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Phi-3.5 MoE

9 consumer GPUs can run Phi-3.5 MoE at Q4 natively. Precise VRAM thresholds and benchmarks below.

9 Compatible GPUs
19 with offloading
41.9B params
131K context
Javier Morales
Javier Morales AI Hardware Specialist — 8 years experience
GitHub: github.com/javier-morales-ia

llama.cpp 0.2.x · CUDA 12 · ROCm 6 · Updated monthly · methodology →

Execution Context

ARCHITECTURE TRANSFORMER
CONTEXT 131K TOKENS
QUANTIZATION 4-BIT GGUF
PROVIDER Microsoft
LICENSE MIT
VRAM REQUIREMENT
21 GB
4GB 8GB 12GB 16GB 24GB+
Hardware Decision

This model requires a High-end GPU (24 GB VRAM)

Minimum

RTX 4090

Runs at Q4 — functional, some wait

24 GB VRAM
View compatible setup
Balanced

M4 Max 48GB

Best value for daily use

48 GB VRAM
View compatible setup
Optimal

RTX 5090

Full quality, fastest inference

32 GB VRAM
View compatible setup

*Prices and availability may change. Some links are affiliate links.

System Requirements

GPU VRAM 21 GB High-end GPU
System RAM 32 GB 32 GB recommended
Storage 21 GB Q4 · SSD recommended
CPU Any modern CPU GPU required

VRAM by Quantization

Quantization VRAM needed Disk space Quality
FP16 (max quality) 84 GB 84 GB Maximum
Q8 (high quality) 42 GB 42 GB Near-lossless
Q4 (recommended) Best balance 21 GB 21 GB Recommended
Q2 (minimum) 11 GB 11 GB Quality loss

Model Details

Developer Microsoft
Parameters 41.9B
Context window 131,072 tokens
License MIT
Use cases chat, coding, reasoning, analysis
Released 2024-08

Install with Ollama

ollama run phi3.5-moe

Hugging Face

microsoft/Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct
View on HF →
Technical Requirements

Can your GPU run Phi-3.5 MoE?

Phi-3.5 MoE requires 21 GB VRAM at Q4. 9 consumer GPUs meet this threshold. Below 8 GB or 19 GB you'll hit significant offload latency.

11GB Critical min
21GB Optimal Q4
42GB High Quality Q8
84GB Max FP16

Hardware Performance Matrix

9 Q4 native · 19 offload · 12 unsupported

GPU Unit VRAM Compatibility Est. Speed Action
RTX 5090 32GB Optimal Calculate →
RTX 4090 24GB Optimal Calculate →
M4 Ultra 128GB Optimal 31 tok/s Calculate →
M3 Ultra 192GB Optimal 25 tok/s Calculate →
RTX 3090 24GB Optimal Calculate →
M4 Max 48GB 48GB Optimal 15 tok/s Calculate →
RX 7900 XTX 24GB Optimal Calculate →
M4 Max 36GB 36GB Optimal Calculate →
M4 Pro 24GB Optimal Calculate →
RTX 5080 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 4080 Super 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 5070 Ti 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 3080 Ti 12GB Offload Calculate →
RX 7900 XT 20GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 5070 12GB Offload Calculate →
RX 7800 XT 16GB Offload Calculate →
RX 6800 XT 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 4070 12GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 4060 Ti 16GB 16GB Offload Calculate →
RX 7700 XT 12GB Offload Calculate →
RX 6700 XT 12GB Offload Calculate →
M3 Pro 18GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 2080 Ti 11GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 3060 12GB Offload Calculate →
M2 Pro 16GB Offload Calculate →
Arc A770 16GB 16GB Offload Calculate →
M1 Pro 16GB Offload Calculate →
RTX 3080 10GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 3070 Ti 8GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 4060 Ti 8GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 3070 8GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 3060 Ti 8GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 4060 8GB N/A Calculate →
RX 7600 8GB N/A Calculate →
RX 6600 XT 8GB N/A Calculate →
Arc A750 8GB 8GB N/A Calculate →
RX 6600 8GB N/A Calculate →
RTX 3050 8GB 8GB N/A Calculate →
GTX 1660 Super 6GB N/A Calculate →

Recommended GPUs for Phi-3.5 MoE

Benchmarks Reales
Sin Reviews Pagadas
Seleccion Editorial
Basado en Datos

Best picks by compatibility, VRAM headroom, and value — prices and availability may change.

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Phi-3.5 MoE — Compatibility guide

Phi-3.5 MoE requires a high-end GPU like the RTX 4090 or a Mac with M2 Ultra or better. The Q4 version needs 21 GB VRAM. Check the VRAM calculator for your options.

Compare GPUs for Phi-3.5 MoE

Which GPU is worth it? Real specs and benchmarks side by side.

Compatible Hardware

GPUs that run Phi-3.5 MoE at Q4 — sorted by AI performance score.

Benchmarks Reales
Sin Reviews Pagadas
Basado en Datos
RTX 5090
RTX 5090

NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
> $1000
RTX 4090
RTX 4090

NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
> $1000
M4 Ultra

Apple · 128 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
31 tok/s > $1000
M3 Ultra

Apple · 192 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
25 tok/s > $1000
RTX 3090
RTX 3090

NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
$600–1000
M4 Max 48GB

Apple · 48 GB VRAM

Q4 OK
15 tok/s > $1000

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The VRAM Calculator tells you exactly which quantization your hardware can handle.