Qwen 2.5 32B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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Qwen 2.5 32B is a 32B-parameter open language model from EasierAI in the Qwen 2.5 family. At Q4_K_M it needs about 21.12 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
Decent on a 24 GB GPU
Runs on 24 GB (Q4_K_M · ~31 tok/s · 8K)Macs from 24 GB (Q3_K_S · ~14 tok/s)
Apache 2.0
Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB
Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate
Run Qwen 2.5 32B
One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.Each way opens a step-by-step guide for your OS and quant.
Recommended
vllm serve EasierAI/Qwen-2.5-32B --max-model-len 16384vLLM repo with its own quantisation
Download: Weights on Hugging Face
Ways to runOther ways
each opens step-by-stepRun in cloud
Runs on RTX 5090 (32 GB) (7 GB headroom) · Q4_K_M
- Generation speed
- ~55 tok/s
- generation speed
- Cost per 1M output tokens
- $2.50
- per 1M output tokens
How Much VRAM Does Qwen 2.5 32B Need?
Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.
| Quantization | VRAM | +32K | On RTX 4090 (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15.0 GB | 23.1 GB | 2-bit · K-quant — 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements | Fits: 32K context · ~44 tok/s | |
| 15.4 GB | 23.5 GB | 3-bit small — 3-bit small quantization | Fits: 32K context · ~43 tok/s | |
| 17.2 GB | 25.3 GB | 3-bit medium — 3-bit medium quantization | Fits: 16K context · ~38 tok/s | |
| 17.6 GB | 25.7 GB | 4-bit · legacy — 4-bit legacy quantization | Fits: 16K context · ~37 tok/s | |
| 21.1 GB | 29.2 GB | 4-bit medium — 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot | Fits: 8K context · ~31 tok/s | |
| 25.1 GB | 33.2 GB | 5-bit medium — 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff | Does not fit: needs 28.9 GB | |
| 29.0 GB | 37.2 GB | 6-bit, very good — 6-bit quantization, very good quality | Does not fit: needs 32.8 GB | |
| 35.2 GB | 43.3 GB | 8-bit, near-lossless — 8-bit quantization, near-lossless | Does not fit: needs 39 GB |
Selected Q4_K_M
4-bit medium quantization24.9GBat 16K context
- Weights
- 20.3 GB
- KV cache
- 4.3 GB
- Overhead
- 0.3 GB
Fits RTX 4090 (reference) · fits up to 8K context · ~31 tok/s
≥50 tok/s needs ≥1.62 TB/s · RTX 5090 ~55
Which Hardware Can Run Qwen 2.5 32B?
Q4_K_M · 21.1 GBQwen 2.5 32B (Q4_K_M) requires 21.1 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 28+ GB is recommended. 7 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. 100 devices with unified memory can run Qwen 2.5 32B, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB), Mac Studio M1 Max (32 GB).
20 GB
Q4_K_M · best fit Q3_K_S (19.2 GB)
1 GPU
RX 7900 XT~31Simulate output on RX 7900 XT32–40 GB
fits · 7.1 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU · 3 Mac classes · 4 device families
RTX 5090~55Simulate output on RTX 5090M5 Max36 GB~15Simulate output on Mac Studio M5 Max (36 GB)M532 GB~5Simulate output on MacBook Air 13" M5 (32 GB)Orin~6Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GBSnapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)~4Simulate output on Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC
By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at Q4_K_M
Alternatives to Qwen 2.5 32B
Qwen 2.5 family · 44 models →Similar models
6| Model | Score | VRAM | tok/s | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanbeige4.3 33BNanbeige | — | 23.7 GB | ~32 | same size |
| Hy Memory 30B A3BTencent | — | 19.1 GB | ~184 | same size |
| Granite Switch 4.1 30BIBM | — | 22.7 GB | ~35 | same size |
| Llm Jp 4.1 32B A3b Thinkingllm-jp | — | 20.1 GB | ~188 | same size |
| Llm Jp 4.1 33B Thinkingllm-jp | — | 22.5 GB | ~35 | same size |
| Agnes 3.0 FlashAgnes-AI | — | 22.1 GB | ~35 | same size |
Specifications
- Publisher
- EasierAI
- Family
- Qwen 2.5
- Parameters
- 32B
- Release Date
- 2025-02-12
- License
- Apache 2.0
Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 32B need?
Qwen 2.5 32B requires 21.1 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 70.4 GB at BF16.
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 32B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 19.2 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 1.9 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.
VRAM usage by quantization
Can NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 run Qwen 2.5 32B?
Yes, at Q4_K_L (21.6 GB) or lower. Higher quantizations like Q5_K_S (24.2 GB) exceed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090's 24 GB.
What's the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 32B?
For Qwen 2.5 32B, Q4_K_M (21.1 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q4_K_L (21.6 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is Q2_K at 15.0 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
Can I run Qwen 2.5 32B on a Mac?
Yes — Mac Mini M5 Pro (24 GB) and 106 other Macs can run Qwen 2.5 32B, the smallest at Q3_K_S. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At Q4_K_M you need at least 21.1 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead), from Mac Studio M1 Max (32 GB).
Can I run Qwen 2.5 32B locally?
Yes — Qwen 2.5 32B can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
How fast is Qwen 2.5 32B?
At Q4_K_M, Qwen 2.5 32B can reach ~227 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~31 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 ÷ 21.1 × 0.65 = ~246 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (21.1 GB)
Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
What's the download size of Qwen 2.5 32B?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 19.20 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 64.00 GB. The smallest option (Q2_K) is 13.60 GB.
Which GPUs can run Qwen 2.5 32B?
7 consumer GPUs can run Qwen 2.5 32B at Q4_K_M. Top options include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090. 1 GPU has plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
Which devices can run Qwen 2.5 32B?
100 devices with unified memory can run Qwen 2.5 32B at Q4_K_M (21.1 GB), including AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Strix Point) Laptop, ASUS Ascent GX10, Beelink GTR9 Pro (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB), Framework Desktop (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.