Qwen3.8 27B hardware requirements

About the model

Parameters: 27.78B
Attention: Hybrid linear attention
Max context: 262,144 tokens
Released: 2026-08-05
Model card: Qwen3.8 27B on Hugging Face

GGUF files

Tracked quantizations of Qwen3.8 27B, smallest first
Quant	File size	Quality	Published by
Q2_K	10.82 GB	Heavy loss	Community GGUF · bartowski
IQ4_XS	15.48 GB	Good balance	Community GGUF · bartowski
Q4_K_Mbaseline	17.44 GB	Good balance	Community GGUF · bartowski
Q8_0	29.12 GB	Near-lossless	Community GGUF · bartowski

Memory needed by quant and context

Weights + f16 KV cache + compute buffer, in GB. Add about 0.6 GB if the GPU also drives your display on Windows.
Quant	4k	8k	16k	32k	64k	128k	256k
Q2_K	11.6	11.9	12.5	13.8	16.2	21.1	30.9
IQ4_XS	16.3	16.6	17.2	18.4	20.9	25.8	35.6
Q4_K_M	18.2	18.6	19.2	20.4	22.8	27.7	37.5
Q8_0	29.9	30.2	30.8	32.1	34.5	39.4	49.2

Which GPUs can run Qwen3.8 27B?

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

Dense models split between GPU and CPU slow down sharply — the CPU side sets the pace. MoE models that keep only their experts in system RAM degrade far more gently.

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54 GPUs, Macs and CPU setups at Q4_K_M with 8k context, sorted by verdict and speed
Hardware	Verdict	Speed	Quant	Memory	Runs as	Context	Notes	Price
GeForce RTX 5090	Runs great	est. 69.8 tok/s61.4–78.2calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 32.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 128k	—	$4,200 street (as of 2026-08-09)
Radeon RX 7900 XTX	Runs great	est. 41.7 tok/s36.7–46.7calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 24.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 64k	—	$999 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 3090 Ti	Runs great	est. 39.3 tok/s34.5–44.0calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 24.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 64k	—	$1,999 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4090	Runs great	est. 39.3 tok/s34.5–44.0calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 24.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 64k	—	$2,755 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 3090	Runs great	est. 36.4 tok/s32.1–40.8calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 24.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 64k	—	$1,050 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	Runs great	est. 34.9 tok/s30.7–39.1calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 24.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 64k	—	—
Radeon RX 7900 XT	Runs great	est. 34.7 tok/s30.5–38.9calibrated estimate ±12%	Q4_K_M	19.2 / 20.0 GB	Full GPU	up to 16k	—	$899 launch MSRP
Apple M5 Max (40-core GPU) · 48 GB	Runs great	est. 20.5 tok/s16.4–24.6calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 33.6 GB	Unified memory	up to 8k	—	—
Apple M3 Ultra · 96 GB	Runs great	est. 20.0 tok/s16.0–24.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 67.2 GB	Unified memory	up to 8k	—	—
Apple M2 Ultra · 64 GB	Runs well	est. 19.6 tok/s15.7–23.5calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 44.8 GB	Unified memory	up to 256k	Try IQ4_XS: Runs great	—
Apple M4 Max (40-core GPU) · 48 GB	Runs well	est. 18.2 tok/s14.6–21.9calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 33.6 GB	Unified memory	up to 128k	Try IQ4_XS: Runs great	—
Apple M5 Max (32-core GPU) · 36 GB	Runs well	est. 15.4 tok/s12.3–18.4calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 25.2 GB	Unified memory	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	—
Apple M4 Max (32-core GPU) · 36 GB	Runs well	est. 13.7 tok/s10.9–16.4calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 25.2 GB	Unified memory	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	—
Apple M5 Pro · 48 GB	Runs well	est. 10.2 tok/s8.2–12.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 33.6 GB	Unified memory	up to 64k	—	—
Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo) · 32 GB	Runs well	est. 9.3 tok/s7.4–11.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 22.4 GB	Unified memory	up to 32k	—	$1,999 launch MSRP
Apple M4 Pro · 48 GB	Runs well	est. 9.1 tok/s7.3–10.9calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 33.6 GB	Unified memory	up to 32k	—	—
GeForce RTX 5080	Runs slowly	est. 10.6 tok/s8.5–12.7calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$1,256 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti	Runs slowly	est. 10.4 tok/s8.3–12.5calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$949 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 10.4 tok/s8.3–12.5calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	—
GeForce RTX 4080 Super	Runs slowly	est. 9.9 tok/s7.9–11.9calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$999 launch MSRP
Radeon RX 9070	Runs slowly	est. 9.8 tok/s7.9–11.8calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$639 street (as of 2026-08-09)
Radeon RX 9070 XT	Runs slowly	est. 9.8 tok/s7.9–11.8calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$689 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 4080	Runs slowly	est. 9.8 tok/s7.9–11.8calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$1,199 launch MSRP
Radeon RX 7800 XT	Runs slowly	est. 9.7 tok/s7.8–11.7calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$499 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super	Runs slowly	est. 9.6 tok/s7.7–11.6calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$799 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 9.2 tok/s7.3–11.0calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	—
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB	Runs slowly	est. 8.4 tok/s6.7–10.0calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Less than 90% on the GPU — a GPU/CPU split is capped at Runs slowly Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$569 street (as of 2026-08-09)
Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB	Runs slowly	est. 7.6 tok/s6.1–9.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Try IQ4_XS: Runs well Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs great	$449 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB	Runs slowly	est. 6.9 tok/s5.5–8.2calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	16.0 / 16.0 GB + 3.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 128k	Try IQ4_XS: Runs well	$499 launch MSRP
NVIDIA DGX Spark · 128 GB	Runs slowly	est. 6.1 tok/s4.9–7.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.6 / 89.6 GB	Unified memory	up to 256k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$3,999 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 3080 12GB	Runs slowly	est. 5.5 tok/s4.4–6.6calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$799 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 5070	Runs slowly	est. 5.3 tok/s4.3–6.4calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$629 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 5.3 tok/s4.3–6.4calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	—
GeForce RTX 4070	Runs slowly	est. 5.1 tok/s4.1–6.2calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$599 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4070 Super	Runs slowly	est. 5.1 tok/s4.1–6.2calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$599 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 5.0 tok/s4.0–6.0calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	—
Intel Arc B580	Runs slowly	est. 4.9 tok/s3.9–5.9calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$290 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB	Runs slowly	est. 4.8 tok/s3.9–5.8calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	12.0 / 12.0 GB + 7.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	$250 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti	Runs slowly	est. 4.8 tok/s3.8–5.7calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	11.0 / 11.0 GB + 8.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$999 launch MSRP
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti	Runs slowly	est. 4.6 tok/s3.2–6.0theoretical estimate ±30%	Q4_K_M	11.0 / 11.0 GB + 8.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$699 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 3080 10GB	Runs slowly	est. 4.4 tok/s3.5–5.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	10.0 / 10.0 GB + 9.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$699 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 3070	Runs slowly	est. 3.6 tok/s2.9–4.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$499 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 5060	Runs slowly	est. 3.6 tok/s2.9–4.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$339 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8GB	Runs slowly	est. 3.6 tok/s2.9–4.3calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$429 street (as of 2026-08-09)
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB	Runs slowly	est. 3.5 tok/s2.8–4.2calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$399 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4060	Runs slowly	est. 3.4 tok/s2.8–4.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$299 launch MSRP
GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 3.4 tok/s2.7–4.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	—
GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop	Runs slowly	est. 3.4 tok/s2.7–4.1calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	—
GeForce RTX 3050 8GB	Runs slowly	est. 3.4 tok/s2.7–4.0calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	8.0 / 8.0 GB + 11.2 GB RAM	Partial offload	up to 64k	—	$249 launch MSRP
Apple M5 · 24 GB	Runs slowly	est. 3.0 tok/s2.1–3.9theoretical estimate ±30%	Q4_K_M	18.0 GB RAM	CPU only	up to 32k	Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs well	—
DDR5-6000 dual-channel CPU · 32 GB	Runs slowly	est. 2.7 tok/s2.1–3.2calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.0 GB RAM	CPU only	up to 64k	—	—
DDR5-5600 dual-channel CPU · 32 GB	Runs slowly	est. 2.5 tok/s2.0–3.0calibrated estimate ±20%	Q4_K_M	18.0 GB RAM	CPU only	up to 64k	—	—
Apple M4 · 24 GB	Runs slowly	est. 2.3 tok/s1.6–3.0theoretical estimate ±30%	Q4_K_M	18.0 GB RAM	CPU only	up to 32k	—	—
DDR4-3200 dual-channel CPU · 64 GB	Won't runTry Q2_K (heavy quality loss): Runs slowly	est. 2.3 tok/s1.8–2.7calibrated estimate ±20%	Q2_K	11.4 GB RAM	CPU only	up to 16k	—	—

Cheapest GPUs that run it

Runs greatGeForce RTX 3090$1,050 street (as of 2026-08-09), est. 36.4 tok/s (32.1–40.8, calibrated estimate ±12%).

Measured results for Qwen3.8 27B

No public measurements for this model yet.

Frequently asked questions

How much VRAM does Qwen3.8 27B need?

At Q4_K_M the weights are 17.44 GB; with 8k context the total is about 18.6 GB (KV cache 0.5 GB, compute buffer 0.6 GB). The smallest tracked file (Q2_K (heavy quality loss)) needs about 11.9 GB.

What is the cheapest GPU that runs Qwen3.8 27B well?

Cheapest that runs it great: GeForce RTX 3090 at $1,050 (street price as of 2026-08-09), est. 36.4 tok/s (32.1–40.8, calibrated estimate ±12%).

Can Qwen3.8 27B run on an 8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB GPU?

At Q4_K_M with 8k context: GeForce RTX 4060 — Runs slowly, est. 3.4 tok/s (2.8–4.1, calibrated estimate ±20%); GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB — Runs slowly, est. 8.4 tok/s (6.7–10.0, calibrated estimate ±20%); GeForce RTX 3090 — Runs great, est. 36.4 tok/s (32.1–40.8, calibrated estimate ±12%).

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.