Can Qwen 3 8B run on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

YES — Runs Great

S93Excellent
Estimated from fit model

Qwen 3 8B needs ~10.0 GB VRAM. RX 7900 XT 20GB has 20.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~106 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: HighStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced
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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) 10.0 GB, 105.7 tok/s, Runs well
10.0 GB required20.0 GB available
50% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

105.7 tok/s

TTFT

1831 ms

Safe context

89K

Memory

10.0 GB / 20.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights4.9 GB
KV Cache2.2 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom2.0 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 3 8B on RX 7900 XT 20GB
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: 105.7 tok/s decode · 1.8s TTFT (warm) · 264 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

No major red flags

This recommendation has enough memory headroom and acceptable estimated speed for the selected workload.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatSRuns well105.7 tok/s999 ms89K
CodingSRuns well105.7 tok/s1831 ms89K
Agentic CodingSRuns well105.7 tok/s2663 ms89K
ReasoningSRuns well105.7 tok/s2164 ms89K
RAGSRuns well105.7 tok/s3329 ms89K

Quantization options

How Qwen 3 8B (8B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 7900 XT 20GB (20.0 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
3.1 GB
LowS85
Q3_K_S
3
3.9 GB
LowS86
NVFP4
4
4.5 GB
MediumS86
Q4_K_M
4
4.9 GB
MediumS87
Q5_K_M
5
5.8 GB
HighS87
Q6_K
6
6.6 GB
HighS88
Q8_0Best for your GPU
8
8.6 GB
Very HighS90
F16
16
16.4 GB
MaximumF0

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 3 8B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen3:8b

Your hardware

More models your RX 7900 XT 20GB can run

ModelParamsGradeDecodeCapabilities
AlibabaQwen3-Coder 30B A3B Instruct30.5BA40.7 tok/s
AlibabaQwen 3.5 27B27BA18.3 tok/s
AlibabaQwen 3.6 27B27BS17.3 tok/s
AlibabaQwen3-VL 30B A3B Instruct30BA43.3 tok/s
AlibabaQwen 3.5 9B9BS94 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Qwen 3 8B?

Yes, RX 7900 XT 20GB can run Qwen 3 8B with a S grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 105.7 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 3 8B need?

Qwen 3 8B (8B parameters) requires approximately 10.0 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 3 8B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 3 8B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 3 8B run at on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Qwen 3 8B achieves approximately 105.7 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 1831ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can RX 7900 XT 20GB run Qwen 3 8B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 3 8B on RX 7900 XT 20GB receives a S grade with 105.7 tok/s and 89K context.

What context window can Qwen 3 8B use on RX 7900 XT 20GB?

On RX 7900 XT 20GB, Qwen 3 8B can safely use up to 89K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

See all results for RX 7900 XT 20GBSee all hardware for Qwen 3 8B
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<iframe src="https://willitrunai.com/embed/qwen-3-8b-on-rx-7900-xt-20gb" width="400" height="180" frameborder="0" style="border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;" title="Will It Run AI — fit result"></iframe>

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