Models · chat and writing, image understanding, reasoning and maths
Gemma 4 31B: VRAM requirements and GPUs that run it
Google's largest open dense model. Top-tier writing and vision; 24 GB class at Q4. At Q4 with 8K context it needs about 25 GB, so you want a GPU with at least 32 GB of VRAM or a Mac with 32 GB of unified memory.
Memory needed by quantization
| Quant | Weights | Total at 8K | Total at 32K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 20 GB | 25 GB | 36 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 24 GB | 29 GB | 40 GB |
| Q8_0 | 36 GB | 41 GB | 52 GB |
| FP16 | 68 GB | 73 GB | 84 GB |
Totals include about 10% runtime overhead and the KV cache, plus around 0.6 GB for the vision encoder. Longer conversations cost real memory: going from 8K to 32K context adds about 12 GB at any quantization. Most people should download Q4_K_M; Q5 or Q8 only make sense if you have spare memory. Read which quantization to pick.
Which GPUs can run Gemma 4 31B?
1 of the 40 cards we track run it fully in VRAM at 8K context. The cheapest entry point is a 32 GB card such as the RTX 5090, and the fastest is the RTX 5090 at about 53 tokens per second. 39 more can run it with part of the model in system RAM, which is noticeably slower.
| GPU | VRAM | Status | Quant | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 32 GB | Runs well | Q5_K_M | ~53 tok/s |
| RTX 4090 | 24 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~4.9 tok/s |
| RTX 3090 / 3090 Ti | 24 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~4.6 tok/s |
| RX 7900 XTX | 24 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~4.7 tok/s |
| RX 7900 XT | 20 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~3.6 tok/s |
| RTX 5080 | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~3.8 tok/s |
| RTX 5070 Ti | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~3.6 tok/s |
| RTX 5060 Ti | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.2 tok/s |
| RTX 4080 / 4080 Super | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~3.1 tok/s |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.9 tok/s |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.7 tok/s |
| RTX 4090 Laptop | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.6 tok/s |
| RX 9070 XT | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.8 tok/s |
| RX 7800 XT | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.7 tok/s |
| RX 6800 XT | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.4 tok/s |
| Arc A770 | 16 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.5 tok/s |
| RTX 5070 | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.6 tok/s |
| RTX 4070 / 4070 Super | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.3 tok/s |
| RTX 3060 | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.9 tok/s |
| RTX 4080 Laptop | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RX 7700 XT | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RX 6700 XT | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.0 tok/s |
| Arc B580 | 12 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| GTX 1080 Ti | 11 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.2 tok/s |
| RTX 3080 | 10 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.7 tok/s |
| RTX 5060 Ti | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RTX 5060 | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.8 tok/s |
| RTX 4060 | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.8 tok/s |
| RTX 3070 / 3070 Ti | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RTX 3060 Ti | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RTX 3050 | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.7 tok/s |
| RTX 4070 Laptop | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.8 tok/s |
| RTX 4060 Laptop | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.8 tok/s |
| RX 7600 | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~1.8 tok/s |
| Arc A750 | 8 GB | Offload | Q4_K_M | ~2.2 tok/s |
| GTX 1660 / 1660 Super | 6 GB | Offload | Q3_K_M | ~2.3 tok/s |
| RTX 4050 Laptop | 6 GB | Offload | Q3_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
| RTX 3060 Laptop | 6 GB | Offload | Q3_K_M | ~2.3 tok/s |
| GTX 1650 | 4 GB | Offload | Q3_K_M | ~2.1 tok/s |
Running it on a Mac
Apple Silicon Macs can give a model about 72% of their unified memory. Gemma 4 31B fits from 32 GB (Apple M4, about 5.2 tokens per second). With a faster chip like the Apple M4 Max (36 GB) expect around 19 tokens per second. Compare the options in our Mac vs NVIDIA guide.
Similar size models: gpt-oss 20B, Codestral 22B, Mistral Small 3 24B, Devstral Small 24B, Gemma 3 27B.
Compare Gemma 4 31B
Questions
How much VRAM does Gemma 4 31B need?
About 25 GB at Q4_K_M with 8K context, 41 GB at Q8_0, and 73 GB at full FP16. In practice that means a card with at least 32 GB of VRAM for Q4.
Can Gemma 4 31B run on an 8 GB GPU?
Only partly. It needs about 25 GB at Q4, so the rest spills into system RAM and speed drops sharply.
Can I run Gemma 4 31B on a Mac?
Yes. The smallest configuration that runs it fully is Apple M4 with 32 GB of unified memory, at about 5.2 tokens per second. More memory bandwidth (Pro, Max, Ultra chips) means faster replies.
Estimates based on model size, architecture and memory bandwidth. Real numbers vary with software, drivers and context length.