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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/qwen-3-30b-a3b-on-rx-6800-xt-16gb


Can Qwen 3 30B A3B run on RX 6800 XT 16GB?

YES — With Q3_K_S

A74Great
Estimated from fit model

Qwen 3 30B A3B needs ~18.9 GB VRAM. RX 6800 XT 16GB has 16.0 GB. With Q3_K_S quantization, expect ~27 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: MediumStack: StandardBottleneck: Host offload
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.

Qwen 3 30B A3B at Q4_K_M needs 22.6 GB — too much for RX 6800 XT 16GB (16.0 GB). Runs at Q3_K_S (18.9 GB) with low quality. 2 quantization levels fit.
Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 22.6 GB, exceeds 16.0 GB available
22.6 GB required16.0 GB available
141% VRAM needed

6.6 GB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

15.8 tok/s

TTFT

12283 ms

Safe context

4K

Memory

22.6 GB / 16.0 GB

Offload

30%

Memory breakdown

Weights18.6 GB
KV Cache1.5 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom1.6 GB

See how fast it feels

With memory offload — actual speed may be lower
See how fast it feelsQwen 3 30B A3B on RX 6800 XT 16GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step. Given information: - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour) - Time = 2.5 hours Formula: Distance = Speed x Time Calculation: Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h = 150 miles The train travels 150 miles. Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time. Breakdown: - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance) - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles Total distance: 150 miles (same) Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 15.8 tok/s decode · 12.3s TTFT (warm) · 39 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

It fits through host-memory offload, and offload is the main reason performance drops.

CPU or host-memory offload is active

About 20% of the working set spills out of accelerator memory, which usually hurts latency and sustained decode throughput.

Very little memory headroom

You can run the model, but there is not much room left for longer context, bigger batches, extra apps, or future model updates.

Best improvement path

Remove offload with more accelerator memory

Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

A slightly larger memory tier gives you safer context growth and makes the recommendation more future-proof.

Increase host RAM if you keep offloading

This setup may need roughly 2.3 GB of extra host RAM just for the offloaded portion, before OS and other tools.

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatFToo heavy16.9 tok/s6250 ms4K
CodingFToo heavy15.8 tok/s12283 ms4K
Agentic CodingFToo heavy13.8 tok/s20395 ms4K
ReasoningFToo heavy15.8 tok/s14516 ms4K
RAGFToo heavy13.8 tok/s25494 ms4K

Quantization options

How Qwen 3 30B A3B (30.5B params) fits at each quantization level on RX 6800 XT 16GB (16.0 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
11.9 GB
LowF0
Q3_K_S
3
14.9 GB
LowF0
NVFP4
4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 3 30B A3B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen3:30b-a3b

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Qwen 3 30B A3B well

RX 7900 XT 20GBBest value
20 GB VRAM (+4)800 GB/s (+288)
A
Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.40.7 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Raises estimated decode speed by about 158%.

~$899 MSRP

RX 7900 XTX 24GBBudget pick
24 GB VRAM (+8)960 GB/s (+448)
S
Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.104.5 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$999 MSRP

Radeon AI PRO R9700 32GBAMD upgrade
32 GB VRAM (+16)640 GB/s (+128)
S
Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.57.1 tok/s decode

Makes the model fit on the accelerator instead of staying completely out of reach.

Removes host-memory offload, which is usually the single biggest latency and throughput win.

~$1,899 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for RX 6800 XT 16GBSee all hardware for Qwen 3 30B A3B
17.1 GB
Medium
F0
Q4_K_M
4
18.6 GB
MediumF0
Q5_K_M
5
22.0 GB
HighF0
Q6_K
6
25.0 GB
HighF0
Q8_0
8
32.6 GB
Very HighF0
F16
16
62.5 GB
MaximumF0

Remove offload with more accelerator memory. Prioritize a GPU or unified-memory tier that fits the whole model natively. Removing offload usually helps more than small compute gains.