NeMO Megatron GPT 20B TPS calculator

Open weights NVIDIA 20B parameters September 2022

Each card below is assessed against this model at the context length and minimum quality you choose. Speed is an estimate for a single request, calculated from the card's memory bandwidth and the size of the model once compressed.

Calculated for this model

293 cards that can run it

818 cards we hold specifications for

Smallest card that fits

Quadro K6000

12 GB · Q3_K_M · 14.0 tok/s

Fastest card

B200

169 tok/s · 180 GB

Which GPUs can run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B?

Set the inputs, read the answer

Context length tokens

A longer conversation needs more memory, which can push this model off smaller cards.

Minimum quality

Hides cards that would only fit the model by compressing it below this point.

Search cards

Card memory

Also show cards that cannot run it

293 cards match

Calculating

					Needs	Quantisation	Fit
169 tok/s 102–271 · low confidence	B200 NVIDIA	180 GB	8,000 GB/s	Jan 2024	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
169 tok/s 102–271 · low confidence	B300 NVIDIA	288 GB	8,000 GB/s	Sep 2025	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
135 tok/s 81–216 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI350X AMD	288 GB	8,190 GB/s	Jan 2025	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
135 tok/s 81–216 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI355X AMD	288 GB	8,190 GB/s	Jan 2025	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
108 tok/s 65–173 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300 AMD	128 GB	6,550 GB/s	Jan 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
104 tok/s 62–166 · low confidence	H200 NVL NVIDIA	141 GB	4,890 GB/s	Nov 2024	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
104 tok/s 62–166 · low confidence	H200 SXM 141 GB NVIDIA	141 GB	4,890 GB/s	Nov 2024	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
99.1 tok/s 59–159 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI325X AMD	256 GB	6,000 GB/s	Oct 2024	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
88.0 tok/s 53–141 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300A AMD	128 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
88.0 tok/s 53–141 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI300X AMD	192 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
88.0 tok/s 53–141 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI308X AMD	192 GB	5,325 GB/s	Dec 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
83.4 tok/s 50–134 · low confidence	H100 NVL 94 GB NVIDIA	94 GB	3,940 GB/s	Mar 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
71.2 tok/s 43–114 · low confidence	H100 PCIe 96 GB NVIDIA	96 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
71.2 tok/s 43–114 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 80 GB NVIDIA	80 GB	3,360 GB/s	Oct 2022	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
71.2 tok/s 43–114 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 94 GB NVIDIA	94 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
71.2 tok/s 43–114 · low confidence	H100 SXM5 96 GB NVIDIA	96 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
71.2 tok/s 43–114 · low confidence	H800 SXM5 NVIDIA	80 GB	3,360 GB/s	Mar 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
55.2 tok/s 33–88 · low confidence	Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB NVIDIA	16 GB	1,130 GB/s	Nov 2019	12.8 GB	Q4_K_M	Tight
54.2 tok/s 33–87 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI250 AMD	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Nov 2021	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
54.2 tok/s 33–87 · low confidence	Radeon Instinct MI250X AMD	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Nov 2021	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
52.1 tok/s 31–83 · low confidence	GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB NVIDIA	12 GB	912 GB/s	Jan 2022	10.5 GB	Q3_K_M	Tight
52.1 tok/s 31–83 · low confidence	GeForce RTX 3080 Ti NVIDIA	12 GB	912 GB/s	May 2021	10.5 GB	Q3_K_M	Tight
46.9 tok/s 28–75 · low confidence	GeForce RTX 5080 NVIDIA	16 GB	960 GB/s	Jan 2025	12.8 GB	Q4_K_M	Tight
45.2 tok/s 27–72 · low confidence	Data Center GPU Max 1550 Intel	128 GB	3,280 GB/s	Jan 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable
44.2 tok/s 27–71 · low confidence	Data Center GPU Max Subsystem Intel	128 GB	3,210 GB/s	Jan 2023	22.1 GB	Q8_0	Comfortable

Speeds are estimates for a single request — one conversation at a time — calculated from memory bandwidth, model size and quantisation. Real throughput varies with the inference runtime and its version. Figures published by hardware vendors measure many simultaneous requests and are much higher.

On record

Full specification

Everything on record for this model. Most of it describes how it was trained rather than how it runs — useful context for judging how much work went into it, and how it compares with models built at a different scale.

Origin

Who built this model, where, and when it was published.

Organisation: NVIDIA
Organisation type: Industry
Country: United States of America
Published: 15 September 2022

What it does

The problem areas the model was built for. A model can carry several of each.

Domain: Language
Task: Language modeling/generation, Question answering
Approach: Self-supervised learning

Size

How large the model is and how much data it was trained on. Parameters are the figure that decides whether it fits on a given graphics card.

Parameters: 20B
Training data: 341,173,367,965 tokens

Availability

Whether you can obtain the model and run it on your own hardware, which is what decides if any of the graphics-card figures on this page apply.

Weights: Open — downloadable
Model access: Open weights (unrestricted)
Training code: Unreleased

How it is classified

Labels the source dataset applies when tracking notable models, and how confident it is in the entry.

Record confidence: Confident

Sources

Where this record came from and when it was last checked.

Reference: NeMo Megatron-GPT 20B
Last updated: 28 November 2025

The extremes

The ten fastest GPUs that run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B

Ranked by estimated tokens per second, newest card first where speeds tie. Because generation is bound by memory bandwidth, this ordering follows bandwidth rather than any gaming benchmark.

The smallest GPUs that still run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B

The cheapest route in, by memory capacity. A tight fit runs the model but leaves nothing spare for a longer conversation.

What the numbers mean

What it takes to run this model

Minimum card

Quadro K6000

Memory needed

10.5 GB

Fastest

169 tok/s

With 20B parameters, NeMO Megatron GPT 20B lands in the range a serious desktop card can handle once the weights are compressed. 293 of the cards we track can run it.

The smallest card that holds it is the Quadro K6000 with 12 GB, running it at Q3_K_M and producing around 14.0 tokens per second.

The quickest result comes from a B200 at around 169 tokens per second — its 8,000 GB/s of bandwidth is what buys that.

What this model is

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B was published by NVIDIA, in United States of America, in September 2022. The organisation is categorised as industry.

It works in Language, and is recorded as doing language modeling/generation, Question answering.

Because its weights were released, nothing about running it depends on a provider staying available — it is yours once downloaded.

What decides the speed

The median result is around 20.6 tokens per second; 248 cards produce text faster than most people read it.

It is a dense model, so every parameter is read for every token produced. That makes speed track memory bandwidth almost exactly — a card with twice the bandwidth generates roughly twice as fast.

Without the attention layout on record, the memory column is an approximation. It is close enough to choose hardware by, and least reliable at long context.

Training and provenance

The training set ran to roughly 341,173,367,965 tokens.

Step by step

How to choose a GPU for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B

The table above has already assessed every card we hold specifications for against this model. Getting to your answer takes six steps.

01

Start from the memory column

The table lists every card that can hold NeMO Megatron GPT 20B — around 10.5 GB at Q3_K_M. That figure, not the card's headline performance, is what decides whether it runs.
02

Match the context to your actual use

Longer conversations cost memory on top of what the weights need. Move the slider to your real working length before trusting any row for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B.
03

Choose how far you will compress it

Compression is what makes NeMO Megatron GPT 20B fit smaller cards, at some cost in accuracy — Q3_K_M on the smallest card that fits. A minimum quality removes the ones that go too far.
04

Sort by speed

The speed ordering for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B is effectively an ordering by memory bandwidth, which is why the B200 tops it at 169 tok/s.
05

Check the fit verdict before buying

A tight fit runs NeMO Megatron GPT 20B but leaves nothing spare for a longer conversation; comfortable has headroom. If you expect to grow the context, buy for comfortable.
06

Open the card you have settled on

Each card page repeats this sweep for every model we hold. It answers what else the hardware is good for, beyond NeMO Megatron GPT 20B.

Answers

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B — common questions

Can I run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B on a 16 GB GPU?

Yes. A Tesla V100 SXM2 16 GB with 16 GB runs it at Q4_K_M, using about 12.8 GB and generating roughly 55.2 tokens per second — a tight fit.

Can I run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B on a 24 GB GPU?

Yes. A GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 with 24 GB runs it at Q6_K, using about 17.5 GB and generating roughly 41.2 tokens per second — a comfortable fit.

Is NeMO Megatron GPT 20B open source?

Its weights are published, so NeMO Megatron GPT 20B can be downloaded and run on your own hardware. Note that open weights is not the same as open source in the full sense — it says nothing about the training data, the training code, or the commercial terms attached.

How many parameters does NeMO Megatron GPT 20B have?

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B has 20B parameters. 20B. That figure is the total, and it is what decides how much memory the model needs — roughly half a gigabyte per billion at the compression most people use.

Who created NeMO Megatron GPT 20B?

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B was published by NVIDIA, based in United States of America, categorised as industry.

When was NeMO Megatron GPT 20B released?

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B was published in September 2022. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.

What is NeMO Megatron GPT 20B used for?

NeMO Megatron GPT 20B works in Language, and is recorded as handling language modeling/generation, Question answering. A model can carry several of each, so these are the areas it was built for rather than a limit on what it will attempt.

Where can I download NeMO Megatron GPT 20B?

The weights for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B are published, though we do not hold a repository link for it. This site calculates hardware requirements rather than hosting model files.

Can I run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B if it does not fit in my GPU?

Only by offloading, which is usually a false economy: the part in system memory drags the whole thing down — the nearest miss we calculate is short by 2.9 GB. Our figures for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B assume it is fully resident.

Would two GPUs run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B faster?

A second card roughly doubles the memory available but not the generation rate. With 293 cards already able to run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B alone, the case for pairing is weak.

Why does the quantisation differ between cards for NeMO Megatron GPT 20B?

Because capacity varies, so does how hard NeMO Megatron GPT 20B has to be squeezed — 4 distinct levels appear in the table above. Set a minimum quality to compare at one.

How accurate are these NeMO Megatron GPT 20B speed estimates?

They are calculated from specifications rather than measured, and each carries a range — 102–271 tok/s on the B200, for instance. The same model and card vary by thirty to fifty per cent depending on the inference software and its version.

What GPU do I need to run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B?

The smallest card in our catalogue that holds NeMO Megatron GPT 20B is the Quadro K6000, with 12 GB of memory. It runs the model at Q3_K_M using about 10.5 GB, and produces roughly 14.0 tokens per second. 293 cards in total can run it.

How fast is NeMO Megatron GPT 20B on a GPU?

It depends on the card. The quickest we calculate is a B200 at about 169 tokens per second; the slowest that still runs it manages considerably less. Reading speed is around ten tokens per second, and 248 of the cards that can run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B clear that.

How much VRAM does NeMO Megatron GPT 20B need?

About 10.5 GB at Q3_K_M compression, which is what the smallest card that runs it uses. Less compression needs more: the figures in the memory column above are recalculated for each card, because each one holds the least-compressed version it can.

Can I run NeMO Megatron GPT 20B on a 12 GB GPU?

Yes. A GeForce RTX 3080 Ti with 12 GB runs it at Q3_K_M, using about 10.5 GB and generating roughly 52.1 tokens per second — a tight fit.

Source

Original publication

Record last updated 28 November 2025

The other direction

Looking at it from the other side?

This page starts from the model. If you already own a card and want to know everything it will run, start from the hardware instead.

All AI models