How much VRAM does Qwen3.5 9B need?

Qwen3.5 9B (9B parameters) requires approximately 10.5 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen3.5 9B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen3.5 9B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Can it run?

Yes, Tesla P40 24GB can run Qwen3.5 9B with a C grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 45.4 tok/s.

CUsable

Runs well

Using Q4_K_M in Ollama

Capabilities:

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

45.4 tok/s

TTFT

4266 ms

Safe context

37K

Memory

10.5 GB / 24.0 GB

Weights5.5 GB

KV Cache1.4 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom2.4 GB

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	C	Runs well	37.2 tok/s	7573 ms	65K
Chat	C	Runs well	37.2 tok/s	2840 ms	19K
Coding	C	Runs well	45.4 tok/s	4266 ms	37K
RAG	C	Runs well	37.2 tok/s	9466 ms	65K
Reasoning	C	Runs well	37.2 tok/s	6153 ms	37K

How Qwen3.5 9B (9B params) fits at each quantization level on Tesla P40 24GB (24.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	3.5 GB	Low	D33
Q3_K_S	3	4.4 GB	Low	D33
NVFP4	4

HuggingFace

huggingface-cli download hf-unsloth--qwen3-5-9b-gguf

Upgrade options

RTX 5090 32GBBudget pick

C218.7 tok/s decode

~$1,999 MSRP

MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GBBest value

C47 tok/s decode

~$2,499 MSRP

AMD Instinct MI100 32GBBiggest leap