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text model · Granite · Windows

Can I run Granite 4.1 8B on 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)?

Compatibility verdict VRAM threshold engine
No, not enough memory would not load

No. Granite 4.1 8B needs ~6.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) only has ~5 GB usable.

Needs ~6.8 GB Device usable ~5 GB

Needs ~6.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but only ~5 GB is usable.

That figure is at a 4k context and moves about ±15% as context length changes.

The gap is about 1.8 GB: Granite 4.1 8B needs roughly 6.8 GB at Q4_K_M and 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) leaves only about 5 GB usable for a model. The lightest tracked hardware that runs Granite 4.1 8B is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB) at 12 GB. See Granite 4.1 8B on Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB).

Q4_K_M needed
~6.8 GB
Usable on device
~5 GB
Device memory
8 GB
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Which quant fits

Quant ladder vs ~5 GB usable
Q2_K
~5.2 GB
Q3_K_M
~5.8 GB
Q4_K_M
~6.8 GB
Q5_K_M
~7.8 GB
Q6_K
~8.7 GB
Q8_0
~10.8 GB
FP16
~19.5 GB
The line marks 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)'s ~5 GB budget; rungs past it are too large.
Model Granite
Parameters
8.8B
Q4_K_M size
5.3 GB
Q8_0 size
9.3 GB
Context
128k
Ollama tag
granite4.1:8b
Full Granite 4.1 8B requirements →
Device Windows
Memory
8 GB ram
Usable for weights
~5 GB
Power draw
~15 W
Best runtime
Ollama (llama.cpp backend)
Best models for 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) →

What you can run instead

Run Granite 4.1 8B on other hardware

FAQ

Can 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) run Granite 4.1 8B?

No. Granite 4.1 8B needs ~6.8 GB even at Q4_K_M, but 8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) only has ~5 GB usable.

How much memory does Granite 4.1 8B need?

8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only) does not have enough memory. At Q4_K_M the weights are ~5.3 GB; with KV cache and runtime overhead, budget ~6.8 GB at a 4k context.

What is the best tool to run Granite 4.1 8B on Windows?

LM Studio for a simple setup; Ollama (CUDA) for the most speed. AMD GPUs run via Vulkan/ROCm at roughly half CUDA throughput. NVIDIA is the smooth path on Windows.

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Sources

Weights are measured from GGUF files; KV cache and overhead are computed, so totals can vary ~15% with context and runtime. Any tok/s is a bandwidth estimate. See methodology.