Interactive Tool #2 · GPU VRAM

Local LLM GPU VRAM Calculator: GGUF Quantization & FP16 KV Cache Estimator

Calculate static GGUF weight memory (Q4_K_M, Q5_K_M, Q8_0, FP16), architecture-based FP16 KV cache across 4K–128K context windows, and GPU capacity targets for 8B–70B models.

Verified against Nov 2026 Vendor Docs← Back to Interactive Tools Board (3)

INTERACTIVE TOOL #2 // CLIENT-SIDE CALCULATOR

Local GGUF Model Weights & FP16 KV Cache VRAM Estimator

Reference Model Architecture

GGUF Quantization Bit-Width

Context Window Length (num_ctx / OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH)

Concurrent Sequences (FP16 KV Cache)

Runtime Memory Allowance (GiB)

Static Model Weights~17.9 GiBQuantized GGUF tensor footprint

KV Cache + CUDA Buffer9.0 GiBArchitecture-based FP16 KV + runtime allowance

Estimated Total Memory~26.9 GiBBefore the capacity reserve

Capacity Target32 GiB+ usable VRAMIncludes 10% reserve; runtime fit not guaranteed

Adjust model parameters, quantization, and context window to calculate GPU VRAM requirements.

Quick Reference: Reference GGUF Architectures & 8K Context Memory Budgets (Q4_K_M + FP16 KV Cache)
Reference Model	Layers / KV Heads	Q4_K_M Weights	FP16 KV (8K / 32K)	8K Total (+1 GiB Buf)	Capacity Target (+10%)
Llama 3.1 8B	32 layers · 8 KV heads	~4.47 GiB	1.00 GiB / 4.00 GiB	~6.47 GiB	8 GiB+ usable VRAM
Qwen2.5 14B	48 layers · 8 KV heads	~7.82 GiB	1.50 GiB / 6.00 GiB	~10.32 GiB	12 GiB+ usable VRAM
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B	64 layers · 8 KV heads	~17.88 GiB	2.00 GiB / 8.00 GiB	~20.88 GiB	24 GiB+ usable VRAM
Llama 3.3 70B	80 layers · 8 KV heads	~39.12 GiB	2.50 GiB / 10.00 GiB	~42.62 GiB	48 GiB+ usable VRAM

Verification & Billing Methodology Notice

Rate tables are a November 9, 2026 documentation snapshot with announced schedule changes shown where available. Calculators use stated assumptions and are estimates, not invoices or measured hardware benchmarks. Check actual usage categories, account terms, cache behaviour, runtime allocations and cloud endpoint rates for a production decision.

Related Engineering Guides & Primary-Source Deep Dives

All Guides

Calculated Q4_K_M GiB budgets at 8K context for four named model architectures, with FP16 KV cache and a runtime allowance. Mobile reference view.

Primary Source: Hugging Face · Ollama

Cost & VRAM Calculators11-09 Verified

Local LLM GPU VRAM Calculator: GGUF Quantization Bit-Widths, KV Cache & Hardware Tiers

Estimate GGUF weight memory and architecture-based FP16 KV cache for four reference models. Use GiB consistently, include runtime allowance, and compare a capacity budget with actual available VRAM.

Illustrative meanings of Ollama processor placement and documented automatic context tiers; not a measured terminal session. Mobile reference view.

Primary Source: Ollama Docs

MCP & Agent Fixes11-09 Verified

Ollama GPU Offload & Context Length Tuning: Fixing CPU Fallback, OOM & Slow Token Generation

How to diagnose partial CPU/GPU memory splits with ollama ps, override Ollama's VRAM-based default context lengths (4k/32k/256k), and configure OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH, num_ctx, and CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES.