Gemma 3 27B VRAM and GPU Requirements

google/gemma-3-27b-it · gemma · Updated 2025-03-21

Parameters
27.43Bmodel record
Default context
8,192tokens
At Q4_K_M
16.40 GB8,192 tokens
At FP16
53.13 GBfull estimate
Smallest fit
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB10 percent free

Runs on the RTX 3090 with 7.60 GB to spare

Fits at Q4_K_M with 8,192 tokens of context, with room left for your desktop and browser.

16.40 / 24 GB

Gemma 3 27B · Q4_K_M · 8,192 tokens

RTX 3090 · 24 GB

Weights

14.37 GB

params × bits ÷ 8

KV cache

1.03 GB

2 × layers × KV heads × head dim × tokens × 2 B

Overhead

1.00 GB

fixed buffers and context

Enough room to step up to Q5_K_MUses 19.60 GB, 4.40 GB to spare

Open in calculator

Gemma 3 27B needs about 16.40 GB at Q4_K_M with 8K context.

Gemma 3 27B is the larger Gemma 3 multimodal instruct model, under the Gemma license, and the download is gated. Created March. Architecture numbers come from Unsloth.

The parameter count includes the vision tower. Attention alternates sliding layers of 1,024 tokens with a full layer every 6th block, and context scales to 131,072. Head width matches hidden size divided by the 32 query heads.

Q4_K_M at 8,192 tokens is 16.40 GB. The smallest listed GPU that still leaves 10 percent free is GeForce RTX 3090 24GB, with 7.60 GB left. The 12B Gemma 3 page is the one where the stated head width disagrees with that division.

Gemma 4 is a later Apache 2.0 family.

Which GPUs fit

Fit at FP16/BF16 and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+26.87 GB +26.87 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+26.87 GB +26.87 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · Won't fit 12 GB 41.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · Won't fit 8 GB 45.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · Won't fit 10 GB 43.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 29.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · Won't fit 8 GB 45.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · Won't fit 12 GB 41.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 29.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · Won't fit 12 GB 41.13 GB short Won't fit
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · CPU offload 32 GB 21.13 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 29.13 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 37.13 GB short CPU offload
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · CPU offload 48 GB 17.13 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q8_0 and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · Tight fit 32 GB Tight fit+2.82 GB +2.82 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+50.82 GB +50.82 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+50.82 GB +50.82 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+6.82 GB +6.82 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 17.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 21.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 19.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 5.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 21.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 17.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 5.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 17.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · CPU offload 24 GB 5.18 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 13.18 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q6_K and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · Tight fit 24 GB Tight fit+1.01 GB +1.01 GB
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · Tight fit 24 GB Tight fit+1.01 GB +1.01 GB
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · No CPU offload 32 GB Fits+9.01 GB +9.01 GB
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · Tight fit 24 GB Tight fit+1.01 GB +1.01 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+57.01 GB +57.01 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+57.01 GB +57.01 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+13.01 GB +13.01 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 10.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 14.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 12.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 14.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 10.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 10.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 6.99 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q5_K_M and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+4.40 GB +4.40 GB
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+4.40 GB +4.40 GB
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · No CPU offload 32 GB Fits+12.40 GB +12.40 GB
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+4.40 GB +4.40 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+60.40 GB +60.40 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+60.40 GB +60.40 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+16.40 GB +16.40 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 7.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 11.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 9.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 11.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 7.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 7.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 3.60 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q4_K_M and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+7.60 GB +7.60 GB
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+7.60 GB +7.60 GB
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · No CPU offload 32 GB Fits+15.60 GB +15.60 GB
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+7.60 GB +7.60 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+63.60 GB +63.60 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+63.60 GB +63.60 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+19.60 GB +19.60 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 4.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 8.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 6.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 8.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 4.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 4.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · CPU offload 16 GB 0.40 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q3_K_M and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+10.99 GB +10.99 GB
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+10.99 GB +10.99 GB
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · No CPU offload 32 GB Fits+18.99 GB +18.99 GB
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+10.99 GB +10.99 GB
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+2.99 GB +2.99 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+66.99 GB +66.99 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+66.99 GB +66.99 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+22.99 GB +22.99 GB
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 1.01 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 5.01 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 3.01 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 5.01 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 1.01 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · CPU offload 12 GB 1.01 GB short CPU offload
Fit at Q2_K and 8,192 tokens. Cards that fit in usable memory are listed first. "Short" shows how far the model goes over usable memory. Headroom uses usable memory. A unified row uses 75 percent of the listed pool.
GPU Memory Status Headroom
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB12 GB · No CPU offload 12 GB Fits+1.59 GB +1.59 GB
GeForce RTX 3090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+13.59 GB +13.59 GB
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 4070 12GB12 GB · No CPU offload 12 GB Fits+1.59 GB +1.59 GB
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 4090 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+13.59 GB +13.59 GB
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 5070 12GB12 GB · No CPU offload 12 GB Fits+1.59 GB +1.59 GB
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
GeForce RTX 5090 32GB32 GB · No CPU offload 32 GB Fits+21.59 GB +21.59 GB
Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB24 GB · No CPU offload 24 GB Fits+13.59 GB +13.59 GB
Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB16 GB · No CPU offload 16 GB Fits+5.59 GB +5.59 GB
NVIDIA A100 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+69.59 GB +69.59 GB
NVIDIA H100 SXM 80GB80 GB · No CPU offload 80 GB Fits+69.59 GB +69.59 GB
Apple M5 Max 48GB unified48 GB · 36.00 GB usable · No CPU offload 48 GB Fits+25.59 GB +25.59 GB
GeForce RTX 3070 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 2.41 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB10 GB · CPU offload 10 GB 0.41 GB short CPU offload
GeForce RTX 4060 8GB8 GB · CPU offload 8 GB 2.41 GB short CPU offload

VRAM by quantization

Totals at 8,192 tokens. Q4_K_M is the usual balance of size and quality. FP16 weights are the parameter count times 2 bytes. The FP16 column in the table is the full estimate: weights, cache, and 1 GB.

Estimates at 8192 tokens, in GB. Formula rows apply one block size to every parameter. A published-file row uses measured weight bytes. FP16 weights equal the parameter count times 2 bytes.
Quantization Bits Weights Cache Overhead Total
FP16/BF16Bits 16 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 16 51.10 1.03 1.00 53.13
Q8_0Bits 8.5 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 8.5 27.15 1.03 1.00 29.18
Q6_KBits 6.5625 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 6.5625 20.96 1.03 1.00 22.99
Q5_K_MBits 5.5 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 5.5 17.56 1.03 1.00 19.60
Q4_K_MBits 4.5 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 4.5 14.37 1.03 1.00 16.40
Q3_K_MBits 3.4375 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 3.4375 10.98 1.03 1.00 13.01
Q2_KBits 2.625 · Cache 1.03 · Overhead 1.00 2.625 8.38 1.03 1.00 10.41

Context length

Q4_K_M total as the context changes. Cache is the part that grows.

  • 2,048 15.93 GB
  • 8,192 16.40 GB
  • 32,768 18.28 GB
  • 131,072 25.78 GB
Cache and totals as the context changes. Tokens above the configured maximum are not listed.
Context tokens Cache GB Q4_K_M total FP16 total
2048FP16 total 52.66 0.56 15.93 52.66
8192FP16 total 53.13 1.03 16.40 53.13
32768FP16 total 55.00 2.91 18.28 55.00
131072FP16 total 62.50 10.41 25.78 62.50

Gemma 3 27B hardware notes

  • Unified memory counts 75 percent of the listed pool as usable. Discrete cards use the full listed memory. The memory column still shows the listed figure.
  • Last updated 2025-03-21.
  • Weights, cache, and the 1 GB overhead are estimates. How this is calculated.
  • Architecture numbers come from unsloth/gemma-3-27b-it because the official download is gated. The parameter count is the official Hugging Face record.

Gemma 3 27B VRAM FAQ

How much VRAM does Gemma 3 27B need at Q4_K_M?

16.40 GB at 8,192 tokens. Weights are 14.37 GB, the cache is 1.03 GB, and overhead is 1 GB.

Does a 24 GB GPU fit Gemma 3 27B at Q4_K_M?

GeForce RTX 3090 24GB is Fits, 7.60 GB left. The quant table uses 8,192 tokens, the smaller of 8,192 and the configured maximum of 131,072.

What context length is configured for Gemma 3 27B?

The configured context length is 131,072 tokens. The quant table uses 8,192 tokens, the smaller of 8,192 and the configured maximum of 131,072.

Which source supplies the parameter count for Gemma 3 27B?

27.43B parameters, from the Hugging Face model record for google/gemma-3-27b-it. Architecture numbers come from the public copy at unsloth/gemma-3-27b-it, because the official download is gated. The parameter count is the official record.

Models in the same family, then the closest Q4_K_M totals.
Model Q4_K_M GB
Gemma 4 18.48
gpt-oss-20b 12.15
Llama 3 8B 6.21
Llama 3.1 8B 6.21