Can you run Gemma 4 26B-A4B on RTX 4060 Ti?

Gemma 4 26B-A4B Q4_K_M on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti: verdict, VRAM math and estimated speed.

Yes, but slow
Quick answer

Yes, but slowly: Gemma 4 26B-A4B spills past the RTX 4060 Ti. 16 GB weights at Q4_K_M vs 14.4 GB usable VRAM; ~21 tok/s est. (ModelFit, 2026).

$ollama run gemma4:26b
VERDICT
Partial offload
EST. SPEED
~21 tok/s
WEIGHTS
16 GB Q4_K_M

VRAM math and speed are ModelFit engine estimates, not measurements. Commands are registry-verified Ollama tags.

Cite this page: ModelFit, Gemma 4 26B-A4B on RTX 4060 Ti, https://modelfit.io/can-i-run/gemma4-26b-a4b-q4-on-rtx-4060-ti/, updated September 2026, CC BY 4.0.

Last updated: September 18, 2026 · Editor: ModelFit Team

VRAM
16 GB (14.4 usable)
Model weights
16 GB Q4_K_M
Est. speed
~21 tok/s
First token
~0.5s
Fit grade
C · 0

What limits this combo

The four constraints the fit engine checks for Gemma 4 26B-A4B on the RTX 4060 Ti, in order of what usually breaks first.

Weights fitBlocked16 GB of weights against 14.4 GB usable — the model does not load fully in VRAM; the shortfall spills to system RAM.
Context ceilingBlockedThe weights alone exceed the budget, so no usable context fits on top.
SpeedTight~21 tok/s (est.) — fine for chat, below the ~30 tok/s that agentic coding loops need to feel responsive.
Use-case ceilingTightStrongest fit: Chat (C). Agentic coding caps at C — either the speed floor or the model's tuning is the limit; see the workload table for the per-case reason.

Quant explorer

Switch between the quality-gated builds tracked for this exact combo. Q4_K_M stays the default recommendation; heavier Q6/Q8 builds only appear when their exact Ollama tags are registry-verified.

ModelFit engine estimate
Verdict
Slow
Est. speed
~21 tok/s
First token
~0.5s · Instant
Safe context
n/a
C · 0 Tight fit

Why no 2-bit builds: Q1/Q2-class quants can look attractive in a memory table, but their quality loss is large enough that ModelFit excludes them from rankings instead of inflating the catalog with junk options. Usable VRAM: 14.4 GB.

Workload verdicts

Gemma 4 26B-A4B on the RTX 4060 Ti, graded per use case from the model's registry-verified tuning and the engine's speed estimate for this exact combo.

ModelFit engine estimate
ChatC~21 tok/s est. vs ~20 needed for chat; partial offload slows everything.
CodingC~21 tok/s est. vs ~15 needed for coding; partial offload slows everything.
Agentic codingC~21 tok/s est. vs ~30 needed for agentic coding; not tuned for tool-calling loops; partial offload slows everything.
ReasoningC~21 tok/s est. vs ~12 needed for reasoning; not a reasoning-tuned model; partial offload slows everything.
RAGC~21 tok/s est. vs ~20 needed for rag; 32k context does not fit; partial offload slows everything.

Grades combine tag-verified tuning (a model not built for the workload caps at C) with the tok/s floor each workload needs to feel usable. A combo that partially offloads caps at C; one that does not fit is D everywhere.

Memory math: weights + context vs budget

Weights take 16 GB. Context costs extra KV-cache on top — this is where long-context sessions break on cards that technically fit the weights.

Weights 16 GBKV cache · 16k context 4.0 GBRuntime reserve 1.6 GB

This configuration exceeds the comfortable VRAM budget by about 5.6 GB. Expect offload pressure or a shorter safe context.

ContextKV-cacheTotalFits
8k tokens2.0 GB18.0 GBOver
16k tokens4.0 GB20.0 GBOver
32k tokens8.0 GB24.0 GBOver
64k tokens16.0 GB32.0 GBOver
128k tokens32.0 GB48.0 GBOver

KV-cache figures assume an fp16 cache, the llama.cpp/Ollama default. Standard GQA models use a size-class estimate (8 KV heads x 128 head dim class); hybrid linear-attention models (Qwen3.5/3.6, Qwen3-Next) use the exact per-token cost from their published config, since only their sparse full-attention layers cache KV. A q8_0 KV cache roughly halves either figure. Estimates, not measurements.

See how fast it feels

A deterministic typing simulation for Gemma 4 26B-A4B: first token ~0.5s (instant prefill), then ~21 tokens/sec.

Start the simulation to preview the response pace.

ModelFit engine estimate, not a measured benchmark. Real speed varies with prompt length, thermals, runtime, and KV-cache settings.

Upgrade path

The cheapest tracked card that runs Gemma 4 26B-A4B comfortably is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB VRAM).

See the RX 7900 XT page

Gemma 4 26B-A4B on RTX 4060 Ti: FAQ

Can the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti run Gemma 4 26B-A4B?

Barely. Gemma 4 26B-A4B (Q4_K_M) needs about 16 GB but the RTX 4060 Ti has 14.4 GB usable VRAM, so part of the model spills to system RAM and speed drops to at roughly 21 tokens/sec (est.).

How much VRAM does Gemma 4 26B-A4B need?

About 16 GB for the weights at Q4_K_M, plus KV-cache for context: roughly 4.0 GB extra at 16k tokens. The RTX 4060 Ti budget is 14.4 GB (16 GB x 90%).

What is the best quantization of Gemma 4 26B-A4B for the RTX 4060 Ti?

Stick with the Q4_K_M build at 16 GB — every heavier quant exceeds the 14.4 GB usable VRAM.

What GPU do I need to run Gemma 4 26B-A4B comfortably?

The cheapest tracked card that runs Gemma 4 26B-A4B (Q4_K_M) fully in VRAM is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB).

How much context can Gemma 4 26B-A4B use on the RTX 4060 Ti?

None worth having — the 16 GB of weights alone exceed the 14.4 GB usable VRAM, so the model only runs with system-RAM offload and short prompts.

Is Gemma 4 26B-A4B on the RTX 4060 Ti fast enough for coding agents?

No: the engine estimates ~21 tok/s against the ~30 tok/s an agentic loop needs to feel responsive. Chat will feel fine, but multi-step agent runs will drag; a smaller model or a bigger card is the fix.