Best GPU for Qwen 3 in 2026 (4B to 72B Compared)

Cross-posted from Best GPU for LLM — visit the original for our VRAM calculator, GPU comparison table, and current Amazon pricing.

Qwen 3 14B scores 81.1 on MMLU — a number that puts it within striking distance of GPT-4 on many benchmarks. More importantly, it runs well on a $400 GPU. The RTX 4060 Ti 16GB is the sweet spot for Qwen 3 14B, delivering smooth interactive inference without the price premium of flagship cards.

Qwen 3 model lineup and VRAM requirements

Model	VRAM (Q4_K_M)	VRAM (Q8)	Minimum GPU
Qwen 3 4B	~3GB	~5GB	RTX 3060 12GB or better
Qwen 3 8B	~5.5GB	~9GB	RTX 3060 12GB
Qwen 3 14B	~9GB	~15GB	RTX 4060 Ti 16GB (Q8)
Qwen 3 32B	~20GB	~35GB	RTX 4090 (24GB) at Q4
Qwen 3 72B	~45GB	~80GB	Multi-GPU only

Qwen 3 14B at Q4_K_M uses ~9GB, meaning both the RTX 3060 12GB and 4060 Ti 16GB can technically run it — but the 4060 Ti 16GB's extra headroom matters for longer context windows and Q8 quality. For a full per-quantization VRAM breakdown of every Qwen 3 size, see how much VRAM for Qwen 3.

VRAM chart available at the original article

Performance benchmarks across Qwen 3 sizes

Tested via Ollama at Q4_K_M, measured in tokens/second:

GPU	Qwen 3 8B	Qwen 3 14B	Qwen 3 32B	Price
RTX 4090 (24GB)	~65 tok/s	~40 tok/s	~22 tok/s	~$1,600
RTX 5080 (16GB)	~55 tok/s	~35 tok/s	Won't fit	~$1,000
RTX 4060 Ti 16GB	~35 tok/s	~22 tok/s	Won't fit	~$400
RTX 3060 12GB (used)	~28 tok/s	~18 tok/s*	Won't fit	~$250
RTX 3060 (8GB)	~25 tok/s	Won't fit	Won't fit	~$180

*Qwen 3 14B at Q4_K_M on RTX 3060 12GB is tight — works, but long context may require CPU offloading.

Which GPU should YOU buy for Qwen 3?

Qwen 3 14B (the sweet spot): RTX 4060 Ti 16GB ($400). Comfortably fits the model at Q4_K_M and even Q6_K, delivers 22 tok/s which is fast enough for interactive chat. The 16GB headroom means you can bump context to 16K without issues.

Qwen 3 32B: You need 24GB VRAM. The RTX 4090 is the only consumer card that fits this model at Q4_K_M (~20GB). Expect ~22 tok/s — slower than 14B but the quality jump is noticeable.

Tightest budget: RTX 3060 12GB (~$250 used). Runs Qwen 3 8B and 14B at Q4, though 14B is tight. For the 8B, it delivers 28 tok/s — solid value.

Qwen 3 72B: This requires 45GB+ at Q4, which means a multi-GPU setup or cloud. No single consumer GPU fits it.

Why Qwen 3 14B is the sweet spot

At 81.1 MMLU, Qwen 3 14B outperforms many models twice its size. It fits in 9GB at Q4_K_M and 15GB at Q8, making it uniquely flexible:

On RTX 3060 12GB: Run at Q4_K_M (9GB) — great quality for the hardware
On RTX 4060 Ti 16GB: Run at Q6_K or Q8 (12-15GB) — near-lossless quality
On RTX 4090: Run at Q8 or even FP16 — full precision, maximum quality

No other model in this size class delivers this quality-to-VRAM ratio in 2026.

Common mistakes to avoid

Running Qwen 3 72B on a single GPU. The 45GB Q4 footprint requires either multi-GPU or cloud. Even the RTX 5090's 32GB falls short.
Skipping the 16GB tier for 14B models. The RTX 4060 Ti 8GB cannot fit Qwen 3 14B at any usable quantization. The 16GB variant is mandatory — not optional.
Overlooking Q8 on 16GB cards. Qwen 3 14B at Q8 uses ~15GB and fits on the 4060 Ti 16GB. The quality improvement over Q4 is real and the card can handle it.
Comparing Qwen 3 directly to earlier Qwen versions. Qwen 3 is significantly improved over Qwen 2.5 — especially on reasoning and instruction following. The benchmark gap is not incremental.

Final verdict

Goal	GPU	Price
Qwen 3 14B daily driver	RTX 4060 Ti 16GB	~$400
Qwen 3 14B at Q8 quality	RTX 4060 Ti 16GB	~$400
Qwen 3 32B at Q4	RTX 4090	~$1,600
Tightest budget for 14B	RTX 3060 12GB (used)	~$250

GPU tier list available at the original article

Qwen 3 14B at 81.1 MMLU on a $400 GPU is one of the best value propositions in local LLM right now. The RTX 4060 Ti 16GB makes it possible without compromise.

For more context on VRAM needs across model families, see the Qwen GPU guide and our Ollama GPU guide. If Qwen 3 14B VRAM planning specifically is what you need, the Qwen 14B VRAM guide has the full breakdown. For the latest Qwen 3.6 release, see our best GPU for Qwen 3.6 guide.