Text model · Falcon

FN Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct: RAM and VRAM requirements

Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct needs about 21.1 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~18.94 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 35.5 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (24GB).

Falcon family · 34B params · released May 2025.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct →

License falcon-llm · Conditional ↓ 1.8K/mo ♥ 52 on HuggingFace

Q4_K_M GGUF

18.94 GB

Q8_0 GGUF

33.31 GB

Memory @ Q4 (4k)

~21.1 GB

Context

256 k

Q4_K_M and Q8_0 are GGUF download (file) sizes. Memory @ Q4 includes the KV cache and overhead, so it runs larger than the file on disk.

Will it run on your device?

Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct runs on 12 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

9 run well 3 tight fit 28 too small

Fit check Q4_K_M

Your device

Apple M4 (16GB)

No, not enough memory

needs 21.1 GB usable 10.5 GB

See the full breakdown

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)18.94 GB

KV cache (4k)1.4 GB

Overhead0.8 GB

Total21.1 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~21.1 GB 32k context ~30.9 GB 128k context ~64.5 GB

Longer context grows the KV cache quickly: Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct needs ~21.1 GB at 4k but ~64.5 GB at 128k, which can push it past a device that fits it at a short context.

Speed drops too: every token re-reads the KV cache, so at 128k context Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct generates at roughly ~30% of its short-context speed. How this is estimated.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk

Quantization	Size on disk
Q2_K	14.2 GB est
Q3_K_M	16.6 GB est
Q4_K_M (default)	18.94 GB
Q5_K_M	24.2 GB est
Q6_K	27.9 GB est
Q8_0	33.31 GB
FP16	67.3 GB

Lower quant = smaller and faster, slightly lower quality. Q4_K_M is the common default.

Run it

llama.cpp

$ llama-cli -hf tiiuae/Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M

LM Studio

$ lms get tiiuae/Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct-GGUF

Which devices can run Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct?

Apple Silicon Macs

RAM-only laptops

iPhone & iPad

Android

NVIDIA GPUs

AMD GPUs

Same job, different size

Pick by what fits your memory: step down to free up VRAM, or step up if you have headroom.

Next size down Laguna XS 2.1 33.4B Next size up Qwen-AgentWorld 35B-A3B 34.7B

Similar models

Head-to-head

Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct vs Falcon3 10B

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct need?

At Q4_K_M, Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct needs about 21.1 GB (weights ~18.94 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~35.5 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 18.94 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 33.31 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~21.1 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct run on a laptop?

Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct is large; you need a 24 GB+ GPU or a 32-48 GB Mac at Q4_K_M.

Can I use Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct commercially?

Conditionally. Falcon LLM license; permissive but check the terms.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind Falcon-H1-34B-Instruct's memory and quant figures.

TII's hybrid Mamba-Transformer Falcon. 34B, 256K context.

Sources

Last validated 2026-08-03. Memory figures are estimates. See methodology.