llmrun
davidsyoungGLM 5GlmMoeDsaForCausalLM

GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility

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GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw is a 158.2B-parameter open language model from davidsyoung in the GLM 5 family. It supports a context window of up to 1,048,576 tokens. At Q4_K_M it needs about 99.12 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.

158.2B params · dense1049K contextOther636 downloads3 likes
Based on GLM 5.3

GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw runs on a 128 GB+ Mac or a datacenter GPU

Best local pick → Mac Pro M2 Ultra (128 GB) · Q4_K_M · 96.7 GB · ~6 tok/s

Macs from96 GB Q3_K_M · ~7 tok/s

Other

Not set up for it?

Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB

Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate

Run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw

One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.

Recommended

vLLM
one command · needs vLLM installed
$vllm serve davidsyoung/GLM-5.3-EXL3-TR3-3.0bpw --max-model-len 16384 --tensor-parallel-size 8

vLLM repo with its own quantisation

Download: Weights on Hugging Face

install, OS, other quants

Other ways

each opens step-by-step

Run in cloud

Fits on H200 (141 GB) (44 GB headroom) · Q4_K_M

Generation speed
~32 tok/s
generation speed
Cost per 1M output tokens
$31.66
per 1M output tokens

How Much VRAM Does GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw Need?

Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.

QuantizationVRAM+32KRuns on
71.4 GB70.5 GB2-bit · K-quant — 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvementsRuns on RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell 72 GB
81.3 GB80.3 GB3-bit medium — 3-bit medium quantizationRuns on H100 SXM 80 GB
99.1 GB98.1 GB4-bit medium — 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spotRuns on Instinct MI250X 128 GB
116.9 GB115.9 GB5-bit medium — 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoffRuns on Instinct MI250X 128 GB
134.7 GB133.7 GB6-bit, very good — 6-bit quantization, very good qualityRuns on H200 NVL 141 GB
162.4 GB161.4 GB8-bit, near-lossless — 8-bit quantization, near-losslessRuns on B200 192 GB
320.5 GB319.6 GB16-bit · bfloat — Brain floating point 16 — preferred for trainingRuns on 5× H100 SXM 80 GB
est.calculated, no published file yet

Selected Q4_K_M

4-bit medium quantization

96.7GBat 16K context

Weights
94.9 GB
KV cache
1.5 GB
Overhead
0.3 GB

Server-class: ~96.7 GB at 16K context · one Instinct MI250X 128 GB

Or rent H200 from $3.59/hr.

Which Hardware Can Run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

Q4_K_M · 99.1 GB

GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw (Q4_K_M) requires 99.1 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 129+ GB is recommended. Using the full 1049K context window can add up to 90.3 GB, bringing total usage to 189.4 GB. No consumer GPU has enough memory. 18 devices with unified memory can run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB), Mac Pro M2 Ultra (128 GB).

By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at Q4_K_M

Consumer GPUs (up to 32 GB) and Macs up to 64 GB: too small for this model (needs ≥ 69 GB)8 GB tier →12 GB tier →16 GB tier →24 GB tier →Macs →

Alternatives to GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw

GLM 5 family · 6 models →

Similar models

1
ModelScoreVRAMWhy it is similar
DeepSeek V4 Flash DSparkDeepSeek—99.6 GBsame size

Specifications

Publisher
davidsyoung
Family
GLM 5
Parameters
158.2B
Architecture
GlmMoeDsaForCausalLM
Context Length
1,048,576 tokens
Vocabulary Size
154,880
Release Date
2026-08-29
License
Other

Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw need?

GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw requires 99.1 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 320.5 GB at BF16. Full 1049K context adds up to 90.3 GB (189.4 GB total).

VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead

Weights = 158.2B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 94.9 GB

KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 4.2 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)

Fit ratings and hardware model lists check this model with room for a 16K-token context, which needs a little more memory.

KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 94.5 GB (at full 1049K context)

VRAM usage by quantization

99.1 GB
189.4 GB

Learn more about VRAM estimation →

Can NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

No — GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw requires at least 71.4 GB at Q2_K, which exceeds the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM.

What's the best quantization for GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

For GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw, Q4_K_M (99.1 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_K_M (116.9 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is Q2_K at 71.4 GB.

VRAM requirement by quantization

Q2_K
71.4 GB
Q4_K_M ★
99.1 GB
Q5_K_M
116.9 GB
Q6_K
134.7 GB
Q8_0
162.4 GB
BF16
320.5 GB

★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.

Learn more about quantization →

Can I run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw on a Mac?

Yes — Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 96GB) and 20 other Macs can run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw, the smallest at Q3_K_M. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At Q4_K_M you need at least 99.1 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead), from Mac Pro M2 Ultra (128 GB).

Can I run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw locally?

Yes — GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.

How fast is GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

At Q4_K_M, GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw can reach ~48 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. 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 ÷ 99.1200 × 0.65 = ~52 tok/s

Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (99.1 GB)

~53 tok/s
~53 tok/s
~48 tok/s

Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.

Learn more about tok/s estimation →

What's the download size of GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

At Q4_K_M, the download is about 94.89 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 316.30 GB. The smallest option (Q2_K) is 67.21 GB.

Which GPUs can run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

No single consumer GPU has enough VRAM to run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw at Q4_K_M (99.1 GB). Multi-GPU or professional hardware is required.

Which devices can run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw?

18 devices with unified memory can run GLM 5.3 EXL3 TR3 3.0bpw at Q4_K_M (99.1 GB), including ASUS Ascent GX10, Mac Pro M2 Ultra (128 GB), Mac Pro M2 Ultra (192 GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB). Apple Silicon Macs use unified memory shared between CPU and GPU, making them well-suited for local LLM inference.