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GL GLM-5.2: RAM and VRAM requirements

GLM-5.2 needs about 473.1 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~465.83 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 808.7 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is a high-memory machine.

GLM family · 744B params (Mixture-of-Experts: activates only 40B of 744B params per token, so generation is faster than the total size suggests) · released Jun 2026.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs GLM-5.2 →

License MIT · Commercial OK ↓ 2.2M/mo ♥ 4.8K on HuggingFace
Q4_K_M GGUF
465.83 GB
Q8_0 GGUF
801.36 GB
Memory @ Q4 (4k)
~473.1 GB
Context
1000 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?

GLM-5.2 runs on 0 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

0 run well 0 tight fit 40 too small
Fit check Q4_K_M
No, not enough memory
needs 473.1 GB usable 10.5 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)465.83 GB
+
KV cache (4k)6.5 GB
+
Overhead0.8 GB
=
Total473.1 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~473.1 GB 32k context ~519 GB 128k context ~676.1 GB

Longer context grows the KV cache, which for GLM-5.2 is sized by its 40B active params, not the full 744B. It needs ~473.1 GB at 4k and ~676.1 GB at 128k.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk
Quantization Size on disk
Q2_K 311.6 GB est
Q3_K_M 363.6 GB est
Q4_K_M (default) 465.83 GB
Q5_K_M 530.1 GB est
Q6_K 610.1 GB est
Q8_0 801.36 GB
FP16 1507.99 GB

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

Run it

llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf unsloth/GLM-5.2-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get unsloth/GLM-5.2-GGUF

Which devices can run GLM-5.2?

Same job, different size

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

Similar models

Head-to-head

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does GLM-5.2 need?

At Q4_K_M, GLM-5.2 needs about 473.1 GB (weights ~465.83 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~808.7 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of GLM-5.2?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 465.83 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 801.36 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~473.1 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can GLM-5.2 run on a laptop?

GLM-5.2 is large; you need a high-memory Mac or multi-GPU setup at Q4_K_M.

Is GLM-5.2 cheaper to run because it is a MoE model?

It is faster, not lighter. GLM-5.2 activates only 40B of 744B params per token (so it runs quickly), but all experts must stay in memory, so it still needs memory for the full 744B.

Can I use GLM-5.2 commercially?

Yes. GLM-5.2 is licensed MIT, which permits commercial use.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind GLM-5.2's memory and quant figures.

Z.ai's flagship long-horizon model: 744B MoE, 40B active, DeepSeek Sparse Attention, 1M context, MIT. Quant sums from unsloth's split GGUFs (Q4_K_M and Q8_0 are UD dynamic quants). Even the 2-bit UD-Q2_K_XL is 254GB, beyond any single consumer machine; Ollama lists it as cloud-only. Multi-node or big-cluster territory.

Sources

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