NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 — Hardware Requirements & GPU Compatibility
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NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 is a 12.3B-parameter open language model from NVIDIA in the Nemotron family. At Q4_K_M it needs about 8.12 GB of VRAM — see which GPUs and Macs can run it below.
Runs great on a 24 GB GPU
Runs from 12 GB (Q4_K_M · 16K)Best on 24 GB (Q4_K_M · ~81 tok/s · 32K)Macs from 16 GB (Q4_K_M · ~17 tok/s)
Other
Reference GPU · RTX 4090 24 GB
Estimates, ±20% · how we estimate
Run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2
One recommended way. Every other method, OS and quant is in the step-by-step guide.
Recommended
ollama run hf.co/MaziyarPanahi/NVIDIA-Nemotron-Nano-12B-v2-GGUF:Q4_K_MQ4_K_M fits fully on the RTX 4090 · 13.0 GB free · 16K context
Download: NVIDIA-Nemotron-Nano-12B-v2.Q4_K_M.gguf7.49 GBMaziyarPanahi
Other ways
each opens step-by-stepRun in cloud
Fits on RTX 5060 Ti 16GB (5 GB headroom) · Q4_K_M
- Generation speed
- ~36 tok/s
- generation speed
- Cost per 1M output tokens
- $1.27
- per 1M output tokens
How Much VRAM Does NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 Need?
Select a quantization level; the listed hardware adheres to it.
| Quantization | VRAM | +32K | On RTX 4090 (reference) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.8 GB | 12 GB | 2-bit · K-quant — 2-bit quantization with K-quant improvements | Fits: 32K context · ~114 tok/s | |
| 6.6 GB | 12.8 GB | 3-bit medium — 3-bit medium quantization | Fits: 32K context · ~99 tok/s | |
| 6.9 GB | 13.1 GB | 3-bit large — 3-bit large quantization | Fits: 32K context · ~94 tok/s | |
| 8.1 GB | 14.3 GB | 4-bit medium — 4-bit medium quantization — most popular sweet spot | Fits: 32K context · ~81 tok/s | |
| 9.7 GB | 15.9 GB | 5-bit medium — 5-bit medium quantization — good quality/size tradeoff | Fits: 32K context · ~68 tok/s | |
| 11.2 GB | 17.4 GB | 6-bit, very good — 6-bit quantization, very good quality | Fits: 32K context · ~59 tok/s | |
| 13.5 GB | 19.7 GB | 8-bit, near-lossless — 8-bit quantization, near-lossless | Fits: 32K context · ~48 tok/s | |
| 27.1 GB | 33.3 GB | 16-bit · bfloat — Brain floating point 16 — preferred for training | Does not fit: needs 30 GB |
Selected Q4_K_M
4-bit medium quantization11.0GBat 16K context
- Weights
- 7.4 GB
- KV cache
- 3.3 GB
- Overhead
- 0.3 GB
Fits RTX 4090 (reference) · 13.0 GB free · ~81 tok/s
≥50 tok/s needs ≥624 GB/s · RTX 5090 ~143, RTX 3090 Ti ~81
Which Hardware Can Run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
Q4_K_M · 8.1 GBNVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 (Q4_K_M) requires 8.1 GB of VRAM to load the model weights. For comfortable inference with headroom for KV cache and system overhead, 11+ GB is recommended. 40 GPUs can run it, including NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. 150 devices with unified memory can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2, including Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 256GB), Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 512GB).
12 GB
12 GB tier →fits · 1.0 GB free · up to 16K ctx
10 GPUs
RTX 3080 Ti~73Simulate output on RTX 3080 TiRTX 5070~54Simulate output on RTX 5070RTX 4070~40Simulate output on RTX 407020 GB
fits · 9.0 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU
RX 7900 XT~59Simulate output on RX 7900 XT32–40 GB
fits · 21.0 GB free · up to 32K ctx
1 GPU · 3 Mac classes · 4 device families
RTX 5090~143Simulate output on RTX 5090M5 Max36 GB~40Simulate output on Mac Studio M5 Max (36 GB)M532 GB~13Simulate output on MacBook Air 13" M5 (32 GB)Orin~16Simulate output on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GBSnapdragon X Elite (X1E-80-100)~11Simulate output on Snapdragon X Elite Copilot+ PC
By VRAM tier · typical GPUs and Macs at Q4_K_M
Alternatives to NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2
Nemotron family · 42 models →Similar models
6| Model | Score | VRAM | tok/s | Why it is similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemma 3 12B ITGoogle | 74.2 | 10.9 GB | ~82 | same size |
| Gemma 4 12BGoogle | — | 9 GB | ~80 | same size |
| Mistral Nemo Base 2407Mistral AI | — | 11 GB | ~81 | same size |
| Baichuan2 13B Basebaichuan-inc | — | 11.5 GB | ~76 | same size |
| Llama 2 13B Chat HFMeta | — | 11.5 GB | ~76 | same size |
| Vicuna 13B V1.3LMSYS | — | 8.6 GB | ~76 | same size |
Specifications
- Publisher
- NVIDIA
- Family
- Nemotron
- Parameters
- 12.3B
- Release Date
- 2025-08-21
- License
- Other
Frequently Asked Questions
How much VRAM does NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 need?
NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 requires 8.1 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M, or 27.1 GB at BF16.
VRAM = Weights + KV Cache + Overhead
Weights = 12.3B × 4.8 bits ÷ 8 = 7.4 GB
KV Cache + Overhead ≈ 0.7 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 NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
Yes, at Q8_0 (13.5 GB) or lower. Higher quantizations like BF16 (27.1 GB) exceed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090's 24 GB.
What's the best quantization for NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
For NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2, Q4_K_M (8.1 GB) offers the best balance of quality and VRAM usage. Q5_K_M (9.7 GB) provides better quality if you have the VRAM. The smallest option is Q2_K at 5.8 GB.
VRAM requirement by quantization
★ Recommended — best balance of quality and VRAM usage.
Can I run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 on a Mac?
Yes — Mac Mini M2 Pro (16 GB) and 133 other Macs can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2. Apple Silicon uses unified memory, so the model shares RAM with the system. At Q4_K_M you need at least 8.1 GB of usable unified memory (RAM minus macOS overhead).
Can I run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 locally?
Yes — NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 can run locally on consumer hardware. Popular tools include Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp.
How fast is NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
At Q4_K_M, NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 can reach ~591 tok/s on AMD Instinct MI350X. On NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090: ~81 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 ÷ 8.12 × 0.65 = ~640 tok/s
Estimated speed at Q4_K_M (8.1 GB)
Real-world results typically within ±20%. Speed depends on batch size, quantization kernel, and software stack.
What's the download size of NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
At Q4_K_M, the download is about 7.39 GB. The full-precision BF16 version is 24.62 GB. The smallest option (Q2_K) is 5.23 GB.
Which GPUs can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
40 consumer GPUs can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 at Q4_K_M. Top options include AMD Radeon RX 6800, AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. 26 GPUs have plenty of headroom for comfortable inference.
Which devices can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2?
150 devices with unified memory can run NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 12B v2 at Q4_K_M (8.1 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.