AMD · RDNA 2 · 16 GB VRAM tier
Best AI Models for AMD Radeon RX 6800 (16 GB)
Runs 14B models well; 27–31B only just fits.
| # | Model | Speed | llmrun Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB | |
| 2 | Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 94.2 t/s | 94.2 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB | |
| 3 | GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 75.6 t/s | 75.6 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB | |
| 4 | Phi 4Microsoft Q4_K_M · 12.5 GB · 32.3 t/s | 32.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 12.5 GB | |
| 5 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB · 37.3 t/s | 37.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB |
| # | Model | Speed | Coding Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 75.6 t/s | 75.6 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB | |
| 2 | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB · 58.0 t/s | 58.0 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB | |
| 3 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | overall | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB |
| 4 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB · 37.3 t/s | 37.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB | |
| 5 | Ling 3.0 TinyInclusion AI Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB · 128 t/s | 128 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB |
| # | Model | Speed | Reasoning Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB | |
| 2 | GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 75.6 t/s | 75.6 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB | |
| 3 | Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB · 55.7 t/s | 55.7 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB | |
| 4 | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB · 58.0 t/s | 58.0 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB | |
| 5 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB · 37.3 t/s | 37.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB |
| # | Model | Speed | Long context Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB | |
| 2 | Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 94.2 t/s | 94.2 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB | |
| 3 | Mistral Nemo Instruct 2407Mistral AI Q4_K_M · 11.0 GB · 38.1 t/s | 38.1 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 11.0 GB | |
| 4 | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB · 58.0 t/s | 58.0 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB | |
| 5 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB · 37.3 t/s | 37.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB |
| # | Model | Speed ↓ | llmrun Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 94.2 t/s | 94.2 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB | |
| 2 | GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 75.6 t/s | 75.6 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB | |
| 3 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB | |
| 4 | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB · 37.3 t/s | 37.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 9.0 GB | |
| 5 | Phi 4Microsoft Q4_K_M · 12.5 GB · 32.3 t/s | 32.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 12.5 GB |
| # | Model | Speed | Vision Score | Quant · VRAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qwen3.5 9BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 48.3 t/s | 48.3 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB | |
| 2 | Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 94.2 t/s | 94.2 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB | |
| 3 | Gemma 3 12B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 10.9 GB · 38.2 t/s | 38.2 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 10.9 GB | |
| 4 | Gemma 3 4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB · 108 t/s | 108 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB | |
| 5 | Q4_K_M · 6.5 GB · 49.5 t/s | 49.5 tok/s | Q4_K_M · 6.5 GB |
The RX 6800 is an entry card in the 16 GB class: it runs 14B models well. It is power-hungry for its speed, and at its $579 MSRP it gave the best speed per dollar of the cards compared. RDNA 2 generation, released 2020.
RX 6800 strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 67.9 tok/s in 15.7 GB
Weaknesses
- 70B models don't fit: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4 vs 16 GB here
- Slow prompt reading: A 4K-token prompt on Qwen3.5 9B waits 11.1 s for the first token
- ROCm, not CUDA: No FP8 weights; MXFP4 only through llama.cpp, not vLLM
Speed per dollar and per watt
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. The RX 6800 has no current price, so it is shown at its MSRP.
| Card | New price | tok/s | tok/s per $100 | tok/s per 100 W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RX 680016 GB | about $579 | 48.3 | 8.3 | 19.3 |
RTX 507012 GB | about $840 | 68.7 | 8.2 | 27.5 |
RX 7900 XTX24 GB | about $1,130 | 90.6 | 8.0 | 25.5 |
RTX 5070 Ti16 GBBest new value | about $1,170 | 91.6 | 7.8 | 30.5 |
RX 907016 GB | about $800 | 60.4 | 7.6 | 27.5 |
RX 9070 XT16 GB | about $815 | 60.4 | 7.4 | 19.9 |
RTX 508016 GB | about $1,690 | 98.1 | 5.8 | 27.3 |
RX 9060 XT 16GB16 GB | about $590 | 30.2 | 5.1 | 18.9 |
| Card | Used price | tok/s | tok/s per $100 | tok/s per 100 W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RTX 3060 12GB12 GBBest used value | about $329 | 36.8 | 11.2 | 21.6 |
RX 907016 GB | about $650 | 60.4 | 9.3 | 27.5 |
RX 7900 XTX24 GB | about $1,000 | 90.6 | 9.1 | 25.5 |
RTX 407012 GB | about $575 | 51.5 | 9.0 | 25.8 |
RTX 5070 Ti16 GB | about $1,100 | 91.6 | 8.3 | 30.5 |
RTX 4070 SUPER12 GB | about $675 | 51.5 | 7.6 | 23.4 |
RTX 4070 Ti12 GB | about $722 | 51.5 | 7.1 | 18.1 |
RTX 408016 GB | about $1,100 | 73.3 | 6.7 | 22.9 |
Cost per token: the RX 6800 against 12–32 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.
- Card, MSRP
- $0.76
- Power
- $0.22
Renting costs as much as buying after ≈2,900 hours (≈2.0 years at 4 h a day).
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
Cards people weigh against the RX 6800, each with the one reason it is worth a look. Speeds on Qwen3.5 9B.
Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (512 GB/s). Grey rows need more than 16 GB.
- 9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB48.3tok/s
- 14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB32.3tok/s
- 20.5tok/s
- 67.9tok/s
- 70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · not at 4-bitneeds 51.3 GB
- 120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · not at 4-bitneeds 70.8 GB
Estimated speeds: Q4_K_M, 4K context, one user. How we estimate
All 1057 models on the RX 6800
Featured onlyBest quant that fits, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works
| Model | Quant | VRAM | Speed | Context | Score | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MiniCPM V 4.7 1BVisionFunctions | Q4_K_M | 1.6 GB | 240.0 t/s | 262K | S100, Runs great | |
LFM3 Omni 2BVisionChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 2.4 GB | 180.7 t/s | 128K | S99, Runs great | |
ZAYA1 VL 8BVision | Q4_K_M | 7.5 GB | 105.5 t/s | 33K | S92, Runs great | |
Qwen3.6 35B A3BVisionFunctions | IQ3_S | 15.7 GB | 67.9 t/s | 262K | C44, Usable | |
LFM3 VL 2BVisionChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 2.3 GB | 198.2 t/s | 128K | S100, Runs great | |
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B BF16ChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 5.6 GB | 57.7 t/s | 66K | A82, Runs well | |
LFM2.5 8B A1BChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 5.6 GB | 119.7 t/s | 128K | S95, Runs great | |
Gemma 4 E4B ITChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 5.6 GB | 57.7 t/s | 131K | A82, Runs well | |
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16ChatFunctions | Q3_K_M | 15.8 GB | 70.2 t/s | 262K | C44, Usable | |
Gemma 4 12B IT Qat Q4 0 UnquantizedChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 9.0 GB | 37.3 t/s | 262K | A74, Runs well | |
Unlimited OCRVision | Q4_K_M | 3.3 GB | 195.9 t/s | 33K | S100, Runs great | |
D1 2BVisionFunctions | Q4_K_M | 2.3 GB | 198.2 t/s | 128K | S100, Runs great | |
D1 3BVisionFunctions | Q4_K_M | 2.6 GB | 133.6 t/s | 33K | S95, Runs great | |
Mellum2.1 12B A2.5B ThinkingChatFunctions | Q4_K_M | 7.8 GB | 94.3 t/s | 131K | S90, Runs great | |
MiniCPM V 4.6VisionFunctions | Q4_K_M | 1.5 GB | 271.9 t/s | 262K | S100, Runs great |
Specs
- Architecture
- RDNA 2
- VRAM
- 16 GB GDDR6
- Memory bandwidth
- 512.0 GB/s
- FP16 (dense)
- 32.33 TFLOPS
- Stream processors
- 3,840
- TDP
- 250 W
- Released
- 2020-11-18
- MSRP
- $579
RX 6800 FAQ
Is the RX 6800 still worth it in 2026?
At its MSRP of $579 you get 8.3 tok/s per $100 on Qwen3.5 9B, which ranks 1st of the 8 cards compared here; it is also the 10th fastest out of 17 cards with 16 GB. It runs 14B models well; 27–31B only just fits.
What is the largest model the RX 6800 can run?
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (25.8B) is the largest at 4-bit or better: at Q4_K_S it uses 15.5 GB of 16 GB, and runs at about 69.4 tok/s. At 3-bit, a bigger model fits too: Gemma 2 27B IT (27.2B) at IQ3_M, 15.0 GB.
Can the RX 6800 run Qwen3.5 9B?
Yes. Qwen3.5 9B fits at Q4_K_M, using 6.6 GB of 16 GB, and it is the best model that runs well on this card.
Can the RX 6800 run 70B models?
No. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 16 GB on this card.
How many tokens per second does the RX 6800 give?
About 48.3 tok/s on Qwen3.5 9B at Q4_K_M, with the first token after 11.1 s on a 4K-token prompt.
What power supply does the RX 6800 need?
Plan a 500 W PSU (2× the 250 W TDP).
Is 16 GB enough for coding and agents?
Yes for coding: GPT OSS 20B, the best of the 2 coding models that fit, runs at about 76 tok/s. For agents, not yet: no agent-scored model fits in less than 96 GB.
Is renting cheaper than buying an RX 6800?
An RTX 3090 (24 GB) rents from $0.20/hr. Renting costs as much as buying after ≈2,900 hours (≈2.0 years at 4 h a day).