Can GLM-4 9B run on GTX 1080 8GB?

YES — With Offload

A72Great

Estimated from fit model

GLM-4 9B needs ~7.8 GB VRAM. GTX 1080 8GB has 8.0 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) — 7.8 GB, 37.6 tok/s, Runs with offload

7.8 GB required8.0 GB available

98% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs with offload

Decode

37.6 tok/s

TTFT

5147 ms

Safe context

21K

Memory

7.8 GB / 8.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache0.6 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom0.8 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGLM-4 9B on GTX 1080 8GB
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: 37.6 tok/s decode · 5.1s TTFT (warm) · 94 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	A	Tight fit	37.6 tok/s	2807 ms	21K
Coding	A	Runs with offload	37.6 tok/s	5147 ms	21K
Agentic Coding	A	Runs with offload (needs ~0.3 GB host RAM)	24.6 tok/s	11457 ms	21K
Reasoning	A	Runs with offload	37.6 tok/s	6083 ms	21K
RAG	A	Runs with offload (needs ~0.3 GB host RAM)	24.6 tok/s	14321 ms	21K

Quantization options

How GLM-4 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on GTX 1080 8GB (8.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	A75
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	A75
NVFP4Best for your GPU	4	5.0 GB	Medium	A74
Q4_K_M	4	5.5 GB	Medium	F0
Q5_K_M	5	6.5 GB	High	F0
Q6_K	6	7.4 GB	High	F0
Q8_0	8	9.6 GB	Very High	F0
F16	16	18.5 GB	Maximum	F0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run GLM-4 9B on your machine.

Run

ollama run glm4

Frequently asked questions

Can GTX 1080 8GB run GLM-4 9B?

Yes, GTX 1080 8GB can run GLM-4 9B with a A grade (Runs with offload). Expected decode speed: 37.6 tok/s.

How much VRAM does GLM-4 9B need?

GLM-4 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 7.8 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for GLM-4 9B?

The recommended quantization for GLM-4 9B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will GLM-4 9B run at on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, GLM-4 9B achieves approximately 37.6 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 5147ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can GTX 1080 8GB run GLM-4 9B for coding?

For coding workloads, GLM-4 9B on GTX 1080 8GB receives a A grade with 37.6 tok/s and 21K context.

What context window can GLM-4 9B use on GTX 1080 8GB?

On GTX 1080 8GB, GLM-4 9B can safely use up to 21K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 128K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

What should I upgrade first if GLM-4 9B feels slow on GTX 1080 8GB?

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit. A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

See all results for GTX 1080 8GB See all hardware for GLM-4 9B

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