CanMyPCRunAILocal AI compatibility
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What AI models can you run with 8GB of VRAM?

With 8GB of VRAM, 149 of 228 models from the Ollama library run entirely on the GPU at 4K context. 50 more run by offloading part of the model to system RAM, which works but is slower.

149

run well

50

with trade-offs

228

models tested

Check my actual PC

Best AI models for 8GB of VRAM

Heaviest first — each of these fits entirely in 8GB at 4K context, counting weights, KV cache, compute buffers and runtime overhead.

Models that fit in 8GB of VRAM
ModelBuildMemory neededVerdict
lfm2.58B~7.3 GBGood fit
granite4.1-guardian8B~7.2 GBGood fit
rnj-18B~7.2 GBGood fit
command-r7b-arabic7B~7.1 GBGood fit
command-r7b7B~7.1 GBGood fit
aya-expanse8B~7.1 GBGood fit
llama-pro8B~7.1 GBGood fit
minicpm-v4.58B~7.1 GBGood fit
llava-llama38B~6.9 GBGood fit
tulu38B~6.9 GBGood fit
llama3-groq-tool-use8B~6.9 GBGood fit
dolphin38B~6.9 GBGood fit
dolphin-llama38B~6.9 GBGood fit
llama3.18B~6.9 GBGood fit
llama3-gradient8B~6.9 GBGood fit
llama38B~6.9 GBGood fit
llama3-chatqa8B~6.9 GBGood fit
aya8B~6.8 GBGood fit
codeqwen7B~6.7 GBGood fit
bespoke-minicheck7B~6.7 GBGood fit
openthinker7B~6.6 GBGood fit
marco-o17B~6.6 GBGood fit
minicpm-v8B~6.6 GBGood fit
dolphincoder7B~6.5 GBGood fit
olmo27B~6.3 GBGood fit

Graphics cards with 8GB of VRAM

GeForce RTX 5060GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GBGeForce RTX 4060GeForce RTX 3070GeForce RTX 3060 TiGeForce RTX 3050 8GBRadeon RX 7600

How this was calculated

Every model is evaluated at 4K context against 8GB 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.

8GB VRAM and local AI — frequently asked questions

Is 8GB of VRAM enough to run AI models locally?
Yes — 149 of the 228 models tested run entirely on the GPU with 8GB at 4K context, and 50 more run with part of the model offloaded to system RAM. The heaviest that fits is lfm2.5:8b, needing about 7.3 GB.
What is the best AI model for 8GB VRAM?
For maximum capability, lfm2.5 (lfm2.5:8b) is the heaviest build that still fits entirely in 8GB. Smaller models leave headroom for a longer context window, which often matters more than raw parameter count.
Which graphics cards have 8GB of VRAM?
Cards with 8GB include GeForce RTX 5060, GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB, GeForce RTX 4060, GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, GeForce RTX 3050 8GB, Radeon RX 7600.

Other VRAM amounts

4GB6GB10GB12GB16GB24GB32GB