Can Qwen 2.5 0.5B run on RX 6950 XT 16GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen 2.5 0.5B feels slow on RX 6950 XT 16GB?

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity. If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

YES — Runs Great

C40Usable

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 2.5 0.5B needs ~3.0 GB VRAM. RX 6950 XT 16GB has 16.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~7 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: MediumStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

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) — 3.0 GB, 7.0 tok/s, Runs well

3.0 GB required16.0 GB available

19% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

7.0 tok/s

TTFT

27657 ms

Safe context

131K

Memory

3.0 GB / 16.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights0.3 GB

KV Cache0.2 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 2.5 0.5B on RX 6950 XT 16GB
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: 7.0 tok/s decode · 27.7s TTFT (warm) · 18 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This model fits, but memory bandwidth is the part holding decode speed back.

Throughput will feel slow

Estimated decode speed is only 7.0 tok/s, so this is more of a technical fit than a comfortable daily-driver setup.

Best improvement path

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity

If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	15086 ms	131K
Coding	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	27657 ms	131K
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	40229 ms	131K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	32686 ms	131K
RAG	C	Runs well	7.0 tok/s	50286 ms	131K

Quantization options

How Qwen 2.5 0.5B (0.5B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 6950 XT 16GB (16.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	0.2 GB	Low	C48
Q3_K_S	3	0.2 GB	Low	C48
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 2.5 0.5B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen2.5:0.5b

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen 2.5 0.5B well

MacBook Pro M4 32GBBudget pick

32 GB Unified (+16)

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.7 tok/s decode

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

~$799 MSRP

MacBook Pro M3 24GBBest value

24 GB Unified (+8)

The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.7 tok/s decode

~$1,099 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can RX 6950 XT 16GB run Qwen 2.5 0.5B?

Yes, RX 6950 XT 16GB can run Qwen 2.5 0.5B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 7.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 0.5B need?

Qwen 2.5 0.5B (0.5B parameters) requires approximately 3.0 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 0.5B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 0.5B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 2.5 0.5B run at on RX 6950 XT 16GB?

On RX 6950 XT 16GB, Qwen 2.5 0.5B achieves approximately 7.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 27657ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can RX 6950 XT 16GB run Qwen 2.5 0.5B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 2.5 0.5B on RX 6950 XT 16GB receives a C grade with 7.0 tok/s and 131K context.

What context window can Qwen 2.5 0.5B use on RX 6950 XT 16GB?

On RX 6950 XT 16GB, Qwen 2.5 0.5B can safely use up to 131K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Qwen 2.5 0.5B feels slow on RX 6950 XT 16GB?

See all results for RX 6950 XT 16GB See all hardware for Qwen 2.5 0.5B

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