Family Qwen · 32B parameters

Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B

The open-weight code reference from late 2024, now surpassed by the Qwen3-Coder / Devstral generation.

🇨🇳 Alibaba·License Apache 2.0·Context 128k tokens·Output November 2024·Fits within the 128 GB of the GIGABYTE AI TOP ATOM← Catalog

01What it can do

Strengths
  • Best open-weight coding LLM
  • Very strong on HumanEval (2024 benchmark)
  • 128k context
Limitations to know
  • —Requires 20+ GB of VRAM
  • —Worse at general chat
Architecture
Specialized dense code transformer · 64 layers
Training
General pretraining + 5.5T code tokens, 92 languages.
Ideal for
Senior devRefactorCode agents

05Install

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 qwen2.5-coder:32b
⚠
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
19 GB
Q5_K_M
Good quality/size compromise
23 GB
Q8_0
Nearly indistinguishable from FP16
35 GB
FP16
Full precision — server use
64 GB
Fallback CPU · If you don't have a GPU, allow 32 GB of RAM minimum to run this model at reduced speed.

What hardware do you need for Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B?

To run Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B locally with Q4 quantization, you need about 19 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) →

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

On the go: Qwen 2.5 Coder 32B also runs on a RTX laptop PC (24 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
~3t/s
GTX 1650, RX 6600, MBA M2 8GB
Mid-range
~12t/s
RTX 4060, 4070, MBP M3 Pro
High-end
~30t/s
RTX 4090, M4 Max, Radeon 7900

04Public benchmarks

Scores reproduced from model cards or MMLU-Pro / community sources. Unit: % correct answers.

HumanEval
92.7
MBPP
86
LiveCodeBench
31.4