google · vision language

gemma-4-E2B-it

google/gemma-4-E2B-it

gemma-4-E2B-it at Q4_K_M is exactly 3,106,738,272 bytes (2.89 GiB / 3.11 GB) — an effective 4.851 bits per weight, not the nominal 4. Its KV cache at 32K is 0.25 GiB, not the 1.09 GiB a flat formula predicts.

From the file· summed from 1 file(s)From the file· KV per layer
Parameters
5.1B
Architecture
gemma4
35 layers
Context
131,072
native (config.json)
License
apache-2.0

Shipped quantizations

exact bytes, summed from published files
QuantSizeExact bytesEffective bpwTensorsPublisher
UD-IQ2_M2.13 GiB2,290,860,1283.577unsloth
IQ1_S2.16 GiB2,315,847,7443.616DuoNeural
UD-IQ3_XXS2.21 GiB2,372,993,1203.705unsloth
Q3_K_S2.28 GiB2,445,652,0643.819unsloth
Q3_K_M2.36 GiB2,536,786,0163.961601unsloth
IQ2_M2.38 GiB2,553,153,6003.987DuoNeural
IQ2_M2.44 GiB2,620,200,4164.091bartowski
IQ3_XXS2.47 GiB2,648,066,1124.135DuoNeural
IQ4_XS2.78 GiB2,983,944,2884.660601unsloth
Q2_K2.81 GiB3,020,053,9844.716bartowski
IQ4_NL2.83 GiB3,041,083,4884.749unsloth
Q4_02.83 GiB3,041,378,4004.749unsloth
Q4_K_S2.83 GiB3,043,934,3044.753unsloth
IQ3_XS2.89 GiB3,100,712,4164.842bartowski
Q4_K_M2.89 GiB3,106,738,2724.851unsloth
Q3_K_S2.92 GiB3,134,793,1844.895bartowski
IQ3_M2.92 GiB3,134,964,6724.895HauhauCS
Q4_12.94 GiB3,154,919,5204.926unsloth
IQ3_M2.94 GiB3,161,611,7444.937bartowski
Q3_K_M2.97 GiB3,191,940,9604.984DuoNeural
Q3_K_M3.00 GiB3,224,043,4565.034braydenh563
Q3_K_M3.01 GiB3,226,811,8725.039601bartowski
Q3_K_L3.06 GiB3,290,414,5605.138bartowski
IQ4_XS3.07 GiB3,292,383,2965.141DuoNeural
Q5_K_S3.09 GiB3,321,151,5845.186unsloth
IQ4_XS3.10 GiB3,324,311,0085.191601bartowski
Q5_K_M3.13 GiB3,356,037,2165.241unsloth
Q4_03.15 GiB3,378,740,7045.276601bartowski
IQ4_NL3.15 GiB3,380,639,2005.279bartowski
Q4_K_S3.15 GiB3,382,083,0405.281bartowski
Q4_K_M3.18 GiB3,416,101,7285.334DuoNeural
Q4_K_M3.19 GiB3,427,880,3845.353601lmstudio-community
Q4_K_M3.21 GiB3,450,277,8245.388braydenh563
Q4_K_M3.22 GiB3,462,680,0325.407601bartowski
Q4_13.25 GiB3,490,069,9845.450bartowski
Q5_K_S3.36 GiB3,603,758,5605.627bartowski
Q5_K_M3.37 GiB3,616,691,0405.648DuoNeural
Q5_K_M3.41 GiB3,658,384,8645.713601bartowski
Q5_K_M3.41 GiB3,663,440,8325.721braydenh563
Q2_K_L3.43 GiB3,686,424,0325.756bartowski

KV cache by context

computed per layer — this model uses sliding-window attention
ContextKV cache (f16)Flat formulaOverstated byFull / windowed / recurrent
4,0960.05 GiB0.14 GiB2.50×7 / 28 / 0
8,1920.08 GiB0.27 GiB3.33×7 / 28 / 0
16,3840.14 GiB0.55 GiB4.00×7 / 28 / 0
32,7680.25 GiB1.09 GiB4.44×7 / 28 / 0
65,5360.46 GiB2.19 GiB4.71×7 / 28 / 0
131,0720.90 GiB4.38 GiB4.85×7 / 28 / 0

28 of 35 layers cache only a 512-token window rather than the full context, on a period of . Figures assume the default configuration; --swa-full disables the saving entirely.

Compare with

same modality, comparable size

Will it run on your card?

full quant x context sweep

Why other calculators give a different number

A parameters × bits ÷ 8 estimate puts Q4_K_M at roughly 2.68 GiB. The real file is 2.89 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 1.09 GiB at 32K context where the real figure is 0.25 GiB, because most of this model's layers cache a fixed window rather than the whole context.

Architecture

from config.json
Layers
35
Attention heads
8
KV heads
1
Head dim
256
Hidden size
1536
Vocab
262,144
Sliding window
512
SWA period
MLA
no
Experts
Experts per token
use_sliding_window

Questions people ask

How much VRAM does gemma-4-E2B-it need?
Q4_K_M is exactly 3,106,738,272 bytes (2.89 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-4-E2B-it's KV cache?
0.25 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-4-E2B-it 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.