Can the GTX 970 run Qwen3 8B?
No. Qwen3 8B needs about 7 GB and the GTX 970 has at most 4 GB of VRAM. Ollama can still start it by putting part of the model in system RAM, but it runs several times slower. The most capable model it runs well is Qwen3 4B, at about 49 tok/s.
Qwen3 8B needsAbout 7 GB
GTX 970 has4 GB VRAM
Bandwidth224 GB/s
Estimated speedDoesn't fit
What runs Qwen3 8B
These cards have the memory for it, nearest to the GTX 970 first. The cheapest build on our list that runs it well is the Used desktop + RTX 3060 12 GB, from $600 used, at about 38 tok/s.
How we estimate
Speed is roughly memory bandwidth divided by the weights read per token, calibrated on our own rack. Sizes are Ollama's default 4-bit downloads plus about 1.2 GB for context. Real results are usually within about a third. Measured it yourself? Send us the number.
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