Can Qwen 3 235B A22B run on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Qwen 3 235B A22B feels slow on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB?

Add more VRAM headroom. The first useful upgrade is more dedicated VRAM so you can fit the model without shrinking context or dropping to a much lower quant.

NO — Won't Fit

F0Won't run

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 3 235B A22B needs ~155.1 GB but NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB only has 80.0 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: No fitBandwidth: HighStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory capacity

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) — 155.1 GB, exceeds 80.0 GB available

155.1 GB required80.0 GB available

194% VRAM needed

75.1 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

6.8 tok/s

TTFT

28585 ms

Safe context

Memory

155.1 GB / 80.0 GB

Offload

50%

Memory breakdown

Weights143.4 GB

KV Cache2.9 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom8.0 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower

See how fast it feelsQwen 3 235B A22B on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step.

Given information:
  - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour)
  - Time  = 2.5 hours

Formula: Distance = Speed x Time

Calculation:
  Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h
           = 150 miles

The train travels 150 miles.

Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time.

Breakdown:
  - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles
  - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance)
  - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles

Total distance: 150 miles (same)
Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours
Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph

The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 6.8 tok/s decode · 28.6s TTFT (warm) · 17 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.

Not enough usable memory

The model needs 155.1 GB, but this setup only exposes 80.0 GB of usable VRAM.

Best improvement path

Add more VRAM headroom

The first useful upgrade is more dedicated VRAM so you can fit the model without shrinking context or dropping to a much lower quant.

Performance by workload

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	F	Too heavy	6.3 tok/s	16734 ms	4K
Coding	F	Too heavy	6.2 tok/s	31265 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	6.0 tok/s	47209 ms	4K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	6.2 tok/s	36950 ms	4K
RAG	F	Too heavy	6.0 tok/s	59011 ms	4K

Quantization options

How Qwen 3 235B A22B (235B params) fits at each quantization level on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB (80.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	91.7 GB	Low	F0
Q3_K_S	3	115.2 GB	Low	F0
NVFP4	4

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen 3 235B A22B well

NVIDIA B200 180GBBudget pick

180 GB VRAM (+100)8000 GB/s (+6000)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.136.8 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.

~$30,000 MSRP

NVIDIA H200 141GBBest value

141 GB VRAM (+61)4800 GB/s (+2800)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.56.1 tok/s decode

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

Raises estimated decode speed by about 725%.

~$30,000 MSRP

NVIDIA H200 PCIe 141GBNVIDIA upgrade

141 GB VRAM (+61)4800 GB/s (+2800)

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.47.7 tok/s decode

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

Raises estimated decode speed by about 601%.

~$30,000 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB run Qwen 3 235B A22B?

No, Qwen 3 235B A22B requires more memory than NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB provides.

How much VRAM does Qwen 3 235B A22B need?

Qwen 3 235B A22B (235B parameters) requires approximately 155.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 3 235B A22B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 3 235B A22B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 3 235B A22B run at on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB?

On NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB, Qwen 3 235B A22B achieves approximately 6.2 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 31265ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB run Qwen 3 235B A22B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 3 235B A22B on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB receives a F grade with 6.2 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Qwen 3 235B A22B use on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB?

On NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB, Qwen 3 235B A22B can safely use up to 4K 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 3 235B A22B feels slow on NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB?

See all results for NVIDIA H100 PCIe 80GB See all hardware for Qwen 3 235B A22B

Embed this result▼

Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.

<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/qwen-3-235b-a22b-on-h100-pcie-80gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

Preview: