How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 72B need?

Qwen 2.5 72B (72B parameters) requires approximately 61.2 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 72B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 72B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

Can it run?

No, Qwen 2.5 72B requires more memory than NVIDIA A40 48GB provides.

FWon't run

Too heavy

Using Q4_K_M in Ollama

Capabilities:

Fit status

Too heavy

Decode

11.4 tok/s

TTFT

16968 ms

Safe context

13K

Memory

61.2 GB / 48.0 GB

Weights43.9 GB

KV Cache11.3 GB

Runtime1.2 GB

Headroom4.8 GB

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Agentic Coding	F	Too heavy	12.4 tok/s	22782 ms	21K
Chat	D	Very compromised (needs ~6 GB host RAM)	10.9 tok/s	9658 ms	7K
Coding	F	Too heavy	11.4 tok/s	16968 ms	13K
RAG	F	Too heavy	12.4 tok/s	28477 ms	21K
Reasoning	F	Too heavy	12.4 tok/s	18510 ms	13K

How Qwen 2.5 72B (72B params) fits at each quantization level on NVIDIA A40 48GB (48.0 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	28.1 GB	Low	C42
Q3_K_SBest for your GPU	3	35.3 GB	Low	C45

Upgrade options

MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GBBudget pick

C5.5 tok/s decode

~$2,499 MSRP

MacBook Pro M4 Max 96GBBest value

C7.8 tok/s decode

~$2,499 MSRP

NVIDIA GH200 96GBBiggest leap