Llama Guard 3 1B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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Llama Guard 3 1B is a 1.5B-parameter open language model from alpindale in the Llama family. It supports a context window of up to 131,072 tokens. At Q4_K_M it needs about 1.27 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
305.5K downloads
2 likesSpecifications
- Publisher
- alpindale
- Family
- Llama
- Parameters
- 1.5B
- Architecture
- LlamaForCausalLM
- Context Length
- 131,072 tokens
- Vocabulary Size
- 128,256
- Release Date
- 2024-09-25
- License
- llama3.2
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HuggingFace
How Much VRAM Does Llama Guard 3 1B Need?
Select a quantization to see compatible GPUs below.
| Quantization | Bits | VRAM | + Context | File Size | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 1 GB | 5.2 GB | 0.64 GB | 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | 1.0 GB | 5.3 GB | 0.66 GB | 3-bit small quantization |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 1.1 GB | 5.3 GB | 0.73 GB | 3-bit medium quantization |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | 1.1 GB | 5.3 GB | 0.75 GB | 4-bit legacy quantization |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 1.3 GB | 5.5 GB | 0.90 GB | 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 1.4 GB | 5.7 GB | 1.07 GB | 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 1.6 GB | 5.8 GB | 1.24 GB | 6-bit quantization, very good quality |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 1.9 GB | 6.1 GB | 1.50 GB | 8-bit quantization, near-lossless |
est.= calculated VRAM estimate; no published GGUF file found for that quantization yet. Other rows are verified against real community uploads.
Which GPUs Can Run Llama Guard 3 1B?
Q4_K_M · 1.3 GBLlama Guard 3 1B (Q4_K_M) requires 1.3 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 2+ GB is recommended. Using the full 131K context window can add up to 4.2 GB, bringing total usage to 5.5 GB. 52 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.
Runs great
— Plenty of headroomWhich Devices Can Run Llama Guard 3 1B?
Q4_K_M · 1.3 GB59 devices with unified memory can run Llama Guard 3 1B, including NVIDIA DGX H100, NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB.
Runs great
— Plenty of headroomWhere to Download Llama Guard 3 1B
Community quantizations of this model — GGUF for llama.cpp, Ollama, and LM Studio, plus AWQ/MLX variants where available.
Related Models
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much VRAM does Llama Guard 3 1B need?
Llama Guard 3 1B requires 1.3 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 3.4 GB at BF16. Full 131K context adds up to 4.2 GB (5.5 GB total).
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 1.5B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 0.9 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.4 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 4.6 GB (at full 131K context)
VRAM usage by quantization
Q4_K_M1.3 GBQ4_K_M + full context5.5 GB- What's the best quantization for Llama Guard 3 1B?
For Llama Guard 3 1B, Q4_K_M (1.3 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_K_S (1.4 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is IQ2_XXS at 0.8 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
IQ2_XXS0.8 GBIQ3_XS1.0 GBQ3_K_M1.1 GBQ4_K_M ★1.3 GBQ5_K_S1.4 GBBF163.4 GB★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
- Can I run Llama Guard 3 1B on a Mac?
Llama Guard 3 1B requires at least 0.8 GB at IQ2_XXS, which exceeds the unified memory of most consumer Macs. You would need a Mac Studio or Mac Pro with a high-memory configuration.
- Can I run Llama Guard 3 1B locally?
Yes — Llama Guard 3 1B can run locally on consumer hardware. At Q4_K_M quantization it needs 1.3 GB of VRAM. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
- How fast is Llama Guard 3 1B?
At Q4_K_M, Llama Guard 3 1B can reach ~3780 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~516 tok/s. Speed depends mainly on GPU memory bandwidth. Real-world results typically within ±20%.
tok/s = (bandwidth GB/s ÷ model GB) × efficiency
Example: NVIDIA B200 → 8000 ÷ 1.3 × 0.65 = ~4095 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (1.3 GB)
~4095 tok/s~516 tok/s~4095 tok/s~3780 tok/sReal-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
- What's the download size of Llama Guard 3 1B?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 0.90 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 3.00 GB. The smallest option (IQ2_XXS) is 0.41 GB.
- Which GPUs can run Llama Guard 3 1B?
52 consumer GPUs can run Llama Guard 3 1B at Q4_K_M (1.3 GB). Top options include AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6800, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. 52 GPUs have plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
- Which devices can run Llama Guard 3 1B?
59 devices with unified memory can run Llama Guard 3 1B at Q4_K_M (1.3 GB), including AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Strix Point) Laptop, ASUS Ascent GX10, Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025, Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB). Apple Silicon Macs use unified memory shared between CPU and GPU, making them well-suited for local LLM inference.