Can the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB run Illustrious XL / Pony (SDXL anime)?
Download Q8_0 (2.7 GB). With the model's working memory it needs about 4.7 GB, leaving 1.3 GB spare on 6 GB. Quality: practically identical to the original.
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 read from Hugging Face (2026-09-25). “Download” links start the file directly; the file name links are the same files the official ComfyUI workflows use.
System RAM: 16 GB or more. ComfyUI keeps the model file, the text encoder and the VAE in system RAM and moves them to the GPU as needed. With this set of files that is about 2.7 GB, plus roughly 6 GB for Windows, ComfyUI and a browser: 8.7 GB in total. With less RAM it still runs, but Windows starts swapping to disk and loading gets very slow. calculated
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 → |
Sizes from the Hugging Face file listing, read 2026-09-25. “Needed” = file + 1.2 GB working memory for this model + 0.8 GB kept free for the system. 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.
04About this GPU
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.
RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB: 6 GB GDDR6 · 192-bit · Ampere · 60–115 W. Everything that runs on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB →
05What more VRAM would change
Nothing to gain for this model: the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB already runs a top-quality file entirely in VRAM. More memory would only help with bigger images, longer clips or several models at once.
What changes from the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB to the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB →
06Measured 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.
07Questions
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), counting working memory and a small system reserve. 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.
Is FP8 faster than GGUF on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB?
No. This GPU has no FP8 compute, so ComfyUI converts FP8 weights back before the maths. FP8 only saves memory here; Q8_0 GGUF is the closer-to-original 8-bit pick.
How much do I need to download for Illustrious / Pony on the RTX 3060 Laptop 6 GB?
About 2.7 GB for the model file, text encoder and VAE listed on this page, and the same again free on disk. With a 6 GB card, 16 GB of system RAM or more is recommended.