Can Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B run on GTX 1080 8GB?

YES — Runs Great

A80Great

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B needs ~6.0 GB VRAM. GTX 1080 8GB has 8.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~42 tok/s.

Runtime: OllamaCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: BasicBottleneck: 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

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 6.0 GB, 42.0 tok/s, Runs well

6.0 GB required8.0 GB available

75% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

42.0 tok/s

TTFT

4610 ms

Safe context

30K

Memory

6.0 GB / 8.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights1.8 GB

KV Cache2.2 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom0.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 2.5 Coder 3B on GTX 1080 8GB
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: 42.0 tok/s decode · 4.6s TTFT (warm) · 105 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

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

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	2514 ms	30K
Coding	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	4610 ms	30K
Agentic Coding	A	Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)	42.0 tok/s	6705 ms	30K
Reasoning	A	Runs well	42.0 tok/s	5448 ms	30K
RAG	A	Runs with offload (needs ~0 GB host RAM)	42.0 tok/s	8381 ms

Quantization options

How Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B (3B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1080 8GB (8.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.2 GB	Low	A76
Q3_K_S	3	1.5 GB	Low	A76
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen2.5-coder:3b

Your hardware

More models your GTX 1080 8GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode	Capabilities
Qwen 3.5 4B	4B	S	56 tok/s
Qwen 3 8B	8B	A	23 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1080 8GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

Yes, GTX 1080 8GB can run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 42.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B need?

Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B (3B parameters) requires approximately 6.0 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B run at on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B achieves approximately 42.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 4610ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1080 8GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B on GTX 1080 8GB receives a A grade with 42.0 tok/s and 30K context.

What context window can Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B use on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B can safely use up to 30K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for GTX 1080 8GB See all hardware for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B

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