StableLM 2 12B needs ~22.8 GB but RTX 2080 Ti 11GB only has 11.0 GB. Try a smaller quantization or lighter model.
Operating mode
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.
Select quantization to explore
11.8 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization
Fit status
Too heavy
Decode
6.5 tok/s
TTFT
29854 ms
Safe context
4K
Memory
22.8 GB / 11.0 GB
Offload
50%
Usable VRAM is the main blocker for this model.
Not enough usable memory
The model needs 22.8 GB, but this setup only exposes 11.0 GB of usable VRAM.
Older PCIe generation
PCIe 3.0 is workable, but it compounds the penalty when you offload heavily or try to scale across multiple cards.
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.
| Workload | Grade | Fit | Decode | TTFT | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | F | Too heavy | 12.5 tok/s | 8424 ms | 4K |
| Coding | F | Too heavy | 6.5 tok/s | 29854 ms | 4K |
| Agentic Coding | F | Too heavy | 6.5 tok/s | 43424 ms | 4K |
| Reasoning | F | Too heavy | 6.5 tok/s | 35282 ms | 4K |
| RAG | F | Too heavy | 6.5 tok/s | 54279 ms | 4K |
How StableLM 2 12B (12B params) fits at each quantization level on RTX 2080 Ti 11GB (11.0 GB usable).
| Quant | Bits | VRAM | Quality | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q2_K | 2 | 4.7 GB | Low | C52 |
Q3_K_S | 3 | 5.9 GB | Low | C52 |
NVFP4 | 4 |
Upgrade options
RTX 4000 Ada 20GBNVIDIA upgradeMakes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.
Raises estimated decode speed by about 143%.
~$1,250 MSRP
RTX 3090 24GBBudget pickMakes 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 24GBBest valueMakes 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
No, StableLM 2 12B requires more memory than RTX 2080 Ti 11GB provides.
StableLM 2 12B (12B parameters) requires approximately 22.8 GB of memory with Q5_K_M quantization.
The recommended quantization for StableLM 2 12B is Q5_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.
On RTX 2080 Ti 11GB, StableLM 2 12B achieves approximately 6.5 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 29854ms using Q5_K_M quantization.
For coding workloads, StableLM 2 12B on RTX 2080 Ti 11GB receives a F grade with 6.5 tok/s and 4K context.
On RTX 2080 Ti 11GB, StableLM 2 12B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 4K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.
Paste this snippet into any page to show a live fit card.
<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/stablelm-2-12b-on-rtx-2080-ti-11gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>
Preview:
| Medium |
| C52 |
Q4_K_MBest for your GPU | 4 | 7.3 GB | Medium | C52 |
Q5_K_M | 5 | 8.6 GB | High | F0 |
Q6_K | 6 | 9.8 GB | High | F0 |
Q8_0 | 8 | 12.8 GB | Very High | F0 |
F16 | 16 | 24.6 GB | Maximum | F0 |
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.
