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Text model · Falcon

FN Falcon3 10B: RAM and VRAM requirements

Falcon3 10B needs about 7.5 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~5.86 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 11.8 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB).

Falcon family · 10B params · released Dec 2024 · 2.6M Ollama pulls.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs Falcon3 10B →

License Falcon LLM License 2.0 · Commercial OK ↓ 9K/mo ♥ 117 on HuggingFace
Q4_K_M GGUF
5.86 GB
Q8_0 GGUF
10.2 GB
Memory @ Q4 (4k)
~7.5 GB
Context
32 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?

Falcon3 10B runs on 33 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

31 run well 2 tight fit 7 too small
Fit check Q4_K_M
Yes, it runs fast
needs 7.5 GB usable 10.5 GB
See the full breakdown
$ollama run falcon3:10b

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)5.86 GB
+
KV cache (4k)0.8 GB
+
Overhead0.8 GB
=
Total7.5 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~7.5 GB 32k context ~12.8 GB 128k context ~31 GB

Longer context grows the KV cache quickly: Falcon3 10B needs ~7.5 GB at 4k but ~31 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 Falcon3 10B generates at roughly ~19% of its short-context speed. How this is estimated.

Benchmark scores

BFCL · tool use

#13 of 19 ranked · Overall Acc on the Berkeley Function-Calling Leaderboard.

27%

Sourced third-party benchmarks for the full-precision Falcon3 10B, not a specific quant. See the full leaderboard.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk
Quantization Size on disk
Q2_K 4.2 GB est
Q3_K_M 4.9 GB est
Q4_K_M (default) 5.86 GB
Q5_K_M 7.1 GB est
Q6_K 8.2 GB est
Q8_0 10.2 GB
FP16 20 GB est

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

Run it

Ollama
$ ollama run falcon3:10b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf bartowski/Falcon3-10B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get bartowski/Falcon3-10B-Instruct-GGUF

Which devices can run Falcon3 10B?

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 Ornith 1.0 9B 9B Next size up Llama 3.2 Vision 11B 10.7B

Similar models

Head-to-head

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does Falcon3 10B need?

At Q4_K_M, Falcon3 10B needs about 7.5 GB (weights ~5.86 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~11.8 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of Falcon3 10B?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 5.86 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 10.2 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~7.5 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can Falcon3 10B run on a laptop?

Falcon3 10B is large; you need a 24 GB+ GPU or a 32-48 GB Mac at Q4_K_M.

Can I use Falcon3 10B commercially?

Yes. Falcon3 10B is licensed Falcon LLM License 2.0, which permits commercial use.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind Falcon3 10B's memory and quant figures.

TII Falcon3 10B. Q4_K_M and Q8_0 sizes from the bartowski GGUF repo, exact-matched to the Ollama falcon3:10b tag.

Sources

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