which DeepSeek R1 model fits your GPU? The distill sizing guide (2026)

DeepSeek R1 comes in six distilled sizes, from 1.5B to 70B. Here's exactly which one fits your VRAM — and why the 32B on a 24GB card is the value… Aliteq Lena Fischer · AI & Local Compute Editor

1.5B / 7B → 6-8GB — tiny, for very limited hardware.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

8B → 8-12GB — a capable, accessible reasoning model.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

14B → 12-16GB — rivals 4× bigger models on math; great mid-range pick.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

32B → 24GB (~20GB at Q4) — the sweet spot, beats o1-mini.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

70B → 40GB+ — dual 24GB or Mac 64GB+; see 32B vs 70B.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

Best value: the 32B on a used RTX 3090 — top capability-per-dollar.

DeepSeek R1 distill, by VRAM

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