Can a Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB) run Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE)?

Yes — Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) runs at Q3_K_M (14.7 GB) at about 14–21 tok/s on a Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB).

How much memory does Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) need?

Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) needs about 12.5 GB at 4K context at its smallest quantization. A Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB) has 32.0 GB.

Yes — Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) runs on a Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB) at Q3_K_M

Yes — it runs great.

Runs great

Best fit: Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) at Q3_K_M · 14.7 GB weights · 14–21 tok/s on a Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB).

Arena Text Overall · style-controlled

1,382Q3_K_M untested

qwen3-30b-a3b-instruct-2507 · published configuration reference · Q3_K_M not tested

Arena Text Overall (style-controlled), exact published entry qwen3-30b-a3b-instruct-2507, 2026-10-08: reference rating 1,382.4. Published confidence bounds 1,377.5–1,387.3. 23,325 votes. Published qwen3-30b-a3b-instruct-2507 configuration reference. Reasoning mode is not disclosed by the Arena dataset. Tested precision, runtime and sampling settings are not disclosed in this dataset. Selected Q3_K_M has not been measured by this Arena entry. No quantization quality adjustment is applied.

Snapshot published 2026-10-08 · snapshot imported 2026-10-11 UTC · validated last-good data · manual refresh

Arena leaderboard dataset · Arena / lmarena-ai, Arena Leaderboard Dataset (CC BY 4.0). Selected Text Overall style-controlled rows; field names adapted, ratings unchanged. · dataset CC BY 4.0 · revision e16f90232986

Total memory at 4K context: 15.9 GB; Weights + KV cache + runtime overhead
Estimated generation: 14–21 tok/s
Estimated first token: ~40s

Every quantization on this machine

On small screens, each quant lists every metric below its name. On wider screens, scroll sideways for total memory, speed and fit. Keyboard: focus the table, then use the arrow keys. Quant names stay visible.

Qwen3 30B-A3B (MoE) quantizations on Desktop CPU, DDR5 dual-channel (32GB), estimated at 4K context. Weights and total memory are shown separately.
Quant	Weights	Total memory	Speed	Fit
Q2_K	11.3 GB	12.5 GB	16–24 tok/s	Runs great
Q3_K_M	14.7 GB	15.9 GB	14–21 tok/s	Runs great
Q4_K_M	18.6 GB	19.8 GB	12–18 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q5_K_M	21.7 GB	22.9 GB	11–16 tok/s	Tight / slow
Q6_K	25.1 GB	26.3 GB	— not resident	Won't fit
Q8_0	32.5 GB	33.7 GB	— not resident	Won't fit
FP16	61.1 GB	62.3 GB	— not resident	Won't fit

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