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Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Side-by-side VRAM requirements, benchmark scores, and GPU compatibility for local AI inference.

Quick verdict

Both models need similar VRAM at Q4_K_M (42.2 GB). The choice comes down to benchmarks and architecture.

VRAM at each quantization (8k context)

QuantLlama 3.1 70B InstructLlama 3.3 70B InstructDiff
FP16159.8 GB159.8 GB+0%
Q881.4 GB81.4 GB+0%
Q6_K61.8 GB61.8 GB+0%
Q5_K_M52.0 GB52.0 GB+0%
Q4_K_M42.2 GB42.2 GB+0%
Q3_K_M34.4 GB34.4 GB+0%
Q2_K26.5 GB26.5 GB+0%

Diff is Llama 3.1 70B Instruct relative to Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. Green = lower VRAM (fits more GPUs).

Model specifications

SpecLlama 3.1 70B InstructLlama 3.3 70B Instruct
OrgMetaMeta
Parameters70B70B
ArchitectureDenseDense
Context125k tokens125k tokens
Modalitiestexttext
LicenseLlama 3.1 CommunityLlama 3.3 Community
CommercialYesYes
Released2024-07-232024-12-06
GPUs (native)38 / 6738 / 67

Benchmark scores

BenchmarkLlama 3.1 70B InstructLlama 3.3 70B Instruct
MMLU-Pro66.468.9
GPQA46.750.5
IFEval87.592.1
MATH68.077.0
HumanEval80.588.4
Arena ELO1247.01256.0

Green = higher score (better). — = not yet available.

GPUs that run only Llama 3.1 70B Instruct(0)

Every GPU that runs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct also runs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.

GPUs that run only Llama 3.3 70B Instruct(0)

Every GPU that runs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct also runs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.

GPUs that run both natively(38)

Which should you use?

Choose Llama 3.1 70B Instruct if:
    Choose Llama 3.3 70B Instruct if:
    • • Benchmark quality matters — scores 68.9 vs 66.4 on MMLU-Pro

    Frequently asked questions

    Which is better, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?
    On MMLU-Pro, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct scores higher (68.9 vs 66.4).
    How much VRAM does Llama 3.1 70B Instruct need vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?
    At Q4_K_M quantization with 8k context, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct needs approximately 42.2 GB of VRAM, while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 42.2 GB. At FP16, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct requires 159.8 GB vs 159.8 GB for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.
    Can you run Llama 3.1 70B Instruct on the same GPUs as Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?
    Yes, 38 GPUs can run both natively in VRAM, including NVIDIA RTX 5090, NVIDIA H100 80GB, NVIDIA A100 80GB. However, no GPU can run Llama 3.1 70B Instruct without also fitting Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, and no GPU can run Llama 3.3 70B Instruct without also fitting Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.
    What is the difference between Llama 3.1 70B Instruct and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?
    Llama 3.1 70B Instruct has 70B parameters (dense) with a 125k context window. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has 70B parameters (dense) with a 125k context window. Licensing differs: Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is Llama 3.1 Community while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is Llama 3.3 Community.
    Which model fits in 24 GB of VRAM, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?
    Neither fits in 24 GB at Q4_K_M — Llama 3.1 70B Instruct needs 42.2 GB and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 42.2 GB. Both require at least a 48 GB GPU.
    Full Llama 3.1 70B Instruct page →Full Llama 3.3 70B Instruct page →Check your hardware →