Can Gemma 3 4B run on GTX 1080 8GB?

YES — Runs Great

A77Great

Estimated from fit model

Gemma 3 4B needs ~6.5 GB VRAM. GTX 1080 8GB has 8.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~56 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) — 6.5 GB, 56.0 tok/s, Runs well

6.5 GB required8.0 GB available

81% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

56.0 tok/s

TTFT

3457 ms

Safe context

27K

Memory

6.5 GB / 8.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights2.4 GB

KV Cache2.1 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom0.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGemma 3 4B on GTX 1080 8GB
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: 56.0 tok/s decode · 3.5s TTFT (warm) · 140 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	56.0 tok/s	1886 ms	27K
Coding	A	Runs well	56.0 tok/s	3457 ms	27K
Agentic Coding	B	Runs with offload (needs ~0.2 GB host RAM)	50.7 tok/s	5556 ms	27K
Reasoning	A	Runs well	56.0 tok/s	4086 ms	27K
RAG	B	Runs with offload (needs ~0.2 GB host RAM)	50.7 tok/s	6945 ms	27K

Quantization options

How Gemma 3 4B (4B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1080 8GB (8.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.6 GB	Low	A72
Q3_K_S	3	2.0 GB	Low	A73
NVFP4	4	2.2 GB	Medium	A73
Q4_K_M	4	2.4 GB	Medium	A74
Q5_K_M	5	2.9 GB	High	A75
Q6_K	6	3.3 GB	High	A75
Q8_0Best for your GPU	8	4.3 GB	Very High	A74
F16	16	8.2 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Gemma 3 4B on your machine.

Run

ollama run gemma3:4b

Your hardware

More models your GTX 1080 8GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode
Qwen 3 8B	8B	A	23 tok/s
Nemotron Nano 8B	8B	A	24.4 tok/s
InternVL2 8B	8B	A	24.4 tok/s
Ministral 3 8B	8B	B	23 tok/s
MiniCPM-V 2.6 8B	8B	A	24.4 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1080 8GB run Gemma 3 4B?

Yes, GTX 1080 8GB can run Gemma 3 4B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 56.0 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Gemma 3 4B need?

Gemma 3 4B (4B parameters) requires approximately 6.5 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Gemma 3 4B?

The recommended quantization for Gemma 3 4B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Gemma 3 4B run at on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, Gemma 3 4B achieves approximately 56.0 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 3457ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1080 8GB run Gemma 3 4B for coding?

For coding workloads, Gemma 3 4B on GTX 1080 8GB receives a A grade with 56.0 tok/s and 27K context.

What context window can Gemma 3 4B use on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, Gemma 3 4B can safely use up to 27K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 128K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for GTX 1080 8GB See all hardware for Gemma 3 4B

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