149%.

~$299 MSRP

RTX 5050 8GBNVIDIA upgrade

8 GB VRAM (+2)

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.44.1 tok/s decode

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 72%.

~$299 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1660 Super 6GB run StarCoder2 7B?

Yes, GTX 1660 Super 6GB can run StarCoder2 7B with a D grade (Very compromised). Expected decode speed: 25.7 tok/s.

How much VRAM does StarCoder2 7B need?

StarCoder2 7B (7B parameters) requires approximately 6.6 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for StarCoder2 7B?

The recommended quantization for StarCoder2 7B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will StarCoder2 7B run at on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

On GTX 1660 Super 6GB, StarCoder2 7B achieves approximately 25.7 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 7536ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1660 Super 6GB run StarCoder2 7B for coding?

For coding workloads, StarCoder2 7B on GTX 1660 Super 6GB receives a D grade with 25.7 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can StarCoder2 7B use on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

On GTX 1660 Super 6GB, StarCoder2 7B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if StarCoder2 7B feels slow on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

See all results for GTX 1660 Super 6GB See all hardware for StarCoder2 7B

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