Vaultgemma 1B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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Vaultgemma 1B is a 1.0B-parameter open language model from Google in the Gemma family. At BF16 it needs about 2.29 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
Runs great on a 24 GB GPU
Runs from 8 GB (BF16 · 32K)Best on 24 GB (BF16 · ~286 tok/s · 32K)Macs from 8 GB (BF16 · ~31 tok/s)
Gemma Terms
Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB
Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate
Run Vaultgemma 1B
One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.
Recommended
vllm serve google/vaultgemma-1b --max-model-len 16384vLLM repo with its own quantisation
Download: Weights on Hugging Face
Other ways
each opens step-by-stepRun in cloud
Fits on RTX 3060 12GB (8 GB headroom) · BF16
- Generation speed
- ~102 tok/s
- generation speed
- Cost per 1M output tokens
- $0.22
- per 1M output tokens
How Much VRAM Does Vaultgemma 1B Need?
Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.
| Quantization | VRAM | +32K | On RTX 4090 (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.3 GB | 5.4 GB | 16-bit · bfloat — Brain floating point 16 — preferred for training | Fits: 32K context · ~286 tok/s |
Selected BF16
Brain floating point 163.7GBat 16K context
- Weights
- 1.8 GB
- KV cache
- 1.7 GB
- Overhead
- 0.3 GB
Fits RTX 4090 (reference) · 20.3 GB free · ~286 tok/s
≥50 tok/s needs ≥176 GB/s · RTX 5090 ~509, RTX 3090 Ti ~286
Which Hardware Can Run Vaultgemma 1B?
BF16 · 2.3 GBVaultgemma 1B (BF16) requires 2.3 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 3+ GB is recommended. 52 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. 163 devices with unified memory can run Vaultgemma 1B, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB).
≤ 11 GB
≤ 11 GB tier →fits · 4.3 GB free · up to 32K ctx
16 GPUs · 1 Mac class · 2 device families
RTX 3080~216Simulate output on RTX 3080RTX 2080 Ti~175Simulate output on RTX 2080 TiRTX 3070 Ti~173Simulate output on RTX 3070 TiM3*8 GB~31Simulate output on iMac 24" M3 (8 GB)Orin Nano~29Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 8GB (Super)iPhone~21Simulate output on iPhone 1720 GB
fits · 16.3 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU
RX 7900 XT~210Simulate output on RX 7900 XT32–40 GB
fits · 28.3 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU · 3 Mac classes · 4 device families
RTX 5090~509Simulate output on RTX 5090M5 Max36 GB~141Simulate output on Mac Studio M5 Max (36 GB)M532 GB~47Simulate output on MacBook Air 13" M5 (32 GB)Orin~58Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GBSnapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)~38Simulate output on Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC
By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at BF16
Alternatives to Vaultgemma 1B
Gemma family · 16 models →Similar models
6| Model | Score | VRAM | tok/s | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniCPM5 1BOpenBMB | — | 1.3 GB | ~662 | same size |
| InternVL3 5 1BOpenGVLab | — | 2.2 GB | ~936 | same size |
| TinyLlama 1.1B Chat v1.0TinyLlama | — | 1 GB | ~649 | same size |
| DiffuRefill 1BAsilarkness | — | 2.6 GB | ~252 | same size |
| LLaMmlein 1B PrereleaseLSX-UniWue | — | 1 GB | ~649 | same size |
| OpenELM 1 1B InstructApple | — | 2.2 GB | ~923 | same size |
Specifications
- Publisher
- Family
- Gemma
- Parameters
- 1.0B
- Release Date
- 2025-09-05
- License
- Gemma Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does Vaultgemma 1B need?
Vaultgemma 1B requires 2.3 GB of VRAM at BF16.
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 1.0B × 16 bits ÷ 8 = 2.1 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.2 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.
VRAM usage by quantization
Can I run Vaultgemma 1B on a Mac?
Yes — Mac Mini M2 (8 GB) and 145 other Macs can run Vaultgemma 1B. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At BF16 you need at least 2.3 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead).
Can I run Vaultgemma 1B locally?
Yes — Vaultgemma 1B can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
How fast is Vaultgemma 1B?
At BF16, Vaultgemma 1B can reach ~2096 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~286 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 ÷ 2.29 × 0.65 = ~2271 tok/s
Estimated speed at BF16 (2.3 GB)
Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
What's the download size of Vaultgemma 1B?
At BF16, the download is about 2.08 GB.
Which GPUs can run Vaultgemma 1B?
52 consumer GPUs can run Vaultgemma 1B at BF16. 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 Vaultgemma 1B?
163 devices with unified memory can run Vaultgemma 1B at BF16 (2.3 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.