NVIDIA · 8GB VRAM
What AI models can a GeForce RTX 3070 run?
A GeForce RTX 3070 has 8GB of VRAM. Checked against 228 models from the Ollama library, 149 run fully on the GPU at 4K context and 50 more run with part of the model in system RAM.
149
run well
50
with trade-offs
228
models tested
Best AI models for a GeForce RTX 3070
Largest first — these fit entirely in 8GB of VRAM at 4K context, so the whole model is GPU-accelerated.
| Model | Build | Memory needed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| lfm2.5Ollama Library | 8B | ~7.3 GB | Good fit |
| granite4.1-guardianIBM | 8B | ~7.2 GB | Good fit |
| rnj-1Ollama Library | 8B | ~7.2 GB | Good fit |
| command-r7b-arabicCohere | 7B | ~7.1 GB | Good fit |
| command-r7bCohere | 7B | ~7.1 GB | Good fit |
| aya-expanseCohere | 8B | ~7.1 GB | Good fit |
| llama-proMeta AI | 8B | ~7.1 GB | Good fit |
| minicpm-v4.5Ollama Library | 8B | ~7.1 GB | Good fit |
| llava-llama3Ollama Library | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| tulu3Allen Institute for AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| llama3-groq-tool-useMeta AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| dolphin3Ollama Library | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| dolphin-llama3Ollama Library | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| llama3.1Meta AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| llama3-gradientMeta AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| llama3Meta AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| llama3-chatqaMeta AI | 8B | ~6.9 GB | Good fit |
| ayaCohere | 8B | ~6.8 GB | Good fit |
| codeqwenAlibaba Cloud | 7B | ~6.7 GB | Good fit |
| bespoke-minicheckOllama Library | 7B | ~6.7 GB | Good fit |
| openthinkerOllama Library | 7B | ~6.6 GB | Good fit |
| marco-o1Ollama Library | 7B | ~6.6 GB | Good fit |
| minicpm-vOllama Library | 8B | ~6.6 GB | Good fit |
| dolphincoderOllama Library | 7B | ~6.5 GB | Good fit |
| olmo2Allen Institute for AI | 7B | ~6.3 GB | Good fit |
Showing the 25 largest of 149 models that run well.
How these results were calculated
Each model is evaluated at 4K context against 8GB of VRAM, counting model weights, KV cache, compute buffers and runtime overhead, minus a reserve for the display and operating system. Download sizes come from the official Ollama registry.
These figures assume 32GB of system RAM and working GPU drivers. Your own machine may differ — RAM, free disk space and whether an acceleration backend is actually installed all change the answer, which is what the PC scan measures directly.
GeForce RTX 3070 local AI — frequently asked questions
- How many AI models can a GeForce RTX 3070 run?
- Out of 228 models in the Ollama library, 149 run fully on a GeForce RTX 3070's 8GB of VRAM at 4K context, and a further 50 run with part of the model offloaded to system RAM, more slowly.
- What is the largest AI model a GeForce RTX 3070 can run?
- The heaviest build that fits entirely in VRAM is lfm2.5:8b (8B parameters), needing about 7.3 GB of memory from a 4.8 GB download.
- Is 8GB of VRAM enough for local AI?
- 8GB is enough for 149 of the 228 models tested here, which covers most general-purpose and coding assistants. Very large models still need either partial CPU offload or a card with more memory.