Can Nemotron 3 Nano 30B run on RX 9070 XT 16GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Nemotron 3 Nano 30B feels slow on RX 9070 XT 16GB?

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit. A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

YES — With Q2_K

S89Excellent

Estimated from fit model

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B needs ~16.6 GB VRAM. RX 9070 XT 16GB has 16.0 GB. With Q2_K quantization, expect ~23 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: MediumStack: 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.

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B at Q4_K_M needs 23.2 GB — too much for RX 9070 XT 16GB (16.0 GB). Runs at Q2_K (16.6 GB) with low quality.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 23.2 GB, exceeds 16.0 GB available

23.2 GB required16.0 GB available

145% VRAM needed

7.2 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

8.6 tok/s

TTFT

22535 ms

Safe context

Memory

23.2 GB / 16.0 GB

Offload

30%

Memory breakdown

Weights18.3 GB

KV Cache2.4 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.6 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsNemotron 3 Nano 30B on RX 9070 XT 16GB
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: 8.6 tok/s decode · 22.5s TTFT (warm) · 22 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

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

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	9.6 tok/s	11011 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	8.6 tok/s	22535 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	7.0 tok/s	40187 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	8.6 tok/s	26633 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	7.0 tok/s	50234 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Nemotron 3 Nano 30B (30B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 9070 XT 16GB (16.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	11.7 GB	Low	F0
Q3_K_S	3	14.7 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Nemotron 3 Nano 30B on your machine.

Run

ollama run nemotron-nano:30b

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B well

RX 7900 XT 20GBBest value

20 GB VRAM (+4)800 GB/s (+160)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.14.9 tok/s decode

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

Raises estimated decode speed by about 73%.

~$899 MSRP

RX 7900 XTX 24GBBudget pick

24 GB VRAM (+8)960 GB/s (+320)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.30.3 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.

~$999 MSRP

Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GBAMD upgrade

32 GB VRAM (+16)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.22.2 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.

~$1,899 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can RX 9070 XT 16GB run Nemotron 3 Nano 30B?

Yes, RX 9070 XT 16GB can run Nemotron 3 Nano 30B at Q2_K quantization (Runs with offload (needs ~0.5 GB host RAM)). The recommended Q4_K_M requires 23.2 GB which exceeds available memory, but at Q2_K it needs only 16.6 GB. Expected decode speed: 22.6 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Nemotron 3 Nano 30B need?

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B (30B parameters) requires approximately 23.2 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. On RX 9070 XT 16GB, it fits at Q2_K using 16.6 GB.

What is the best quantization for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B?

The recommended quantization is Q4_K_M, but on RX 9070 XT 16GB the best fitting quantization is Q2_K, which uses 16.6 GB.

What speed will Nemotron 3 Nano 30B run at on RX 9070 XT 16GB?

On RX 9070 XT 16GB, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B achieves approximately 22.6 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 8575ms using Q2_K quantization.

Can RX 9070 XT 16GB run Nemotron 3 Nano 30B for coding?

For coding workloads, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B on RX 9070 XT 16GB receives a F grade with 8.6 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Nemotron 3 Nano 30B use on RX 9070 XT 16GB?

On RX 9070 XT 16GB, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B can safely use up to 12K tokens of context at Q2_K quantization. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for RX 9070 XT 16GB See all hardware for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B

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