22/03/2026 4:10 am
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So I been messing around with some local AI stuff and my current setup is basically a toaster. I looked into it and everyone says the RTX 3060 12GB is the king of budget builds because of the vram but then I see people on reddit saying its too slow for real training and I should just hunt for a used 3090.
Problem is I only got like 300 bucks saved up here in Chicago and a 3090 is way out of reach. Is the 12GB on the 3060 actually enough to run like a quantized Llama 3 8B comfortably or is it gonna be painfully slow? Just trying to figure out if I should pull the trigger now or keep saving...
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22/03/2026 4:35 am
Adding my two cents... @Reply #1 - good point! Just be careful because the memory bandwidth on the MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12GB OC is only 360 GB/s. Itll handle 8B inference okay, but larger batches might crawl. Definitely make sure you dont accidentally buy the 8GB version tho. That extra vram is basically the only reason to buy this card for AI stuff.
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22/03/2026 5:15 am
The 12GB is enough for Llama 3 8B, but you might want to consider being patient. If you can save more, look for a used NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB for that extra headroom... it makes a huge difference later. If you buy now tho, just be careful:
- check your PSU wattage first
- verify used cards arent burnt out
- make sure it fits your case dimensions Lmk if you get stuck.
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22/03/2026 4:10 am
If you are working with a strict 300 dollar budget, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB is the most logical choice right now. A used 3090 is great but usually costs at least 650 to 700, which is way over your limit. For running Llama 3 8B, 12GB of VRAM is actually the sweet spot for budget builds. You can easily fit a 4-bit or 8-bit quantized version of that model and still have resources left for your system. It wont be slow for basic inference, you will probably see decent tokens per second. Training is a different story, but for learning and running local models, it works fine. Since you live in Chicago, check out the Micro Center on Elston. Sometimes they have an open-box ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3060 12GB V2 for under 280, which would leave you some cash for extra system RAM or a better power supply. It is a solid entry point that lets you start today instead of waiting months to save up for high-end gear.
