What AI models can you run with 6GB of VRAM?
With 6GB of VRAM, 85 of 228 models from the Ollama library run entirely on the GPU at 4K context. 111 more run by offloading part of the model to system RAM, which works but is slower.
85
run well
111
with trade-offs
228
models tested
Best AI models for 6GB of VRAM
Heaviest first — each of these fits entirely in 6GB at 4K context, counting weights, KV cache, compute buffers and runtime overhead.
| Model | Build | Memory needed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| yi | 6B | ~5.3 GB | Good fit |
| medgemma | 4B | ~4.8 GB | Good fit |
| medgemma1.5 | 4B | ~4.8 GB | Good fit |
| translategemma | 4B | ~4.8 GB | Good fit |
| qwen2.5vl | 3B | ~4.7 GB | Good fit |
| Phi-3 Mini | mini | ~4.6 GB | Good fit |
| phi4-mini-reasoning | 3.8B | ~4.6 GB | Good fit |
| ministral-3 | 3B | ~4.3 GB | Excellent fit |
| nemotron-3-nano | 4B | ~4.2 GB | Excellent fit |
| nemotron-mini | 4B | ~4.0 GB | Excellent fit |
| granite3-guardian | 2B | ~4.0 GB | Excellent fit |
| qwen3-embedding | 4B | ~3.7 GB | Excellent fit |
| phi4-mini | 3.8B | ~3.7 GB | Excellent fit |
| phi3.5 | 3.8B | ~3.6 GB | Excellent fit |
| phi3 | 3.8B | ~3.6 GB | Excellent fit |
| nuextract | 3.8B | ~3.6 GB | Excellent fit |
| llava-phi3 | 3.8B | ~3.5 GB | Excellent fit |
| granite4.2 | 3B | ~3.4 GB | Excellent fit |
| cogito | 3B | ~3.4 GB | Excellent fit |
| glm-ocr | latest | ~3.3 GB | Excellent fit |
| granite-code | 3B | ~3.2 GB | Excellent fit |
| smallthinker | 3B | ~3.2 GB | Excellent fit |
| granite4 | 3B | ~3.2 GB | Excellent fit |
| granite4.1 | 3B | ~3.2 GB | Excellent fit |
| hermes3 | 3B | ~3.1 GB | Excellent fit |
How this was calculated
Every model is evaluated at 4K context against 6GB of VRAM, minus a reserve for the display and operating system, and assuming 32GB of system RAM with working GPU drivers. Your own machine may differ, which is what the PC scan measures directly.
6GB VRAM and local AI — frequently asked questions
- Is 6GB of VRAM enough to run AI models locally?
- Yes — 85 of the 228 models tested run entirely on the GPU with 6GB at 4K context, and 111 more run with part of the model offloaded to system RAM. The heaviest that fits is yi:6b-v1.5-q4_K_M, needing about 5.3 GB.
- What is the best AI model for 6GB VRAM?
- For maximum capability, yi (yi:6b-v1.5-q4_K_M) is the heaviest build that still fits entirely in 6GB. Smaller models leave headroom for a longer context window, which often matters more than raw parameter count.
- Which graphics cards have 6GB of VRAM?
- Several cards ship with 6GB of VRAM across NVIDIA and AMD ranges.