Text model · gemma
Gemma 3 12B requirements
gemma family · 12B params · released Mar 2025 · 32.8M Ollama pulls · LMArena Elo 1342. Minimum to run at Q4_K_M: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB).
Quantization sizes
| Quantization | Size on disk |
|---|---|
| Q2_K | 5 GB est |
| Q3_K_M | 5.9 GB est |
| Q4_K_M (default) | 7.3 GB |
| Q5_K_M | 8.6 GB est |
| Q6_K | 9.8 GB est |
| Q8_0 | 12.51 GB |
| FP16 | 24 GB est |
Lower quant = smaller and faster, slightly lower quality. Q4_K_M is the common default.
Run it
ollama run gemma3:12b llama-cli -hf bartowski/google_gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF:Q4_K_M lms get bartowski/google_gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF Which devices can run Gemma 3 12B?
Apple Silicon Macs
RAM-only laptops
iPhone & iPad
Android
NVIDIA GPUs
AMD GPUs
FAQ
How much VRAM or RAM does Gemma 3 12B need?
At Q4_K_M, Gemma 3 12B needs about 8.9 GB (weights ~7.3 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~14.1 GB.
Can Gemma 3 12B run on a laptop?
Gemma 3 12B is large; you need a 24 GB+ GPU or a 32-48 GB Mac at Q4_K_M.
Can I use Gemma 3 12B commercially?
Conditionally. Gemma Terms of Use apply to commercial use.
Released March 12, 2025. Multimodal (text + image), 140+ languages. Ollama shows 8.1GB default; bartowski HF (google_gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF) gives precise 7.30GB Q4_K_M and 12.51GB Q8_0.
Sources
Memory figures are estimates. See methodology.