Llama 3.2 3B Instruct on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 runs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct excellently at 170 tok/s at Q8_0. This is a strong pairing.
Model Size
3.21B
Device VRAM
24 GB
Bandwidth
1008 GB/s
Quantizations Tested
1
Performance by Quantization
Each row shows Llama 3.2 3B Instruct performance at a different quality level on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090.
| Quantization | Speed | TTFT | Fits in VRAM | Rating | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q8_0 | 170 tok/s | 25ms | ✓ Yes | Excellent | estimated |
Notes
Q8_0
1008 GB/s is overkill for 3B. Essentially instant inference.
About Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (3.21B) is a chat, coding, ai coding, reasoning model. Ultra-lightweight model that runs on virtually any GPU. Surprisingly capable for its size — good at summarization, simple coding tasks, and quick chat. The default choice when speed matters more than depth.
View all Llama 3.2 3B Instruct hardware options →About NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has 24 GB at 1008 GB/s. Street price: $1,799.
See all models NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 can run →Builds with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
Source: Performance estimates based on model size and device bandwidth (2026-03-15)
Data last updated: 2026-03-15