Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) hardware requirements
What is Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507)?
This is Qwen3-30B-A3B-Instruct-2507, the July 2025 update from Alibaba Cloud's Qwen team to the non-thinking mode of Qwen3 30B-A3B. It answers directly with no thinking step, and its model card reports better instruction following, coding, tool use and understanding of long inputs up to its native 256k context. It is a mixture-of-experts model with about 30B parameters, of which about 3B are active per token.
What to know before running Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507)
Qwen3 30B-A3B is a mixture-of-experts model: about 30B parameters in total, but only about 3B are used for each token. At Q4_K_M it needs 19.8 GB with an 8k context, so a 24GB card holds it completely and runs it great; see our page for Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) on the GeForce RTX 3090. On smaller cards, the experts that do not fit stay in system RAM, and because each token only touches a few of them, CanRun still expects it to run well on 8GB to 16GB cards such as the GeForce RTX 4060 and the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. Those are theoretical estimates (±30%) that depend on your system RAM speed.
This is the 2507 Instruct release, which has no thinking mode: it answers directly, as the model card says. CanRun therefore uses the normal speed bar for it, not the stricter one for thinking models. On a Mac, the 48GB Apple M4 Pro runs it great. Even without a graphics card, a dual-channel DDR5 desktop with 32GB runs it. CanRun caps every CPU-only setup at Runs slowly whatever its speed, though its calibrated estimate there clears the Runs well line.
About the model
- Parameters
- 30.5B total · 3.3B active (MoE)
- Attention
- Full attention
- Max context
- 262,144 tokens
- Released
- 2025-07-31
- Model card
- Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) on Hugging Face
Other sizes in this series
| Model | Parameters | Baseline quant | Memory needed (8k) | GeForce RTX 4060 | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB | GeForce RTX 3090 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 8B | 8.2B | Q4_K_M | 6.5 GB | Runs great | Runs great | Runs great |
| Qwen3 14B | 14.8B | Q4_K_M | 10.5 GB | Runs slowly | Runs great | Runs great |
| Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507)this model | 30.5B total · 3.3B active (MoE) | Q4_K_M | 19.8 GB | Runs well | Runs well | Runs great |
| Qwen3 32B | 32.8B | Q4_K_M | 22.0 GB | Won't run | Runs slowly | Runs well |
GGUF files
| Quant | File size | Quality | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 11.26 GB | Heavy loss | Community GGUF · unsloth |
| IQ4_XS | 16.38 GB | Good balance | Community GGUF · unsloth |
| Q4_K_Mbaseline | 18.56 GB | Good balance | Community GGUF · unsloth |
| Q8_0 | 32.48 GB | Near-lossless | Community GGUF · unsloth |
Some repositories publish only Unsloth Dynamic (UD) variants; sizes are those of the file you would download.
Memory needed by quant and context
| Quant | 4k | 8k | 16k | 32k | 64k | 128k | 256k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 12.1 | 12.5 | 13.4 | 15.2 | 18.7 | 25.7 | 39.8 |
| IQ4_XS | 17.1 | 17.6 | 18.5 | 20.2 | 23.7 | 30.8 | 44.9 |
| Q4_K_M | 19.3 | 19.8 | 20.6 | 22.4 | 25.9 | 33.0 | 47.0 |
| Q8_0 | 33.1 | 33.5 | 34.4 | 36.2 | 39.7 | 46.7 | 60.8 |
Which GPUs can run Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507)?
How to read the verdicts
- Runs great
- Fully on the GPU at 20 tok/s or more
- Runs well
- Fully on the GPU at 8–20 tok/s; MoE experts in system RAM at 20 tok/s or more; or at least 90% on the GPU at 8 tok/s or more
- Runs slowly
- 2–8 tok/s; CPU-only; less than 90% on the GPU; or MoE experts in system RAM below 20 tok/s
- Won't run
- Does not fit, or under 2 tok/s
Filter this list by budget, type and context in the calculator
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Hardware | Verdict | Speed | Quant | Memory | Runs as | Context | Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5090 | est. 195.0 tok/s156.0–234.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 32.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 64k | — | $4,200 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell | Runs great | est. 195.0 tok/s156.0–234.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 96.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 256k | — | — |
| NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q | Runs great | est. 195.0 tok/s156.0–234.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 96.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 256k | — | — |
| GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | Runs great | est. 146.7 tok/s117.4–176.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 24.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 32k | — | $1,999 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4090 | est. 146.7 tok/s117.4–176.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 24.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 32k | — | $2,755 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| GeForce RTX 3090 | est. 140.6 tok/s112.5–168.7calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 24.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 32k | — | $1,050 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop | Runs great | est. 137.0 tok/s109.6–164.5calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 24.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 32k | — | — |
| Apple M5 Ultra · 96 GB | Runs great | est. 106.6 tok/s85.3–127.9calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 67.2 GB | Unified memory | up to 256k | — | — |
| Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) · 48 GB | Runs great | est. 104.2 tok/s83.4–125.0calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 33.6 GB | Unified memory | up to 128k | — | — |
| Radeon RX 7900 XTX | Runs great | est. 103.3 tok/s82.6–123.9calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 20.4 / 24.0 GB | Full GPU | up to 32k | — | $999 launch MSRP |
| Apple M4 Max (40-core GPU) · 48 GB | Runs great | est. 96.9 tok/s77.5–116.2calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 33.6 GB | Unified memory | up to 128k | — | — |
| Apple M3 Ultra · 96 GB | Runs great | est. 88.3 tok/s70.7–106.0calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 67.2 GB | Unified memory | up to 128k | — | — |
| Apple M2 Ultra · 64 GB | Runs great | est. 87.3 tok/s69.8–104.7calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 44.8 GB | Unified memory | up to 128k | — | — |
| Apple M5 Max (32-core GPU) · 36 GB | Runs great | est. 86.6 tok/s69.3–103.9calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 25.2 GB | Unified memory | up to 32k | — | — |
| Apple M4 Max (32-core GPU) · 36 GB | Runs great | est. 80.0 tok/s64.0–96.0calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 25.2 GB | Unified memory | up to 32k | — | — |
| Apple M5 Pro · 48 GB | Runs great | est. 64.8 tok/s51.8–77.8calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 33.6 GB | Unified memory | up to 64k | — | — |
| NVIDIA DGX Spark · 128 GB | Runs great | est. 60.7 tok/s48.6–72.9calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 116.9 GB | Unified memory | up to 64k | — | $3,999 launch MSRP (128 GB) |
| Apple M4 Pro · 48 GB | est. 59.2 tok/s47.4–71.1calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 33.6 GB | Unified memory | up to 64k | — | — | |
| Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo) · 32 GB | Runs great | est. 54.2 tok/s43.3–65.0calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 22.4 GB | Unified memory | up to 16k | — | $1,999 launch MSRP (128 GB) |
| Apple M6 · 32 GB | Runs great | est. 40.4 tok/s32.3–48.5calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 22.4 GB | Unified memory | up to 16k | — | — |
| Apple M5 · 32 GB | Runs great | est. 36.9 tok/s29.5–44.3calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 22.4 GB | Unified memory | up to 16k | — | — |
| Apple M4 · 32 GB | est. 29.8 tok/s23.8–35.7calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.9 / 22.4 GB | Unified memory | up to 16k | — | — | |
| Radeon RX 7900 XT | Runs well | est. 87.9 tok/s61.5–114.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 19.6 / 20.0 GB + 0.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 128k |
| $899 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 5080 | Runs well | est. 75.8 tok/s53.0–98.5theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $1,256 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | Runs well | est. 74.3 tok/s52.0–96.6theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $949 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop | Runs well | est. 74.3 tok/s52.0–96.6theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| — |
| GeForce RTX 4080 Super | Runs well | est. 70.0 tok/s49.0–90.9theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $999 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4080 | Runs well | est. 69.3 tok/s48.5–90.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $1,199 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super | Runs well | est. 67.8 tok/s47.5–88.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $799 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop | Runs well | est. 64.1 tok/s44.9–83.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| — |
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB | est. 57.7 tok/s40.4–75.1theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $569 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| Radeon RX 9070 | Runs well | est. 57.0 tok/s39.9–74.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $639 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| Radeon RX 9070 XT | Runs well | est. 57.0 tok/s39.9–74.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $689 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| Radeon RX 7800 XT | Runs well | est. 56.5 tok/s39.6–73.5theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $499 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 3080 12GB | Runs well | est. 53.8 tok/s37.6–69.9theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $799 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 5070 | est. 50.5 tok/s35.3–65.6theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $629 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop | Runs well | est. 50.5 tok/s35.3–65.6theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| — |
| GeForce RTX 4070 | est. 46.8 tok/s32.8–60.9theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $599 launch MSRP | |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Super | Runs well | est. 46.8 tok/s32.8–60.9theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $599 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | Runs well | est. 46.3 tok/s32.4–60.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 10.5 / 11.0 GB + 10.1 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $999 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB | Runs well | est. 46.3 tok/s32.4–60.1theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $499 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 3080 10GB | Runs well | est. 45.3 tok/s31.7–58.9theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 9.4 / 10.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $699 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop | Runs well | est. 44.7 tok/s31.3–58.1theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| — |
| Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB | Runs well | est. 44.5 tok/s31.1–57.8theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 15.6 / 16.0 GB + 4.9 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $449 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce GTX 1080 Ti | Runs well | est. 43.6 tok/s30.5–56.7theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 10.5 / 11.0 GB + 10.1 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 64k |
| $699 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 3060 12GB | est. 42.0 tok/s29.4–54.6theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $250 street (as of 2026-08-09) | |
| Intel Arc B580 | Runs well | est. 38.1 tok/s26.6–49.5theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 11.6 / 12.0 GB + 9.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $290 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce RTX 3070 | Runs well | est. 37.1 tok/s26.0–48.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $499 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 5060 | Runs well | est. 37.1 tok/s26.0–48.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $339 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB | Runs well | est. 37.1 tok/s26.0–48.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $429 street (as of 2026-08-09) |
| GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB | Runs well | est. 33.0 tok/s23.1–42.8theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $399 launch MSRP |
| GeForce RTX 4060 | est. 32.4 tok/s22.6–42.1theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| $299 launch MSRP | |
| GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop | Runs well | est. 31.7 tok/s22.2–41.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| — |
| GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop | Runs well | est. 31.7 tok/s22.2–41.2theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 32k |
| — |
| GeForce RTX 3050 8GB | Runs well | est. 30.2 tok/s21.2–39.3theoretical estimate ±30% | Q4_K_M | 7.6 / 8.0 GB + 13.0 GB RAM | MoE experts in RAM | up to 16k |
| $249 launch MSRP |
| DDR5-6000 dual-channel CPU · 32 GB | Runs slowly | est. 14.7 tok/s11.7–17.6calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.4 GB RAM | CPU only | up to 64k |
| — |
| DDR5-5600 dual-channel CPU · 32 GB | Runs slowly | est. 13.7 tok/s11.0–16.4calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.4 GB RAM | CPU only | up to 64k |
| — |
| DDR4-3200 dual-channel CPU · 32 GB | Runs slowly | est. 7.8 tok/s6.3–9.4calibrated estimate ±20% | Q4_K_M | 19.4 GB RAM | CPU only | up to 64k | — | — |
Cheapest GPUs that run it
- Runs greatGeForce RTX 3090$1,050 street (as of 2026-08-09), est. 140.6 tok/s (112.5–168.7, calibrated estimate ±20%).
- Runs wellGeForce RTX 3060 12GB$250 street (as of 2026-08-09), est. 42.0 tok/s (29.4–54.6, theoretical estimate ±30%).
Measured results for Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507)
Public benchmarks we calibrate against. Their conditions (context, backend, flags) can differ from the estimates above.
| Hardware | Quant | Backend | Context | Prompt (tok/s) | Generation (tok/s) | Flags | Source | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5090 | Q4_K_XL | llama.cpp | 16k | — | 141.6 | — | hardware-corner.net | 2026-08-09 |
| GeForce RTX 4090 | Q4_K_XL | llama.cpp | 16k | — | 139.7 | — | hardware-corner.net | 2026-08-09 |
| GeForce RTX 3090 | Q4_K_XL | llama.cpp | 16k | — | 113.8 | — | hardware-corner.net | 2026-08-09 |
Frequently asked questions
How much VRAM does Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) need?
At Q4_K_M the file is 18.56 GB; with 8k context a graphics card needs about 19.8 GB (weights 18.37 GB, KV cache 0.8 GB, compute buffer 0.6 GB). The smallest tracked file (Q2_K (heavy quality loss)) needs about 12.5 GB. Part of the file stays off the graphics card: llama.cpp keeps the input embedding table in system RAM. A Mac counts the whole file, so it needs a little more.
What is the cheapest GPU that runs Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) well?
Cheapest that runs it great: GeForce RTX 3090 at $1,050 (street price as of 2026-08-09), est. 140.6 tok/s (112.5–168.7, calibrated estimate ±20%). Cheaper and still Runs well: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB at $250 (street price as of 2026-08-09), est. 42.0 tok/s (29.4–54.6, theoretical estimate ±30%).
Can Qwen3 30B-A3B (2507) run on an 8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB GPU?
At Q4_K_M with 8k context: GeForce RTX 4060 — Runs well, est. 32.4 tok/s (22.6–42.1, theoretical estimate ±30%); GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB — Runs well, est. 57.7 tok/s (40.4–75.1, theoretical estimate ±30%); GeForce RTX 3090 — Runs great, est. 140.6 tok/s (112.5–168.7, calibrated estimate ±20%).
Speeds are estimates from memory bandwidth, calibrated against public benchmarks, and each one comes with an error band and a confidence label. Real results vary with drivers, backend, context length and thermals.