Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B vs Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B | Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 8B | 3B |
| Context | 8K | 131K |
| Architecture | LlamaForCausalLM | LlamaForCausalLM |
| License | Other | Llama 3 Community |
| Downloads | 13.1K | 77.3K |
| Released | Jan 2026 | Dec 2024 |
VRAM by Quantization: Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B vs Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B
| Quantization | Bits | Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B VRAM | Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| BF16 | 16.00 | 16.6 GB | 6.5 GB |
Verdict
Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B needs less VRAM at BF16 (6.5 GB vs 16.6 GB), so it fits on smaller GPUs. Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B supports a longer context window (131K tokens). Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B is the more widely downloaded of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which needs less VRAM, Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B or Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B?
At BF16, Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B needs 16.6 GB and Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B needs 6.5 GB, so Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B is the lighter option to run locally.
- Which has a longer context window, Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B or Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B?
Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B supports 8,192 tokens and Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B supports 131,072 tokens.
- What is the difference between Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B and Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B?
Dolphin 2.9 Llama3 8B is a 8B model from dphn (Llama 3 family), while Hermes 3 Llama 3.2 3B is a 3B model from Nous Research (Llama 3 family). Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.