The most common buying question for local AI is whether 16 GB is worth it over 12 GB (an RTX 3060 12 GB, RTX 5070 or 4070 against an RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB or 4060 Ti 16 GB). Instead of guessing, here is what changes for every model on this site, with the same rule used everywhere else.
The short answer
For 35 of 50 models, 16 GB gives you either a better verdict or a better file. For 27 of them the verdict itself improves (for example from a compressed GGUF to an 8-bit file, or from offloading to fitting entirely). For the other 15, both sizes behave the same: small models already fit in 12 GB, and the biggest ones do not fit in 16 GB either.
Where 16 GB makes a difference
| Model | 12 GB | 16 GB |
|---|---|---|
| Ideogram 4 | Offload only Q4_1 | Runs Q4_1 |
| Wan 2.1 I2V 480P | Offload only Q3_K_M | Runs Q4_K_M |
| Boogu-Image | Runs Q5_1 | Runs well FP8 |
| FLUX.1 Fill | Runs Q5_K_S | Runs well Q8_0 |
| FLUX.1 Kontext | Runs Q5_K_M | Runs well FP8 |
| FLUX.1 Krea | Runs Q5_K_M | Runs well FP8 |
| FLUX.1 dev | Runs Q5_K_S | Runs well FP8 |
| FLUX.1 schnell | Runs Q5_K_S | Runs well FP8 |
| HiDream-I1 | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q5_K_M |
| HiDream-I1 Full | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q5_K_M |
| HunyuanImage 2.1 | Tight Q2_K | Runs Q4_K_M |
| HunyuanVideo 1.5 | Runs Q6_K | Runs well FP8 |
| HunyuanVideo 13B | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q6_K |
| Krea 2 | Runs Q5_K_M | Runs well FP8 |
| LTX-2 | Offload only Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| LTX-2.3 | Offload only Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| LTX-2.5 | Offload only Q2_K | Tight Q2_K |
| LTX-Video 13B | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q6_K |
| MiniMax H3 Pruned | Offload only Q4_K_M | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Qwen-Image | Tight Q2_K | Runs Q4_K_M |
| SCAIL-2 | Offload only Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Wan 2.1 14B | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q5_K_M |
| Wan 2.1 I2V 720P | Offload only Q4_K_M | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Wan 2.2 I2V | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q5_K_M |
| Wan 2.2 S2V | Offload only Q4_K_M | Tight Q2_K |
| Wan 2.2 T2V | Tight Q3_K_M | Runs Q5_K_M |
| Wan VACE 14B | Offload only Q3_K_S | Tight Q3_K_S |
| FLUX.2 dev | Offload only Q4_K_M | Offload only Q2_K |
| Ming-Image | Runs well INT8 | Runs well 16-bit |
| Qwen-Image-Edit | Tight Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Wan 2.2 5B | Runs well Q8_0 | Runs well 16-bit |
| Wan 2.2 Animate | Tight Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Wan Animate 2 | Tight Q2_K | Tight Q3_K_M |
| Z-Image | Runs well INT8 | Runs well 16-bit |
| Z-Image Turbo | Runs well INT8 | Runs well 16-bit |
Verdicts and best files for a card with FP8 hardware (RTX 40/50). Calculated from real file sizes at about one megapixel for images and a short clip for video.
So which one?
- Images only, mostly SDXL, FLUX.1 schnell, Z-Image Turbo or FLUX.2 klein: 12 GB is enough.
- FLUX.1 dev in 8-bit, Qwen-Image, bigger edit models or any video: take 16 GB. The 8-bit files that keep full quality are around 12 GB on their own for FLUX.1 dev, and bigger for Qwen-Image.
- Whatever you pick, get 32 GB of system RAM at least, and 64 GB for video. Why RAM matters.
My own numbers on a 16 GB card: everything on the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. Compare two exact cards: GPU comparisons.