Gemma 3n E2B IT — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
Vision
Gemma 3n E2B IT is a 5.4B-parameter open language model from Google in the Gemma 3 family. At Q4_K_M it needs about 3.59 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
444.8K downloads
314 likesSpecifications
- Publisher
- Family
- Gemma 3
- Parameters
- 5.4B
- Release Date
- 2025-06-12
- License
- Gemma Terms
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HuggingFace
How Much VRAM Does Gemma 3n E2B IT Need?
Select a quantization to see compatible GPUs below.
| Quantization | Bits | VRAM | + Context | File Size | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | 3.40 | 2.5 GB | — | 2.31 GB | 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements |
| Q3_K_S | 3.50 | 2.6 GB | — | 2.38 GB | 3-bit small quantization |
| Q3_K_M | 3.90 | 2.9 GB | — | 2.65 GB | 3-bit medium quantization |
| Q4_0 | 4.00 | 3.0 GB | — | 2.72 GB | 4-bit legacy quantization |
| Q4_K_M | 4.80 | 3.6 GB | — | 3.26 GB | 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot |
| Q5_K_M | 5.70 | 4.3 GB | — | 3.88 GB | 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff |
| Q6_K | 6.60 | 4.9 GB | — | 4.49 GB | 6-bit quantization, very good quality |
| Q8_0 | 8.00 | 6.0 GB | — | 5.44 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 Gemma 3n E2B IT?
Q4_K_M · 3.6 GBGemma 3n E2B IT (Q4_K_M) requires 3.6 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 5+ GB is recommended. 50 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.
Runs great
— Plenty of headroomWhich Devices Can Run Gemma 3n E2B IT?
Q4_K_M · 3.6 GB59 devices with unified memory can run Gemma 3n E2B IT, including NVIDIA DGX H100, NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB, iPhone 17.
Runs great
— Plenty of headroom
Decent
— Enough memory, may be tightWhere to Download Gemma 3n E2B IT
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 Gemma 3n E2B IT need?
Gemma 3n E2B IT requires 3.6 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 12.0 GB at BF16.
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 5.4B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 3.3 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.3 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
VRAM usage by quantization
Q4_K_M3.6 GB- What's the best quantization for Gemma 3n E2B IT?
For Gemma 3n E2B IT, Q4_K_M (3.6 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q4_K_L (3.7 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is IQ2_XXS at 1.6 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
IQ2_XXS1.6 GBQ3_K_S2.6 GBIQ4_NL3.4 GBQ4_K_M ★3.6 GBQ5_K_S4.1 GBBF1612.0 GB★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
- Can I run Gemma 3n E2B IT on a Mac?
Gemma 3n E2B IT requires at least 1.6 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 Gemma 3n E2B IT locally?
Yes — Gemma 3n E2B IT can run locally on consumer hardware. At Q4_K_M quantization it needs 3.6 GB of VRAM. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
- How fast is Gemma 3n E2B IT?
At Q4_K_M, Gemma 3n E2B IT can reach ~1226 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~183 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 ÷ 3.6 × 0.65 = ~1449 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (3.6 GB)
~1449 tok/s~183 tok/s~1449 tok/s~1226 tok/sReal-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
- What's the download size of Gemma 3n E2B IT?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 3.26 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 10.88 GB. The smallest option (IQ2_XXS) is 1.50 GB.
- Which GPUs can run Gemma 3n E2B IT?
50 consumer GPUs can run Gemma 3n E2B IT at Q4_K_M (3.6 GB). Top options include AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6800, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. 50 GPUs have plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
- Which devices can run Gemma 3n E2B IT?
59 devices with unified memory can run Gemma 3n E2B IT at Q4_K_M (3.6 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.