Can Kimi Linear 48B A3B run on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

YES — Runs Great

A74Great
Estimated from fit model

Kimi Linear 48B A3B needs ~45.7 GB VRAM. NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB has 108.8 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~5 tok/s.

Runtime: vLLMCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: OptimizedBottleneck: Memory bandwidth
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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) 45.7 GB, 4.5 tok/s, Runs well
45.7 GB required108.8 GB available
42% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

4.5 tok/s

TTFT

43259 ms

Safe context

1.0M

Memory

45.7 GB / 108.8 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights29.3 GB
KV Cache0.9 GB
Runtime2.4 GB
Headroom13.1 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsKimi Linear 48B A3B on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB
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: 4.5 tok/s decode · 43.3s TTFT (warm) · 11 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The model fits in shared memory, but shared-memory bandwidth is now the real limiter.

Fit does not mean dedicated-VRAM speed

Unified or shared memory can make a model technically fit, but sustained tokens per second may still trail a discrete high-bandwidth GPU with less total memory.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity

If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatARuns well4.5 tok/s23596 ms1.0M
CodingARuns well4.5 tok/s43259 ms1.0M
Agentic CodingARuns well4.5 tok/s62922 ms1.0M
ReasoningARuns well4.5 tok/s51124 ms1.0M
RAGARuns well4.5 tok/s78652 ms1.0M

Quantization options

How Kimi Linear 48B A3B (48B params) fits at each quantization level on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB (92.2 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
18.7 GB
LowA73
Q3_K_S
3
23.5 GB
LowA74
NVFP4
4
26.9 GB
MediumA74
Q4_K_M
4
29.3 GB
MediumA75
Q5_K_M
5
34.6 GB
HighA76
Q6_K
6
39.4 GB
HighA77
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
51.4 GB
Very HighA80
F16
16
98.4 GB
MaximumF0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Kimi Linear 48B A3B on your machine.

Run

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/ggerganov/llama.cpp:full \ --hf-repo "moonshotai/Kimi-Linear-48B-A3B-Instruct" \ --hf-file "Kimi-Linear-48B-A3B-Instruct-Q4_K_M.gguf" \ -c 4096 -ngl 99

Your hardware

More models your NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB can run

ModelParamsGradeDecodeCapabilities
MistralDevstral 2 123B Instruct123BS2 tok/s
AlibabaQwen 3.5 122B A10B122BS5 tok/s
MistralMistral Small 4 119B119BS5.4 tok/s
OpenAIGPT-OSS 120B117BA2 tok/s
CohereCommand A 111B111BS2.1 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB run Kimi Linear 48B A3B?

Yes, NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB can run Kimi Linear 48B A3B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 4.5 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Kimi Linear 48B A3B need?

Kimi Linear 48B A3B (48B parameters) requires approximately 45.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Kimi Linear 48B A3B?

The recommended quantization for Kimi Linear 48B A3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Kimi Linear 48B A3B run at on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

On NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB, Kimi Linear 48B A3B achieves approximately 4.5 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 43259ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB run Kimi Linear 48B A3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Kimi Linear 48B A3B on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB receives a A grade with 4.5 tok/s and 1.0M context.

What context window can Kimi Linear 48B A3B use on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

On NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB, Kimi Linear 48B A3B can safely use up to 1.0M tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 1.0M, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if Kimi Linear 48B A3B feels slow on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB?

Prioritize bandwidth, not only capacity. If this workload feels slow, the next useful step is often a GPU tier with materially faster memory bandwidth rather than only a small bump in capacity.

Is unified memory on NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB as fast as VRAM for Kimi Linear 48B A3B?

Not always. NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.

See all results for NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GBSee all hardware for Kimi Linear 48B A3B
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