Can LFM2 24B run on RTX 3060 12GB?

YES — With Q2_K

B65Good

Estimated from fit model

LFM2 24B needs ~14.2 GB VRAM. RTX 3060 12GB has 12.0 GB. With Q2_K quantization, expect ~12 tok/s.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: LowStack: BasicBottleneck: 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.

LFM2 24B at Q4_K_M needs 19.5 GB — too much for RTX 3060 12GB (12.0 GB). Runs at Q2_K (14.2 GB) with low quality.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 19.5 GB, exceeds 12.0 GB available

19.5 GB required12.0 GB available

163% VRAM needed

7.5 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

4.7 tok/s

TTFT

41030 ms

Safe context

Memory

19.5 GB / 12.0 GB

Offload

40%

Memory breakdown

Weights14.6 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom1.2 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsLFM2 24B on RTX 3060 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: 4.7 tok/s decode · 41.0s TTFT (warm) · 12 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 20% 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.

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 1.5 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	F	Too heavy	5.4 tok/s	19530 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	4.7 tok/s	41030 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	3.7 tok/s	76519 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	4.7 tok/s	48490 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	3.7 tok/s	95648 ms	4K

Quantization options

How LFM2 24B (24B params) fits at each quantization level on RTX 3060 12GB (12.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	9.4 GB	Low	F0
Q3_K_S	3	11.8 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4	13.4 GB	Medium	F0
Q4_K_M	4	14.6 GB	Medium	F0
Q5_K_M	5	17.3 GB	High	F0
Q6_K	6	19.7 GB	High	F0
Q8_0	8	25.7 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	49.2 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run LFM2 24B on your machine.

Run

ollama run lfm2

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs LFM2 24B well

RTX 4000 Ada 20GBBudget pick

20 GB VRAM (+8)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.15 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.

~$1,250 MSRP

RTX 3090 24GBBest value

24 GB VRAM (+12)936 GB/s (+576)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.48.1 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.

~$1,499 MSRP

RTX 4090 24GBNVIDIA upgrade

24 GB VRAM (+12)1008 GB/s (+648)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.56.3 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.

~$1,599 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can RTX 3060 12GB run LFM2 24B?

Yes, RTX 3060 12GB can run LFM2 24B at Q2_K quantization (Very compromised (needs ~1.5 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 19.5 GB which exceeds available memory, but at Q2_K it needs only 14.2 GB. Expected decode speed: 12.2 tok/s.

How much VRAM does LFM2 24B need?

LFM2 24B (24B parameters) requires approximately 19.5 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On RTX 3060 12GB, it fits at Q2_K using 14.2 GB.

What is the best quantization for LFM2 24B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on RTX 3060 12GB the best fitting quantization is Q2_K, which uses 14.2 GB.

What speed will LFM2 24B run at on RTX 3060 12GB?

On RTX 3060 12GB, LFM2 24B achieves approximately 12.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 15865ms using Q2_K quantization.

Can RTX 3060 12GB run LFM2 24B for coding?

For coding workloads, LFM2 24B on RTX 3060 12GB receives a F grade with 4.7 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can LFM2 24B use on RTX 3060 12GB?

On RTX 3060 12GB, LFM2 24B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at Q2_K quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if LFM2 24B feels slow on RTX 3060 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.

See all results for RTX 3060 12GB See all hardware for LFM2 24B

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Preview:

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 20% 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.

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 1.5 GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Workload

Grade

Fit

Decode

TTFT

Context

Chat

Too heavy

5.4 tok/s

19530 ms

Coding

Too heavy

4.7 tok/s

41030 ms

Agentic Coding

Too heavy

3.7 tok/s

76519 ms

Reasoning

Too heavy

4.7 tok/s

48490 ms

RAG

Too heavy

3.7 tok/s

95648 ms

Quant

Bits

VRAM

Quality

Fit

Q2_K

9.4 GB

Low

Q3_K_S

11.8 GB

Low

NVFP4

13.4 GB

Medium

Q4_K_M

14.6 GB

Medium

Q5_K_M

17.3 GB

High

Q6_K

19.7 GB

High

Q8_0

25.7 GB

Very High

F16

49.2 GB

Maximum

Frequently asked questions

Can RTX 3060 12GB run LFM2 24B?

How much VRAM does LFM2 24B need?

LFM2 24B (24B parameters) requires approximately 19.5 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On RTX 3060 12GB, it fits at Q2_K using 14.2 GB.

What is the best quantization for LFM2 24B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on RTX 3060 12GB the best fitting quantization is Q2_K, which uses 14.2 GB.

What speed will LFM2 24B run at on RTX 3060 12GB?

On RTX 3060 12GB, LFM2 24B achieves approximately 12.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 15865ms using Q2_K quantization.

Can RTX 3060 12GB run LFM2 24B for coding?

For coding workloads, LFM2 24B on RTX 3060 12GB receives a F grade with 4.7 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can LFM2 24B use on RTX 3060 12GB?

On RTX 3060 12GB, LFM2 24B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context at Q2_K quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if LFM2 24B feels slow on RTX 3060 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.