Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 vs Nemotron Cascade 8B
Side-by-side comparison of VRAM requirements, quantization, context length, and hardware compatibility.
Specifications
| Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 | Nemotron Cascade 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 8B | 8B |
| Context | 131K | 33K |
| Architecture | LlamaForCausalLM | Qwen3ForCausalLM |
| License | Other | Other |
| Downloads | 308.6K | 31.7K |
| Released | Oct 2025 | Jan 2026 |
VRAM by Quantization: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 vs Nemotron Cascade 8B
| Quantization | Bits | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 VRAM | Nemotron Cascade 8B VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 4.0 GB | 4 GB |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 4.5 GB | 4.5 GB |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | 4.1 GB | — |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | 4.6 GB | — |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 5.4 GB | 5.4 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 6.3 GB | 6.3 GB |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 7.2 GB | 7.2 GB |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 8.6 GB | 8.6 GB |
Verdict
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 needs less VRAM at Q4_K_M (5.4 GB vs 5.4 GB), so it fits on smaller GPUs. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 supports a longer context window (131K tokens). Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 is the more widely downloaded of the two.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which needs less VRAM, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 or Nemotron Cascade 8B?
At Q4_K_M, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 needs 5.4 GB and Nemotron Cascade 8B needs 5.4 GB, so Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 is the lighter option to run locally.
- Which has a longer context window, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 or Nemotron Cascade 8B?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 supports 131,072 tokens and Nemotron Cascade 8B supports 32,768 tokens.
- What is the difference between Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 and Nemotron Cascade 8B?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 is a 8B model from NVIDIA (Llama 3 family), while Nemotron Cascade 8B is a 8B model from NVIDIA. Compare their VRAM requirements above to see which fits your GPU or Mac.