gemma-3-270m
google/gemma-3-270mgemma-3-270m at Q4_K_M is exactly 506,228,096 bytes (0.47 GiB / 0.51 GB) — an effective 15.106 bits per weight, not the nominal 4. Its KV cache at 32K is 0.11 GiB, not the 0.56 GiB a flat formula predicts.
Shipped quantizations
| Quant | Size● | Exact bytes● | Effective bpw● | Tensors● | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQ1_M | 0.22 GiB | 237,077,408 | 7.074 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ2_XXS | 0.22 GiB | 237,077,408 | 7.074 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ1_S | 0.22 GiB | 237,077,408 | 7.074 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ2_S | 0.22 GiB | 237,077,408 | 7.074 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ2_XS | 0.22 GiB | 237,077,408 | 7.074 | — | gguf-org |
| Q8_0 | 0.27 GiB | 291,543,744 | 8.700 | — | ggml-org |
| Q3_K_S2 shards | 0.44 GiB | 473,419,136 | 14.127 | — | gguf-org |
| Q2_K2 shards | 0.44 GiB | 474,156,416 | 14.149 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ3_S2 shards | 0.44 GiB | 474,156,416 | 14.149 | — | gguf-org |
| Q2_K_S2 shards | 0.44 GiB | 474,156,416 | 14.149 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ3_XXS2 shards | 0.44 GiB | 474,852,736 | 14.169 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ4_XS2 shards | 0.45 GiB | 482,532,736 | 14.399 | — | gguf-org |
| Q4_02 shards | 0.45 GiB | 482,819,456 | 14.407 | — | gguf-org |
| Q3_K_M2 shards | 0.45 GiB | 483,925,376 | 14.440 | — | gguf-org |
| IQ4_NL2 shards | 0.45 GiB | 484,580,736 | 14.460 | — | gguf-org |
| Q3_K_L2 shards | 0.46 GiB | 492,772,736 | 14.704 | — | gguf-org |
| Q4_12 shards | 0.46 GiB | 495,353,216 | 14.781 | — | gguf-org |
| Q4_K_S2 shards | 0.47 GiB | 499,776,896 | 14.913 | — | gguf-org |
| Q4_K_M2 shards | 0.47 GiB | 506,228,096 | 15.106 | — | gguf-org |
| Q5_02 shards | 0.47 GiB | 507,886,976 | 15.155 | — | gguf-org |
| Q5_K_S2 shards | 0.48 GiB | 515,997,056 | 15.397 | — | gguf-org |
| Q5_K_M2 shards | 0.48 GiB | 520,052,096 | 15.518 | — | gguf-org |
| Q5_12 shards | 0.48 GiB | 520,420,736 | 15.529 | — | gguf-org |
| F16 | 0.51 GiB | 542,834,848 | 16.198 | — | pixasocial |
| Q6_K2 shards | 0.53 GiB | 565,947,776 | 16.888 | — | gguf-org |
| Q8_02 shards | 0.54 GiB | 583,089,536 | 17.399 | — | gguf-org |
| F32 | 1.00 GiB | 1,078,919,328 | 32.195 | — | pixasocial |
| BF162 shards | 1.01 GiB | 1,085,668,736 | 32.396 | — | gguf-org |
| F162 shards | 1.01 GiB | 1,085,668,736 | 32.396 | — | gguf-org |
| F322 shards | 2.01 GiB | 2,157,837,696 | — | — | gguf-org |
KV cache by context
| Context | KV cache (f16)● | Flat formula | Overstated by | Full / windowed / recurrent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,096 | 0.03 GiB | 0.07 GiB | 2.67× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
| 8,192 | 0.04 GiB | 0.14 GiB | 3.69× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
| 16,384 | 0.06 GiB | 0.28 GiB | 4.57× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
| 32,768 | 0.11 GiB | 0.56 GiB | 5.19× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
| 65,536 | 0.20 GiB | 1.13 GiB | 5.57× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
| 131,072 | 0.39 GiB | 2.25 GiB | 5.77× | 3 / 15 / 0 |
15 of 18 layers cache only a 512-token window rather than the full context, on a period of 6. Figures assume the default configuration; --swa-full disables the saving entirely.
Compare with
Will it run on your card?
Why other calculators give a different number
A parameters × bits ÷ 8 estimate puts Q4_K_M at roughly 0.14 GiB. The real file is 0.47 GiB, because a quantization is a mixture and some tensors are always kept at higher precision. The larger discrepancy is the cache: a flat formula gives 0.56 GiB at 32K context where the real figure is 0.11 GiB, because most of this model's layers cache a fixed window rather than the whole context.
Architecture
Questions people ask
- How much VRAM does gemma-3-270m need?
- Q4_K_M is exactly 506,228,096 bytes (0.47 GiB) in weights. Add the KV cache, which depends on your context length, plus roughly half a gigabyte of runtime overhead.
- How large is gemma-3-270m's KV cache?
- 0.11 GiB at 32K context with an f16 cache, computed per layer. Quantizing the cache to q8_0 roughly halves it, which is often the difference between a context length fitting and not.
- Which quantization of gemma-3-270m should I use?
- Q4_K_M is the usual default. Pick the largest quantization that fits your card at the context you actually need — the table above gives exact sizes for every one published.