Can Yi 1.5 6B run on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

Q: What should I upgrade first if Yi 1.5 6B feels slow on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

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 Offload

C51Usable

Estimated from fit model

Yi 1.5 6B needs ~6.1 GB VRAM. GTX 1660 Super 6GB has 6.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~38 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: LowStack: 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.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 6.1 GB, 38.1 tok/s, Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)

6.1 GB required6.0 GB available

102% VRAM needed

100 MB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)

Decode

38.1 tok/s

TTFT

5079 ms

Safe context

Memory

6.1 GB / 6.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights3.7 GB

KV Cache1.0 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi 1.5 6B on GTX 1660 Super 6GB
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: 38.1 tok/s decode · 5.1s TTFT (warm) · 95 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.

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

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	C	Tight fit	54.9 tok/s	1923 ms	4K
Coding	C	Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)	38.1 tok/s	5079 ms	4K
Agentic Coding	D	Very compromised (needs ~0.6 GB host RAM)	27.6 tok/s	10217 ms	4K
Reasoning	C	Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)	38.1 tok/s	6002 ms	4K
RAG	D	Very compromised (needs ~0.6 GB host RAM)	27.6 tok/s

Quantization options

How Yi 1.5 6B (6B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1660 Super 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	2.3 GB	Low	C54
Q3_K_S	3	2.9 GB	Low	C54
NVFP4Best for your GPU

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Yi 1.5 6B on your machine.

Run

lms load Yi-1.5-6B-Chat && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Yi 1.5 6B well

RTX 3050 8GBBudget pick

8 GB VRAM (+2)

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.36.9 tok/s decode

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

~$249 MSRP

RTX 5060 8GBBest value

8 GB VRAM (+2)448 GB/s (+112)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 113%.81.2 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 113%.

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

~$299 MSRP

RTX 5050 8GBNVIDIA upgrade

8 GB VRAM (+2)

Raises estimated decode speed by about 47%.55.9 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 47%.

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

~$299 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1660 Super 6GB run Yi 1.5 6B?

Yes, GTX 1660 Super 6GB can run Yi 1.5 6B with a C grade (Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)). Expected decode speed: 38.1 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Yi 1.5 6B need?

Yi 1.5 6B (6B parameters) requires approximately 6.1 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Yi 1.5 6B?

The recommended quantization for Yi 1.5 6B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Yi 1.5 6B run at on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

On GTX 1660 Super 6GB, Yi 1.5 6B achieves approximately 38.1 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 5079ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1660 Super 6GB run Yi 1.5 6B for coding?

For coding workloads, Yi 1.5 6B on GTX 1660 Super 6GB receives a C grade with 38.1 tok/s and 4K context.

What context window can Yi 1.5 6B use on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

On GTX 1660 Super 6GB, Yi 1.5 6B can safely use up to 4K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 4K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Yi 1.5 6B feels slow on GTX 1660 Super 6GB?

See all results for GTX 1660 Super 6GB See all hardware for Yi 1.5 6B

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