Can I run Llama 3.1 8B on an RTX 5080 16GB?

Yes: Llama 3.1 8B needs about 9.88 GB at Q4_K_M with 32K tokens of context, which fits the RTX 5080 16GB with 6.12 GB to spare. At 32K the RTX 5080 holds up to Q8_0 (13.6 GB), and Q4_K_M runs up to 72K tokens.

Yes Q4_K_M with 32K tokens of context

Q4_K_M, 32K
9.88 GB
RTX 5080
16 GB, 960 GB/s
To spare
6.12 GB
Tokens/s
53–76 tokens/s

At Q4_K_M with 32K tokens of context it writes about 53–76 tokens/s for one request on an RTX 5080 16GB.

Best precision for Llama 3.1 8B on an RTX 5080 16GB

The most precise setting that leaves at least 0.5 GB free; one that fits with less is marked tight.

ContextBest fitMemoryFreeTokens/s
8K Q8_0 10.3 GB 5.66 GB 51–72
32K Q8_0 13.6 GB 2.36 GB 39–55
128K (full) Nothing fits — — —

Llama 3.1 8B on the RTX 5080 as the context fills

One request, FP16 KV cache, 0.5 GB plus 10% overhead; a minus sign is memory missing, and tight is less than 0.5 GB free.

Context Q4_K_MFreeTokens/sQ8_0FreeTokens/s
4K 6.03 GB 9.97 GB 85–125 9.79 GB 6.21 GB 54–76
8K 6.58 GB 9.42 GB 79–114 10.3 GB 5.66 GB 51–72
16K 7.68 GB 8.32 GB 68–98 11.4 GB 4.56 GB 46–65
32K 9.88 GB 6.12 GB 53–76 13.6 GB 2.36 GB 39–55
64K 14.3 GB 1.72 GB 37–52 18.0 GB −2.04 GB —
128K (full) 23.1 GB −7.08 GB — 26.8 GB −10.8 GB —

Llama 3.1 8B on more than one RTX 5080

CardsBest at 32KTokens/sQ4_K_M longestQ4_K_M tokens/s
2× (32 GB) BF16 44–65 128K (full) 82–131
4× (64 GB) BF16 76–120 128K (full) 128–223

Tensor parallel with the combined bandwidth, as in vLLM; llama.cpp splits layers by default and runs at about one card's speed.

Other options

Run Llama 3.1 8B on the RTX 5080 with llama-server

llama-server -hf bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M -c 73728

Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-Q4_K_M.gguf, 4.9 GB, from bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF (checked 2026-09-29). At -c 73728 on the RTX 5080: 15.4 GB of 16 GB, 572 MB free.

Questions

Can I run Llama 3.1 8B on an RTX 5080 16GB?

Yes: Llama 3.1 8B needs about 9.88 GB at Q4_K_M with 32K tokens of context, which fits the RTX 5080 16GB with 6.12 GB to spare. At 32K the RTX 5080 holds up to Q8_0 (13.6 GB), and Q4_K_M runs up to 72K tokens.

How fast is Llama 3.1 8B on an RTX 5080 16GB?

At Q4_K_M with 32K tokens of context it writes about 53–76 tokens/s for one request on an RTX 5080 16GB.

What does a second RTX 5080 16GB change for Llama 3.1 8B?

Two RTX 5080 16GB cards (32 GB in one tensor-parallel group) hold Llama 3.1 8B at BF16 with 32K, and Q4_K_M up to 128K (full) tokens, at about 82–131 tokens/s.

Try other settings in the VRAM calculator or the speed calculator. See also Llama 3.1 8B VRAM requirements, what LLMs an RTX 5080 16GB can run and every pair, or detect your own GPU. Model data checked .