Family Nemotron · 12B parameters

Nemotron 3 Super 12B

Dense 12B variant of Nemotron 3 Super. Compact and fast, ideal for reasoning and code on consumer GPUs. March 2026.

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

01What it can do

Strengths
  • Compact dense 12B (7 GB VRAM Q4)
  • Strong at reasoning and code
  • Runs on RTX 3060 12 GB and M-series Macs
  • NVIDIA Open Model License
Limitations to know
  • —Gated model on Hugging Face (click-through access)
  • —Commercially restricted license (NVIDIA Open Model License)
  • —Native context not publicly confirmed
Architecture
Dense transformer · 12B parameters · compact variant of the Nemotron 3 Super family
Training
Nemotron 3 Super family from NVIDIA. Dense 12B distilled variant of the 120B frontier MoE model.
Ideal for
ReasoningCodeAgents

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 pull nemotron-3-super
⚠
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
7 GB
Q5_K_M
Good quality/size compromise
9 GB
Q8_0
Nearly indistinguishable from FP16
13 GB
FP16
Full precision — server use
24 GB
Fallback CPU · If you don't have a GPU, allow 16 GB of RAM minimum to run this model at reduced speed.

What hardware do you need for Nemotron 3 Super 12B?

To run Nemotron 3 Super 12B locally with Q4 quantization, you need about 7 GB of VRAM. An option to compare: RTX 5060 Ti 16GB (ASUS Prime) — leave some headroom for the system and context; check engine compatibility with the GPU.

Current offer: RTX 5060 Ti 16GB (ASUS Prime)
AmazonSee price →

Affiliate links — commission possible at no extra cost to you; independent recommendations. As an Amazon Associate, BestLLMfor earns from qualifying purchases.

On the go: Nemotron 3 Super 12B also runs on a RTX laptop PC (16 GB of VRAM) →

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
~8t/s
GTX 1650, RX 6600, MBA M2 8GB
Mid-range
~25t/s
RTX 4060, 4070, MBP M3 Pro
High-end
~65t/s
RTX 4090, M4 Max, Radeon 7900