Would CUDA be a better path than Gaudi 3 128GB for Qwen3.5 122B A10B?

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 122B A10B run on Gaudi 3 128GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen3.5 122B A10B feels slow on Gaudi 3 128GB?

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.

YES — Runs Great

C54Usable

Estimated from fit model

Qwen3.5 122B A10B needs ~87.8 GB VRAM. Gaudi 3 128GB has 128.0 GB. With Q3_K_M quantization, expect ~40 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: HighStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced

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

F16 (Maximum quality) — 278.1 GB, exceeds 128.0 GB available

278.1 GB required128.0 GB available

217% VRAM needed

150.1 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

2.3 tok/s

TTFT

85025 ms

Safe context

Memory

278.1 GB / 128.0 GB

Offload

50%

Memory breakdown

Weights250.1 GB

KV Cache14.3 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom12.8 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsQwen3.5 122B A10B on Gaudi 3 128GB
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: 2.3 tok/s decode · 85.0s TTFT (warm) · 6 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The raw memory story may look fine, but the software ecosystem is still a constraint here.

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

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.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	40.3 tok/s	2621 ms	61K
Coding	C	Runs well	40.3 tok/s	4805 ms	61K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	40.3 tok/s	6989 ms	61K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	40.3 tok/s	5678 ms	61K
RAG	C	Runs well	40.3 tok/s	8736 ms	61K

Quantization options

How Qwen3.5 122B A10B (122B params) fits at each quantization level on Gaudi 3 128GB (128.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	47.6 GB	Low	C45
Q3_K_S	3	59.8 GB	Low	C47
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen3.5 122B A10B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \
  --hf-repo "unsloth/Qwen3.5-122B-A10B-GGUF" \
  --hf-file "Qwen3.5-122B-A10B-GGUF-Q3_K_M.gguf" \
  -c 4096 -ngl 99

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen3.5 122B A10B well

NVIDIA H200 141GBBudget pick

141 GB VRAM (+13)4800 GB/s (+1100)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 56%.62.7 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 56%.

Moves you onto CUDA, which still has the broadest local-AI runtime coverage.

This is not only a hardware jump. It also gives you a cleaner runtime ecosystem for local LLM tooling.

~$30,000 MSRP

NVIDIA H200 PCIe 141GBBest value

141 GB VRAM (+13)4800 GB/s (+1100)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 56%.62.7 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 56%.

Moves you onto CUDA, which still has the broadest local-AI runtime coverage.

This is not only a hardware jump. It also gives you a cleaner runtime ecosystem for local LLM tooling.

~$30,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can Gaudi 3 128GB run Qwen3.5 122B A10B?

Yes, Gaudi 3 128GB can run Qwen3.5 122B A10B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 40.3 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen3.5 122B A10B need?

Qwen3.5 122B A10B (122B parameters) requires approximately 87.8 GB of memory with Q3_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen3.5 122B A10B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen3.5 122B A10B is Q3_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen3.5 122B A10B run at on Gaudi 3 128GB?

On Gaudi 3 128GB, Qwen3.5 122B A10B achieves approximately 40.3 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 4805ms using Q3_K_M quantization.

Can Gaudi 3 128GB run Qwen3.5 122B A10B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen3.5 122B A10B on Gaudi 3 128GB receives a C grade with 40.3 tok/s and 61K context.

What context window can Qwen3.5 122B A10B use on Gaudi 3 128GB?

On Gaudi 3 128GB, Qwen3.5 122B A10B can safely use up to 61K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is —, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Qwen3.5 122B A10B feels slow on Gaudi 3 128GB?

See all results for Gaudi 3 128GB See all hardware for Qwen3.5 122B A10B

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