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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/yi-1.5-6b-on-arc-a380-6gb


Can Yi 1.5 6B run on Intel Arc A380 6GB?

YES — With Offload

C48Usable
Estimated from fit model

Yi 1.5 6B needs ~6.1 GB VRAM. Intel Arc A380 6GB has 6.0 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~18 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: OffloadBandwidth: Very lowStack: 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.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 6.1 GB, 19.4 tok/s, Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)
6.1 GB required6.0 GB available
102% VRAM needed

100 MB over capacity — needs offload or smaller quantization

Fit status

Runs with offload (needs ~0.1 GB host RAM)

Decode

19.4 tok/s

TTFT

9994 ms

Safe context

4K

Memory

6.1 GB / 6.0 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights3.7 GB
KV Cache1.0 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom0.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsYi 1.5 6B on Intel Arc A380 6GB
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: 19.4 tok/s decode · 10.0s TTFT (warm) · 48 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

The raw memory story may look fine, but the software ecosystem is still a constraint here.

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.

Runtime ecosystem is narrower than CUDA

Intel GPUs can look attractive on memory per dollar, but local AI tooling, kernels, and model coverage are still broader and easier on CUDA today.

Best improvement path

Prefer CUDA if you want the path of least resistance

If your goal is maximum runtime coverage, easier troubleshooting, and better support for new local AI releases, CUDA is usually still the safer upgrade path.

Buy headroom, not only minimum fit

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

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatCTight fit24.9 tok/s4241 ms4K
CodingCRuns with offload17.8 tok/s10869 ms4K
Agentic CodingDVery compromised13.1 tok/s21574 ms4K
ReasoningCRuns with offload17.8 tok/s12845 ms4K
RAGDVery compromised13.1 tok/s26967 ms4K

Quantization options

How Yi 1.5 6B (6B params) fits at each quantization level on Intel Arc A380 6GB (6.0 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
2.3 GB
LowC54
Q3_K_S
3
2.9 GB
LowC54
NVFP4Best for your GPU

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Yi 1.5 6B on your machine.

Run

lms load Yi-1.5-6B-Chat && lms server start

Upgrade options

Hardware that runs Yi 1.5 6B well

👁 Intel
Intel Arc A580 8GBBudget pick
8 GB VRAM (+2)512 GB/s (+326)
B
Raises estimated decode speed by about 284%.74.5 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 284%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$179 MSRP

👁 Intel
Intel Arc B570 10GBBest value
10 GB VRAM (+4)380 GB/s (+194)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 214%.61 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 214%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$219 MSRP

👁 Intel
Intel Arc B580 12GBIntel upgrade
12 GB VRAM (+6)456 GB/s (+270)
C
Raises estimated decode speed by about 235%.65 tok/s decode

Raises estimated decode speed by about 235%.

Adds memory headroom for longer context windows and future model growth.

~$249 MSRP

Frequently asked questions

See all results for Intel Arc A380 6GBSee all hardware for Yi 1.5 6B
4
3.4 GB
Medium
C54
Q4_K_M
4
3.7 GB
MediumF0
Q5_K_M
5
4.3 GB
HighF0
Q6_K
6
4.9 GB
HighF0
Q8_0
8
6.4 GB
Very HighF0
F16
16
12.3 GB
MaximumF0