Granite Switch 4.1 30B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
ChatFunctions
Granite Switch 4.1 30B is IBM's modular model that composes a Granite 4.1 30B base with two adapters and a speech encoder, so a single endpoint can chat, make structured decisions, check safety, and transcribe audio. A decision adapter returns probabilities over labeled options in one forward pass, and a Guardian adapter detects risks such as harm, jailbreaking, and bias. Adapters switch on through control tokens in the chat template. With about 30 billion parameters, a Q4 build needs roughly 17 GB of memory, though the composed format is served mainly through Transformers and vLLM. The context window is 131,072 tokens. It is released under the Apache 2.0 license and was published on October 14, 2026. Speech input uses an embedded 470 million parameter English transcriber, so audio goes through the same API call as text. Its card reports an overall 50.1 for the decision adapter on the public Decision Index. IBM also offers an 8B version with the same configuration.
Decent on a 24 GB GPU
Runs on 24 GB (Q4_K_M · ~35 tok/s · 16K)Macs from 24 GB (Q4_K_M · ~11 tok/s)
Apache 2.0
Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB
Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate
Run Granite Switch 4.1 30B
One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.
Recommended
ollama run hf.co/ibm-granite/granite-switch-4.1-30b-GGUF:Q4_K_MQ4_K_M fits fully on the RTX 4090 · 1.3 GB free · 16K context
Download: granite-switch-4.1-30b-Q4_K_M.gguf21.04 GBibm-granite
Other ways
each opens step-by-stepRun in cloud
Fits on RTX PRO 4500 (32 GB) (9 GB headroom) · Q4_K_M
- Generation speed
- ~31 tok/s
- generation speed
- Cost per 1M output tokens
- $3.06
- per 1M output tokens
How Much VRAM Does Granite Switch 4.1 30B Need?
Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.
| Quantization | VRAM | +32K | On RTX 4090 (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.6 GB | 21.9 GB | 2-bit · K-quant — 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements | Fits: 32K context · ~48 tok/s | |
| 14.0 GB | 22.3 GB | 3-bit small — 3-bit small quantization | Fits: 32K context · ~47 tok/s | |
| 15.5 GB | 23.8 GB | 3-bit medium — 3-bit medium quantization | Fits: 32K context · ~42 tok/s | |
| 15.8 GB | 24.2 GB | 4-bit · legacy — 4-bit legacy quantization | Fits: 16K context · ~41 tok/s | |
| 18.9 GB | 27.2 GB | 4-bit medium — 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot | Fits: 16K context · ~35 tok/s | |
| 22.2 GB | 30.5 GB | 5-bit medium — 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff | Fits: 8K context · ~30 tok/s | |
| 25.6 GB | 33.9 GB | 6-bit, very good — 6-bit quantization, very good quality | Does not fit: needs 29.5 GB | |
| 30.8 GB | 39.1 GB | 8-bit, near-lossless — 8-bit quantization, near-lossless | Does not fit: needs 34.7 GB |
Selected Q4_K_M
4-bit medium quantization22.7GBat 16K context
- Weights
- 18.0 GB
- KV cache
- 4.4 GB
- Overhead
- 0.3 GB
Fits RTX 4090 (reference) · 1.3 GB free · ~35 tok/s
≥50 tok/s needs ≥1.45 TB/s · RTX 5090 ~62
Which Hardware Can Run Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
Q4_K_M · 18.9 GBGranite Switch 4.1 30B (Q4_K_M) requires 18.9 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 25+ GB is recommended. Using the full 131K context window can add up to 34.9 GB, bringing total usage to 53.7 GB. 8 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. 122 devices with unified memory can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB), Mac Mini M5 Pro (24 GB).
20 GB
tight · up to 4K ctx
1 GPU
RX 7900 XT~26Simulate output on RX 7900 XT32–40 GB
fits · 9.3 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU · 3 Mac classes · 4 device families
RTX 5090~62Simulate output on RTX 5090M5 Max36 GB~17Simulate output on Mac Studio M5 Max (36 GB)M532 GB~6Simulate output on MacBook Air 13" M5 (32 GB)Orin~7Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GBSnapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)~5Simulate output on Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC
By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at Q4_K_M
Alternatives to Granite Switch 4.1 30B
Granite family · 27 models →Similar models
6| Model | Score | VRAM | tok/s | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.8 27BAlibaba | 121.9 | 17.9 GB | ~38 | same size |
| Hy Memory 30B A3BTencent | — | 19.1 GB | ~184 | same size |
| Llm Jp 4.1 32B A3b Thinkingllm-jp | — | 20.1 GB | ~188 | same size |
| Muse Glimmer 30BMeta | — | 19.6 GB | ~36 | same size |
| NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA | — | 19.3 GB | ~197 | same size |
| Hy MT2 30B A3BTencent | — | 19.1 GB | ~170 | same size |
Specifications
- Publisher
- IBM
- Family
- Granite
- Parameters
- 30.0B
- Architecture
- GraniteSwitchForCausalLM
- Context Length
- 131,072 tokens
- Vocabulary Size
- 100,355
- Release Date
- 2026-10-14
- License
- Apache 2.0
Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does Granite Switch 4.1 30B need?
Granite Switch 4.1 30B requires 18.9 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 60.8 GB at BF16. Full 131K context adds up to 34.9 GB (53.7 GB total).
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 30.0B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 18 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.9 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.
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 35.7 GB (at full 131K context)
VRAM usage by quantization
Can NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 run Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
Yes, at Q5_K_M (22.2 GB) or lower. Higher quantizations like Q6_K (25.6 GB) exceed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090's 24 GB.
What's the best quantization for Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
For Granite Switch 4.1 30B, Q4_K_M (18.9 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_0 (19.6 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is Q2_K at 13.6 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
Can I run Granite Switch 4.1 30B on a Mac?
Yes — Mac Mini M5 Pro (24 GB) and 106 other Macs can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At Q4_K_M you need at least 18.9 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead).
Can I run Granite Switch 4.1 30B locally?
Yes — Granite Switch 4.1 30B can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
How fast is Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
At Q4_K_M, Granite Switch 4.1 30B can reach ~255 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~35 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 ÷ 18.85 × 0.65 = ~276 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (18.9 GB)
Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
What's the download size of Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 17.99 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 59.98 GB. The smallest option (Q2_K) is 12.75 GB.
Which GPUs can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
8 consumer GPUs can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B at Q4_K_M. Top options include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. 1 GPU has plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
Which devices can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B?
122 devices with unified memory can run Granite Switch 4.1 30B at Q4_K_M (18.9 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.