Andrijdavid Q3_K 2B Parameters

VRAM Requirements for
phi-2-GGUF Q3_K

To run phi-2-GGUF locally at Q3_K quantization, you need at minimum 2.91 GB of GPU VRAM.

2.91 GB
Required VRAM
0.88 GB
File Size
8K tokens
Context Window
2B
Parameters
Estimated VRAM Required
2.91
GB
Consumer Friendly
0 16GB
RTX 3080 48GB
A6000 80GB+

Recommended GPU Configurations

Budget $299 – $349

RTX 4060 (8GB)

8 GB

Perfect entry-level GPU. Handles small quantised models with ease.

Balanced $549 – $599

RTX 4070 (12GB)

12 GB

Excellent performance-per-dollar for running sub-7B models at Q8.

Ultimate $1,599 – $1,999

RTX 4090 (24GB)

24 GB

Overkill for this size — plenty of headroom for bigger models.

📊 VRAM Calculation Breakdown

Model File Size (Q3_K) 0.88 GB
Context Overhead (8,192 tokens × 2B × 2 ÷ 1M) 0.033 GB
System Buffer (OS + CUDA runtime) 2.00 GB
Total Required VRAM 2.91 GB

Try a Different Quantization

Use the interactive calculator to compare phi-2-GGUF across all available formats.

Open Live Calculator →

phi-2-GGUF — Other Quantizations

Q2_K 0.63 GB file
2.66 GB
Q3_K Current
2.91 GB
Q3_K_L 0.88 GB file
2.91 GB
Q3_K_M 0.88 GB file
2.91 GB
Q3_K_S 0.88 GB file
2.91 GB
Q4_K_M 1.13 GB file
3.16 GB
Q4_K_S 1.13 GB file
3.16 GB
Q4_K 1.13 GB file
3.16 GB
Q4_1 1.13 GB file
3.16 GB
Q4_0 1.13 GB file
3.16 GB
Q5_0 1.38 GB file
3.41 GB
Q5_1 1.38 GB file
3.41 GB
Q5_K 1.38 GB file
3.41 GB
Q5_K_M 1.38 GB file
3.41 GB
Q5_K_S 1.38 GB file
3.41 GB
Q6_K 1.63 GB file
3.66 GB
Q8_0 2.13 GB file
4.16 GB
Advertisement Zone

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I run phi-2-GGUF Q3_K on a consumer GPU?
Yes! At 2.91 GB VRAM required, a single high-end consumer GPU like the RTX 4090 (24GB) can handle this workload. You can also use multiple GPUs for tensor parallelism.
What happens if I don't have enough VRAM?
If your GPU VRAM is insufficient, llama.cpp and similar tools will offload model layers to system RAM (CPU inference). This is much slower — expect 10-50× the generation latency compared to full GPU inference.
Can I use multiple GPUs to run phi-2-GGUF?
Yes! Tools like llama.cpp, vLLM, and Ollama support tensor parallelism across multiple GPUs. For example, 2× RTX 3090 (24GB each) gives you 48GB total VRAM, which can run many large models.
Is Q3_K quality good enough for production?
Q3_K is suitable for specialized use cases. Check community benchmarks for specific quality metrics.