Check my GPU

Best local LLMs for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB

Each list assumes the context length that task usually needs, so a model that fits for chat may drop down the list for long documents.

General chat at 8K context

  1. 94 ptsExcellent (S) · 94 of 100 points: Model quality 35.5/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.4/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Gemma 4 12B Q4_K_M · 36.9 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 93 ptsExcellent (S) · 93 of 100 points: Model quality 33.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 33.2/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Qwen3.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.7/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.0 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.3/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 15.0/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 TMax 9B Q5_K_M · 40.8 tok/s · Runs well

Coding at 32K context

  1. 93 ptsExcellent (S) · 93 of 100 points: Model quality 33.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.7/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.0 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 88 ptsExcellent (S) · 88 of 100 points: Model quality 35.5/45, Memory fit 24.0/25, Speed 14.4/15, Memory use 15.0/15 Gemma 4 12B Q4_K_M · 36.9 tok/s · Tight fit
  4. 87 ptsExcellent (S) · 87 of 100 points: Model quality 33.2/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15 Qwen3.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 87 ptsExcellent (S) · 87 of 100 points: Model quality 32.3/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 15.0/15, Memory use 15.0/15 TMax 9B Q5_K_M · 40.8 tok/s · Runs well

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 93 ptsExcellent (S) · 93 of 100 points: Model quality 33.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 33.2/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Qwen3.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.7/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.0 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.3/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 15.0/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 TMax 9B Q5_K_M · 40.8 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 88 ptsExcellent (S) · 88 of 100 points: Model quality 35.5/45, Memory fit 24.0/25, Speed 14.4/15, Memory use 15.0/15 Gemma 4 12B Q4_K_M · 36.9 tok/s · Tight fit

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 93 ptsExcellent (S) · 93 of 100 points: Model quality 35.5/45, Memory fit 24.0/25, Speed 14.4/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Gemma 4 12B Q4_K_M · 36.9 tok/s · Tight fit
  2. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 33.2/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Qwen3.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 89 ptsExcellent (S) · 89 of 100 points: Model quality 30.3/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.7/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Gemma 4 E4B Q6_K · 38.3 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 88 ptsExcellent (S) · 88 of 100 points: Model quality 33.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15 Ornith 1.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 88 ptsExcellent (S) · 88 of 100 points: Model quality 29.1/45, Memory fit 24.0/25, Speed 15.0/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Granite 4.2 8B Q4_K_M · 50.3 tok/s · Tight fit

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 93 ptsExcellent (S) · 93 of 100 points: Model quality 33.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.5 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.7/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.6/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 Ornith 1.0 9B Q5_K_M · 37.8 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 92 ptsExcellent (S) · 92 of 100 points: Model quality 32.3/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 15.0/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 TMax 9B Q5_K_M · 40.8 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 90 ptsExcellent (S) · 90 of 100 points: Model quality 30.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.8/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 UI-Mate 9B Q5_K_M · 38.8 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 90 ptsExcellent (S) · 90 of 100 points: Model quality 30.6/45, Memory fit 25.0/25, Speed 14.8/15, Memory use 15.0/15, workload match +5.0 UI-Venus 2 9B Q5_K_M · 38.8 tok/s · Runs well

Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.