Family Nemotron · 30B parameters

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 30B / 3B active MoE, 128k context, ~25 GB Q4 VRAM. Fast local reasoning and coding (few active parameters).

🇺🇸 NVIDIA·License NVIDIA Open Model License·Context 125k tokens·Output Aug 1, 2026·Fits within the 128 GB of the GIGABYTE AI TOP ATOM← Catalog

01What it can do

Strengths
  • High throughput thanks to 3B active parameters
  • 128k context
  • Reasoning and code
  • ~17 GB VRAM in Q4
Limitations to know
  • —MoE 30B weights to load into memory
  • —MoE tooling support varies by runtime
  • —Gated weights on Hugging Face
Architecture
MoE 30B / 3B active · 128k context
Training
NVIDIA, the low-activation Nemotron 3.5 line designed for fast local inference. NVIDIA Open Model license.
Ideal for
Local reasoningAgents / codeFast MoE inference

04Install

Install Ollama for your OS. Check the model and its quantization before downloading. Start with 4096 tokens of context, then check placement with ollama ps. A command below is not proof that a test was run on your machine.

$ollama run nemotron-3.5-lightning
⚠
First download: between 2 and 40 GB depending on the selected quantization. Plan for sufficient disk space; a stable connection is recommended. Subsequent launches are instant.

02Required memory

Approximate GPU VRAM required to run this model, including 4k tokens of context overhead. For a longer context, add ~1 GB per 8k-token increment.

Q4_K_M
The lightest, ~5% loss
25 GB
Q5_K_M
Good quality/size compromise
29 GB
Q8_0
Nearly indistinguishable from FP16
35 GB
FP16
Full precision — server use
66 GB
Fallback CPU · If you don't have a GPU, allow 39 GB of RAM minimum to run this model at reduced speed.

What hardware do you need for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B?

To run Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B locally with Q4 quantization, you need about 25 GB of VRAM. An option to compare: GMKtec EVO-X2 64GB / 1TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) — leave some headroom for the system and context; check engine compatibility with the GPU.

Current offer: GMKtec EVO-X2 64GB / 1TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395)
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Why this choice? Our complete guide on GMKtec EVO-X2 64GB / 1TB (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) →

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03Expected speed

Tokens generated per second in Q4_K_M, 4k context. Beyond 20 t/s, reading is comfortable. Below 10 t/s, that's just for testing.

Entry-level
~50t/s
GTX 1650, RX 6600, MBA M2 8GB
Mid-range
~85t/s
RTX 4060, 4070, MBP M3 Pro
High-end
~130t/s
RTX 4090, M4 Max, Radeon 7900