NVIDIA · Ampere

Best AI Models for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB

Runs only small models well; 7–9B only just fits.

6 GB GDDR6168 GB/s14 TFLOPS FP1670 WAmpere 2024

Ampere 6 GB at 168 GB/s (96-bit): slow decode for its class and ~7B at Q4 is tight. 70 W with no power connector; a different, slower chip config than the RTX 3050 8GB.

What LLMs can the RTX 3050 6GB run?

#	Model	Speed	Quant · VRAM
1	Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 33.5 t/s	33.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
2	Gemma 3 4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB · 38.5 t/s	38.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB
3	Gemma 4 E2B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB · 31.8 t/s	31.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB
4	Spark X2.6 4BXHToken Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB · 36.9 t/s	36.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB
5	MiniCPM5 2BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB · 57.5 t/s	57.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB

#	Model	Speed	Reasoning Score	Quant · VRAM
1	Gemma 3 4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB · 38.5 t/s	38.5 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB
2	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 33.5 t/s	33.5 tok/s	overall	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
3	Gemma 4 E2B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB · 31.8 t/s	31.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB
4	Spark X2.6 4BXHToken Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB · 36.9 t/s	36.9 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB
5	MiniCPM5 2BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB · 57.5 t/s	57.5 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · VRAM
1	Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 33.5 t/s	33.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
2	Gemma 4 E2B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB · 31.8 t/s	31.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB
3	Spark X2.6 4BXHToken Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB · 36.9 t/s	36.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB
4	MiniCPM5 2BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB · 57.5 t/s	57.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB
5	MiniCPM V 4.7 1BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 1.6 GB · 85.3 t/s	85.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 1.6 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · VRAM
1	Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 33.5 t/s	33.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
2	Ling 3.0 TinyInclusion AI Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB · 101 t/s	101 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB
3	MiniCPM5 2BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB · 57.5 t/s	57.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 2.5 GB
4	Spark X2.6 4BXHToken Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB · 36.9 t/s	36.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 4.3 GB
5	Gemma 4 E2B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB · 31.8 t/s	31.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · VRAM
1	Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 33.5 t/s	33.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
2	Gemma 3 4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB · 38.5 t/s	38.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB
3	MiniCPM V 4.7 1BOpenBMB Q4_K_M · 1.6 GB · 85.3 t/s	85.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 1.6 GB
4	LFM3 Omni 2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 2.4 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 2.4 GB
5	Cosmos Reason2 2BNVIDIA Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB · 67.8 t/s	67.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB

See all 193 models on the RTX 3050 6GB →Best quant that fits · speeds estimated on this card

About the RTX 3050 6GB

The RTX 3050 6GB is an entry card in the 6 GB class: it runs only small models well. It is among the most efficient per watt in its tier, and pricier per token than most of the cards compared at ≈$272. Ampere generation, released 2024.

Speed in 6 GB#6168 GB/s

Per watt#20.28 tok/s per W on Qwen3.5 9B (9B params)

Per dollar#37.3 tok/s per $100 on Qwen3.5 9B (9B params)

GenerationAmperereleased 2024

RTX 3050 6GB strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 7–9B models: Qwen3.5 9B at 19.8 tok/s in 5.8 GB
Only new 6 GB card here: The other 6 GB cards sell used; this one ≈$272 new
Low power draw: 70 W board power; a 150 W PSU is enough

Weaknesses

14B models don't fit: Qwen3 14B needs 11.9 GB at Q4 vs 6 GB here
Little room for context: Qwen3.5 9B uses 5.8 of 6 GB, 0.2 GB left
Slow prompt reading: A 4K-token prompt on Qwen3.5 4B waits 6.3 s for the first token
No FP8 or NVFP4: Ampere predates both; use GGUF, AWQ or GPTQ builds

Speed per dollar and per watt

NewUsed

On Qwen3.5 9B (9B params) at Q4_K_M. New prices are compared with new, used with used. The last two columns are the speed you get per $100 of price and per 100 W of board power; higher is better.

Card	New price	tok/s	tok/s per $100	tok/s per 100 W
RTX 50608 GBBest new value	about $460	45.8	10.0	31.6
RTX 507012 GB	about $840	68.7	8.2	27.5
RTX 3050 6GB6 GB	about $272	19.8	7.3	28.3
RTX 40608 GB	about $520	27.8	5.3	24.2

Card	Used price	tok/s	tok/s per $100	tok/s per 100 W
RTX 3060 12GB12 GB	about $329	36.8	11.2	21.6
RTX 50608 GBBest used value	about $430	45.8	10.7	31.6
RTX 507012 GB	about $736	68.7	9.3	27.5
RTX 407012 GB	about $575	51.5	9.0	25.8
RTX 40608 GB	about $335	27.8	8.3	24.2
RTX 4070 SUPER12 GB	about $675	51.5	7.6	23.4
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB8 GB	about $400	29.4	7.4	18.4
RTX 4070 Ti12 GB	about $722	51.5	7.1	18.1

Cost per token: the RTX 3050 6GB against 6–12 GB cards

On Qwen3.5 9B (9B params, Q4_K_M, 4K context). Speed, cost per token and power per token depend on the model.

6 GB12 GBthis card

Cost per 1M output tokenson Qwen3.5 9B · card over 3 years + power

$1.02

Card, new price: $0.87
Power: $0.15

3-year cost of ownership$318

Or rent an RTX 3080 Ti in the cloud$0.13/hr

Renting costs as much as buying after ≈2,100 hours (≈1.4 years at 4 h a day).

Include card price

Power$/kWhUseh/dayKeepyears

Each dot is a card; hover or tap it for its numbers, click to open it. Cards without a price for the chosen basis are left out. How we calculate cost per token

Similar GPUs

Cards people weigh against the RTX 3050 6GB, each with the one reason it is worth a look. Speeds on Qwen3.5 9B.

2 GB more and 49% fasterRTX 4060 Ti 8GBNVIDIA · 8 GB · Ada Lovelace

▲ 49% speed▲ 2 GB$399rent $0.15/hr

6 GB more and nearly 2× the speedRTX 3060 12GBNVIDIA · 12 GB · Ampere

▲ 86% speed▲ 6 GB$329rent $0.06/hr

2 GB more, 131% faster for $188 moreRTX 5060NVIDIA · 8 GB · Blackwell

▲ 131% speed▲ $188 more▲ 2 GB$460

2 GB more and 16% fasterRTX 3050 8GBNVIDIA · 8 GB · Ampere

▲ 16% speed▲ 2 GB$249

2 GB more, 40% faster for $248 moreRTX 4060NVIDIA · 8 GB · Ada Lovelace

▲ 40% speed▲ $248 more▲ 2 GB$520rent $0.08/hr

2 GB more and nearly 2× the speedA750Intel · 8 GB · Alchemist

▲ 104% speed▲ 2 GB$289

RTX 3050 6GB tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (168 GB/s). Grey rows need more than 6 GB.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q3_K_L · 5.8 GB tight · Q3_K_L
19.8tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · not at 4-bit
needs 11.9 GB
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · not at 4-bit
needs 17.9 GB
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · not at 4-bit
needs 22.0 GB
70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · not at 4-bit
needs 51.3 GB
120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · not at 4-bit
needs 70.8 GB

Estimated speeds: Q4_K_M, 4K context, one user. How we estimate

All 193 models on the RTX 3050 6GB

Featured only

Best quant that fits, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
SmolVLM2 2.2B Instruct2.2BVision Q4_K_M·73.8 t/s	Q4_K_M	2.3 GB38%	73.8 t/s	8K	S86, Runs great
MiniCPM OCR 1.01.3BVisionFunctions Q4_K_M·96.6 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.5 GB25%	96.6 t/s	262K	S90, Runs great
Ornith 1.5 9B9.7BChatFunctions Q3_K_L·19.8 t/s	Q3_K_L	5.8 GB97%	19.8 t/s	262K	C33, Usable
NVIDIA Nemotron Parse 2.0903MVision BF16·54.9 t/s	BF16	3.4 GB56%	54.9 t/s	—	A82, Runs well
Qwen3 VL 4B Instruct4.4BVisionFunctions Q4_K_M·34.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	4.5 GB75%	34.7 t/s	262K	A73, Runs well
Xiaomi OCR 0873MVisionFunctions Q4_K_M·125.5 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.9 GB15%	125.5 t/s	262K	S95, Runs great
Hy MT2 1.8B2.0BTranslation Q4_K_M·65.8 t/s	Q4_K_M	2.6 GB43%	65.8 t/s	262K	S85, Runs great
PaddleOCR VL 1.6959MVision Q4_K_M·122.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.0 GB17%	122.7 t/s	131K	S95, Runs great
LightOnOCR 3 0.8B853MVisionFunctions Q4_K_M·127.0 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.9 GB15%	127.0 t/s	262K	S95, Runs great
DeepSeek OCR 23.4BVision Q4_K_M·116.3 t/s	Q4_K_M	2.8 GB47%	116.3 t/s	8K	S94, Runs great
OvisOCR2853MVisionFunctions Q4_K_M·127.0 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.9 GB15%	127.0 t/s	262K	S95, Runs great
LightOnOCR 2 1B1.0BVision Q4_K_M·107.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.8 GB31%	107.1 t/s	16K	S92, Runs great
Clef Flash9.4BVisionFunctions IQ4_XS·19.4 t/s	IQ4_XS	5.9 GB98%	19.4 t/s	262K	C31, Usable
Jina Ocr V13.4BVision Q4_K_M·117.8 t/s	Q4_K_M	3.3 GB56%	117.8 t/s	33K	S94, Runs great
TeleOCR1.4BVision Q4_K_M·86.0 t/s	Q4_K_M	2.1 GB35%	86.0 t/s	128K	S88, Runs great

RTX 3050 6GB specs, power and PSU

Specs

Architecture: Ampere
VRAM: 6 GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth: 168.0 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 13.55 TFLOPS
CUDA cores: 2,304
Tensor cores: 72
Compute capability: 8.6
TDP: 70 W
Released: 2024-02-02
MSRP: $169

RTX 3050 6GB FAQ

Is the RTX 3050 6GB still worth it in 2026?

At ≈$272 you get 7.3 tok/s per $100 on Qwen3.5 9B, which ranks 3rd of the 4 cards compared here; it is also the 6th fastest out of 6 cards with 6 GB. It runs only small models well; 7–9B only just fits.

What is the largest model the RTX 3050 6GB can run?

Qwen2.5 7B Instruct (7.6B) is the largest at 4-bit or better: at Q4_K_M it uses 5.8 GB of 6 GB, and runs at about 21.9 tok/s. At 3-bit, a bigger model fits too: Gemma 2 9B IT (9.2B) at IQ3_M, 5.7 GB.

Can the RTX 3050 6GB run Qwen3.5 4B?

Yes. Qwen3.5 4B fits at Q4_K_M, using 3.4 GB of 6 GB, and it is the best model that runs well on this card.

Can the RTX 3050 6GB run 14B models?

No. Qwen3 14B needs 11.9 GB at Q4, more than the 6 GB on this card.

How many tokens per second does the RTX 3050 6GB give?

About 33.5 tok/s on Qwen3.5 4B at Q4_K_M, with the first token after 6.3 s on a 4K-token prompt.

What power supply does the RTX 3050 6GB need?

Plan a 150 W PSU (2× the 70 W TDP).

Is renting cheaper than buying an RTX 3050 6GB?

An RTX 3080 Ti (12 GB) rents from $0.13/hr. Renting costs as much as buying after ≈2,100 hours (≈1.4 years at 4 h a day).

Best coding LLMs 8 GB VRAM GPUs with 6 GB or more RTX 3080 Ti RTX 3080 12GB RTX 3080