Can the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB run Illustrious XL / Pony (SDXL anime)?
Yes, but only just: Q8_0 leaves 1.3 GB free on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB.
Q8_0 (2.7 GB) fits with only 1.3 GB to spare (about 4.7 GB of 6 GB).
01What to download
| Part | File | Folder | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | illustrious-q8_0.gguf Q8_0 · calcuis/illustrious | models/unet | 2.7 GB | Download → |
| Total download · keep about the same free on disk | 2.7 GB | |||
The calcuis FP8 and GGUF files contain the UNet only: take the text encoders and VAE from any SDXL checkpoint, or use the 16-bit checkpoint if it fits. Sizes from Hugging Face, 2026-10-01.
02Every Illustrious / Pony file on 6 GB
| File | Size | Needed | On this card | Quality | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-bit SAFETENSORS · OnomaAIResearch | 6.9 GB | 7.1 GB | spills 1.1 GB | the original weights | Hugging Face → |
| Q8_0 ← GGUF · calcuis | 2.7 GB | 4.7 GB | fits · 1.3 GB spare | practically identical to the original | Hugging Face → |
| FP8 SAFETENSORS · calcuis | 3.5 GB | 5.5 GB | fits · 0.5 GB spare | practically identical to the original | Hugging Face → |
| Q6_K GGUF · calcuis | 2.1 GB | 4.1 GB | fits · 1.9 GB spare | very close to the original | Hugging Face → |
| Q5_K_M GGUF · calcuis | 1.8 GB | 3.8 GB | fits · 2.2 GB spare | close; small differences in fine detail | Hugging Face → |
| Q4_K_M GGUF · calcuis | 1.5 GB | 3.5 GB | fits · 2.5 GB spare | good; some loss in fine detail and text | Hugging Face → |
| Q3_K_M GGUF · calcuis | 1.2 GB | 3.2 GB | fits · 2.8 GB spare | noticeable loss of detail | Hugging Face → |
| Q2_K GGUF · calcuis | 0.9 GB | 2.9 GB | fits · 3.1 GB spare | heavy loss; a last resort | Hugging Face → |
“Needed” adds 1.2 GB of working memory for Illustrious / Pony and a 0.8 GB reserve. Sizes 2026-10-01. The 6.94 GB checkpoint holds the UNet plus text encoders and VAE; only the UNet (about 5.1 GB) sits in VRAM while sampling. The GGUF and FP8 files from calcuis contain the UNet only.
03The text encoder
The text encoder is inside the checkpoint, so there is nothing extra to download.
04Measured and reported results
Nobody has sent measured numbers for this pair yet. If you run Illustrious / Pony on a RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB, send your time per image and peak VRAM and it will appear here, credited.
05About the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB
The RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB (Ampere) has no FP8 compute. FP8 files still load and save memory, but ComfyUI converts them back before the maths, so there is no speed gain - Q8_0 GGUF is the closer-to-original 8-bit choice. ComfyUI can compute INT8 files natively on NVIDIA, which is worth a try where a model offers one. As a laptop GPU it runs at a lower power limit than desktop cards (60–115 W depending on the laptop). The memory verdicts are the same; speed depends heavily on how much power the laptop maker allows.
6 GB GDDR6 · 192-bit · Ampere · 60–115 W. Everything that runs on it →
06Questions
How much VRAM does Illustrious / Pony need?
Around 2.9 GB with the smallest file (Q2_K) and 5.5 GB with an 8-bit file (FP8). The full 16-bit file needs about 7.1 GB.
Which Illustrious / Pony file should I download for the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB?
Q8_0 (2.7 GB) from calcuis/illustrious. Load it with Unet Loader (GGUF) from the ComfyUI-GGUF node pack.
FP8 or Q8_0 for Illustrious / Pony on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB?
Q8_0 (2.7 GB). The RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB has no FP8 maths, so FP8 (3.5 GB) only saves memory and is a step further from the original.
How much do I need to download for Illustrious / Pony on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB?
2.7 GB: illustrious-q8_0.gguf.