Can the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB (used) run Gemma 3 27B IT?
Only with CPU offload at Q4_K_M.
Gemma 3 27B IT is 27.4B parameters. At Q4_K_M the weights are about 15.3 GiB; with the 1.5 GiB runtime reserve that is 16.8 GiB against the card's 12GB, about 4.8 GiB more than the card has.
All three quants
12GB card| Quant | Weights | With reserve | Verdict | Headroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_Mthe everyday quant | 15.3 GiB | 16.8 GiB | Only with CPU offload | short 4.8 GiB |
| Q8_0near-lossless | 27.0 GiB | 28.5 GiB | Does not fit | short 16.5 GiB |
| FP16full weights | 51.0 GiB | 52.5 GiB | Does not fit | short 40.5 GiB |
Verdict rules: fits comfortably when weights plus reserve sit within 85% of VRAM; tight when they fit with little left for context; CPU offload when they exceed VRAM by up to 2x (runs, slowly, with layers in system RAM); no beyond that. The KV cache per token depends on the model's architecture and is not modelled here.
Not this card. These fit it comfortably at Q4.
- GeForce RTX 5090 32GB · headroom 15.2 GiB
- GeForce RTX 3090 (used) 24GB · headroom 7.2 GiB
- GeForce RTX 4090 (used) 24GB · headroom 7.2 GiB
- Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB · headroom 7.2 GiB
What the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB (used) does run well → · Gemma 3 27B IT on every card →
About the model
Gemma 3 27B IT by Google: 131,072-token native context, text + vision, released 2025 under the Gemma Terms of Use. Model card → · Hosted pricing on PicksByModel →