Estimate VRAM Before the Model Load Fails
Estimate whether a local model configuration has enough memory headroom before testing.
Priya needs a local demo on a 12 GB GPU. The model file is 8.2 GB, the demo prompts use long retrieved context, and two users may test at once. Estimate saturation by separating fixed weights, variable context, runtime overhead, and headroom. The common trap is checking only the model file size. That ignores KV cache, runtime overhead, concurrent sessions, and memory fragmentation. Weights Start with the quantized model file: 8.2 GB of mostly fixed memory. Weights are the baseline. They do not tell you whether the real workload fits, but they set the floor. Context Budget roughly 1.8 to…
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