32 GB VRAM (+8)1792 GB/s (+1446)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 149%.112 tok/s decode
Raises estimated decode speed by about 149%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$1,999 MSRP
Can Dolphin 2.9 8B run on Tesla P40 24GB?
YES — Runs Great
C49Usable
○Estimated from fit model
Dolphin 2.9 8B needs ~10.4 GB VRAM. Tesla P40 24GB has 24.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~42 tok/s.
Runtime: OllamaCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: BasicBottleneck: Balanced
Share:
Operating mode
Choose the run profile you care about
Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.
Current mode
Balanced
Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.
Select quantization to explore
Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 10.4 GB, 45.0 tok/s, Runs well
10.4 GB required24.0 GB available
43% VRAM used
Fit status
Runs well
Decode
45.0 tok/s
TTFT
4305 ms
Safe context
33K
Memory
10.4 GB / 24.0 GB
Memory breakdown
Weights4.9 GB
KV Cache2.0 GB
Runtime1.2 GB
Headroom2.4 GB
See how fast it feels
See how fast it feelsDolphin 2.9 8B on Tesla P40 24GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>What is local AI inference?
Local AI inference means running an AI language model directly on your own hardware — your laptop, desktop, or server — instead of sending requests to a remote cloud API.
When you run inference locally the model weights are loaded into your GPU or unified memory. Each token you generate requires reading those weights from memory, so memory bandwidth is the main bottleneck for decode speed.
Key benefits of running locally:
- Full privacy: your prompts never leave your machine
- No per-token cost or rate limits
- Works offline once the model is downloaded
- Latency depends only on your hardware
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>How much VRAM do I need?
It depends on the model size and quantization level. A rough rule of thumb:
Model size Q4 (4-bit) Q8 (8-bit) FP16
7B params ~4.3 GB ~7.5 GB ~14 GB
13B params ~7.9 GB ~13.9 GB ~26 GB
70B params ~42.7 GB ~74.9 GB ~140 GB
Most people use 4-bit quantization (Q4_K_M) which gives 90-95% of full quality at a fraction of the memory. A 24 GB GPU can comfortably run most 7B-13B models.
Estimated: 45.0 tok/s decode · 4.3s TTFT (warm) · 112 tok/s prefill
What limits this setup
This setup is broadly balanced for this model.
Older PCIe generation
PCIe 3.0 is workable, but it compounds the penalty when you offload heavily or try to scale across multiple cards.
Best improvement path
Performance by workload
| Workload | Grade | Fit | Decode | TTFT | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | C | Runs well | 45.0 tok/s | 2348 ms | 33K |
| Coding | C | Runs well | 41.8 tok/s | 4628 ms | 33K |
| Agentic Coding | C | Runs well | 45.0 tok/s | 6262 ms | 33K |
| Reasoning | C | Runs well | 45.0 tok/s | 5088 ms | 33K |
| RAG | C | Runs well | 45.0 tok/s | 7828 ms | 33K |
Quantization options
How Dolphin 2.9 8B (8B params) fits at each quantization level on Tesla P40 24GB (24.0 GB usable).
| Quant | Bits | VRAM | Quality | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Q2_K | 2 | 3.1 GB | Low | C45 |
Q3_K_S | 3 | 3.9 GB | Low | C46 |
NVFP4 | 4 |
Get started
Copy-paste commands to run Dolphin 2.9 8B on your machine.
Run
ollama run dolphin-llama3Upgrade options
Hardware that runs Dolphin 2.9 8B well
32 GB VRAM (+8)896 GB/s (+550)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 149%.112 tok/s decode
Raises estimated decode speed by about 149%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$2,499 MSRP
32 GB VRAM (+8)576 GB/s (+230)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 126%.101.5 tok/s decode
Raises estimated decode speed by about 126%.
Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.
~$4,000 MSRP