Llama Guard 3 1B — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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Llama Guard 3 1B is a 1.5B-parameter open language model from Meta in the Llama family. At BF16 it needs about 3.30 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
44.9K downloads
109 likesSpecifications
- Publisher
- Meta
- Family
- Llama
- Parameters
- 1.5B
- Release Date
- 2024-09-20
- License
- llama3.2
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HuggingFace
How Much VRAM Does Llama Guard 3 1B Need?
Select a quantization to see compatible GPUs below.
| Quantization | Bits | VRAM | + Context | File Size | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BF16est. | 16.00 | 3.3 GB | — | 3.00 GB | Brain floating point 16 — preferred for training |
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 Llama Guard 3 1B?
BF16 · 3.3 GBLlama Guard 3 1B (BF16) requires 3.3 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 Llama Guard 3 1B?
BF16 · 3.3 GB59 devices with unified memory can run Llama Guard 3 1B, including NVIDIA DGX H100, NVIDIA DGX A100 640GB.
Runs great
— Plenty of headroomRelated Models
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much VRAM does Llama Guard 3 1B need?
Llama Guard 3 1B requires 3.3 GB of VRAM at BF16.
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 1.5B × 16 bits ÷ 8 = 3 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.3 GB (at 2K context + ~0.3 GB framework)
VRAM usage by quantization
BF163.3 GB- Can I run Llama Guard 3 1B on a Mac?
Llama Guard 3 1B requires at least 3.3 GB at BF16, 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 Llama Guard 3 1B locally?
Yes — Llama Guard 3 1B can run locally on consumer hardware. At BF16 quantization it needs 3.3 GB of VRAM. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
- How fast is Llama Guard 3 1B?
At BF16, Llama Guard 3 1B can reach ~1333 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~199 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 ÷ 3.3 × 0.65 = ~1576 tok/s
Estimated speed at BF16 (3.3 GB)
~1576 tok/s~199 tok/s~1576 tok/s~1333 tok/sReal-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
- What's the download size of Llama Guard 3 1B?
At BF16, the download is about 3.00 GB.
- Which GPUs can run Llama Guard 3 1B?
50 consumer GPUs can run Llama Guard 3 1B at BF16 (3.3 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 Llama Guard 3 1B?
59 devices with unified memory can run Llama Guard 3 1B at BF16 (3.3 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.