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Local AI

Can RTX 3090 24GB Run Llama 3.1 70B? (Tested, 40GB VRAM Needed)

Can the RTX 3090 24GB run Llama 3.1 70B locally? No — not enough VRAM without CPU offloading. See VRAM requirements, performance estimates, and the best quantization level for your setup.

📍 Part of the Local LLMs in 2026 guide

❌ No — not enough VRAM without CPU offloading
Llama 3.1 70B needs 40 GB VRAM at Q4. The RTX 3090 24GB has 24 GB.

Llama 3.1 70B (Meta) is a 70B parameter model used for Near-GPT-4 quality for complex tasks. Frontier-class open model, best for demanding use cases.

VRAM Requirements

Quantization VRAM Needed RTX 3090 24GB
Q4_K_M (recommended)40 GB
Q8_0 (high quality)72 GB

Why It Won’t Fit

Llama 3.1 70B needs 40 GB VRAM at Q4 quantization, but the RTX 3090 24GB only has 24 GB. You’re 16 GB short.

Options: You can run it with CPU offloading (expect ~8 tok/s — very slow), or upgrade to a GPU with 40+ GB VRAM.

About the RTX 3090 24GB

Pros: 24GB sweet spot for 27-34B models, great used value

Cons: Power hungry (350W), loud, large card

Price: ~$800 used — Check current price on Amazon →

Try It Yourself

🎯 LLM Hardware Checker

Select your exact GPU + RAM and see ALL models you can run.

💾 VRAM Calculator

Pick any model, see exact VRAM at Q4/Q5/Q8/FP16 with context scaling.