diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fcc4cb20..c52baa68 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ the frozen-backend fallback mirror it for their toolchains.
 - A YouTube link blocked by its "not a bot" check now says how to attach signed-in cookies in Dub, instead of quoting yt-dlp's command-line flags (#2036, #2034)
 - An engine that fails to start now says whether it timed out, crashed (with its exit code and last output) or answered wrongly, instead of "did not signal ready: None" (#2037, #2026)
 - Transcribing an M4A file with PyTorch Whisper works, instead of failing with "Format not recognised" (#2042, #2039)
+- PyTorch Whisper runs on 6 GB NVIDIA cards instead of falling back to CPU, because its memory check now fits the model it loads (#2044, #2041)
 - MCP tools wait as long as the backend does, so a long transcription no longer fails at 120 s with an empty error (#2043, #2040)
 
 ### CI
diff --git a/backend/services/asr_backend.py b/backend/services/asr_backend.py
index e5c93487..459b9f97 100644
--- a/backend/services/asr_backend.py
+++ b/backend/services/asr_backend.py
@@ -648,7 +648,8 @@ class WhisperXBackend(ASRBackend):
         logger.warning(
             "whisperx VRAM preflight: %.1f GB free is too little for %s on CUDA "
             "(needs ≥%.1f GB even at int8) — using CPU int8 instead. Free VRAM "
-            "(flush the TTS model, or close other GPU apps) for GPU-speed ASR. (#723)",
+            "(flush the TTS model, or close other GPU apps) for GPU-speed ASR, or "
+            "set OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT=0 to skip this check. (#723)",
             free, self._model_name,
             self._CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB["int8"] * scale,
         )
@@ -1292,10 +1293,54 @@ class PyTorchWhisperBackend(ASRBackend):
         # Reuses the `_asr_pipe` attached to the TTS model when available.
         self._pipe = asr_pipe
 
-    # whisper-large-v3-turbo occupies roughly 3.2 GiB before generation adds
-    # its encoder/decoder workspace. Loading it onto a nearly full card works,
-    # then the first transcribe fails with a CUDA OOM and yields zero segments.
-    _CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB = 5.0
+    # Free VRAM needed on CUDA, where _ensure_pipe loads fp16 weights: the
+    # weights (parameters x 2 bytes), the batch-16 decode workspace, and
+    # headroom. Loading onto a nearly full card works, then the first
+    # transcribe fails with a CUDA OOM and yields zero segments, so the device
+    # pick checks this against actually-free VRAM first.
+    #
+    # #2041: this was a flat 5.0 GB for every model, sized for full large-v3.
+    # The default is large-v3-turbo (0.81B parameters, about 1.6 GB in fp16),
+    # so a 6 GB card with nothing else resident reported 5.0 GB free and was
+    # sent to CPU every time, although CUDA transcribed the same audio in 37 s.
+    _CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB = 5.0  # full large-v3, and any model not listed below
+    # fp16 weights (GB) of the OpenAI Whisper checkpoints, by exact repo id.
+    # Anything else, including a fine-tune or a custom repo whose name happens
+    # to contain "small" or "turbo", keeps the conservative 5.0 GB budget.
+    _FP16_WEIGHTS_GB = {
+        "openai/whisper-large-v3-turbo": 1.6,
+        "openai/whisper-large-v3": 3.1,
+        "openai/whisper-large-v2": 3.1,
+        "openai/whisper-large": 3.1,
+        "openai/whisper-medium": 1.5,
+        "openai/whisper-medium.en": 1.5,
+        "openai/whisper-small": 0.5,
+        "openai/whisper-small.en": 0.5,
+        "openai/whisper-base": 0.15,
+        "openai/whisper-base.en": 0.15,
+        "openai/whisper-tiny": 0.08,
+        "openai/whisper-tiny.en": 0.08,
+    }
+    _CUDA_WORKSPACE_GB = 1.5  # batch 16 x 15 s chunks
+    _CUDA_HEADROOM_GB = 0.5
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _cuda_budget_gb(cls, model_name: str) -> float:
+        """Free VRAM (GB) this model needs on CUDA; never above the 5.0 GB
+        that full large-v3 was measured to need."""
+        weights_gb = cls._FP16_WEIGHTS_GB.get((model_name or "").strip().lower())
+        if weights_gb is None:
+            return cls._CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB
+        return min(
+            cls._CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB,
+            weights_gb + cls._CUDA_WORKSPACE_GB + cls._CUDA_HEADROOM_GB,
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _model_name() -> str:
+        return os.environ.get(
+            "OMNIVOICE_PYTORCH_ASR_MODEL", "openai/whisper-large-v3-turbo"
+        )
 
     @classmethod
     def is_available(cls) -> tuple[bool, str]:
@@ -1306,7 +1351,7 @@ class PyTorchWhisperBackend(ASRBackend):
             return False, f"transformers not installed: {e}"
 
     @classmethod
-    def _pick_device(cls) -> str:
+    def _pick_device(cls, model_name: str | None = None) -> str:
         from services.model_manager import get_best_device
 
         device = str(get_best_device())
@@ -1321,14 +1366,18 @@ class PyTorchWhisperBackend(ASRBackend):
             free_gb = free / 1024**3
         except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — an unavailable probe must not block ASR
             return device
-        if free_gb >= cls._CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB:
+        model_name = model_name or cls._model_name()
+        budget_gb = cls._cuda_budget_gb(model_name)
+        if free_gb >= budget_gb:
             return device
         logger.warning(
             "PyTorch Whisper VRAM preflight: %.1f GB free < %.1f GB needed "
-            "for reliable CUDA transcription — using CPU instead. Close other "
-            "GPU apps or Flush models to restore GPU-speed ASR.",
+            "for %s on CUDA — using CPU instead. Close other GPU apps or Flush "
+            "models to restore GPU-speed ASR, or set "
+            "OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT=0 to skip this check.",
             free_gb,
-            cls._CUDA_VRAM_BUDGET_GB,
+            budget_gb,
+            model_name,
         )
         return "cpu"
 
@@ -1351,10 +1400,8 @@ class PyTorchWhisperBackend(ASRBackend):
         # constructor and this path is skipped.
         import torch
         from transformers import pipeline as hf_pipeline
-        model_name = os.environ.get(
-            "OMNIVOICE_PYTORCH_ASR_MODEL", "openai/whisper-large-v3-turbo"
-        )
-        device = self._pick_device()
+        model_name = self._model_name()
+        device = self._pick_device(model_name)
         asr_dtype = torch.float16 if str(device).startswith("cuda") else torch.float32
         logger.info(
             "PyTorchWhisperBackend: loading standalone ASR pipeline %s on %s",
diff --git a/docs/engines/pytorch-whisper.md b/docs/engines/pytorch-whisper.md
index 815a327e..a177dd4d 100644
--- a/docs/engines/pytorch-whisper.md
+++ b/docs/engines/pytorch-whisper.md
@@ -41,12 +41,25 @@ transformers-format Whisper repo works. Weights download on first load — see
 
 ## VRAM preflight
 
-whisper-large-v3-turbo needs roughly 3.2 GiB before generation adds its
-workspace; loading it onto a nearly-full card "succeeds" and then the first
-transcribe OOMs with zero segments. So on CUDA the engine checks free VRAM
-against a 5 GB budget before loading and uses the CPU instead when the card
-is too full (flush the TTS model to restore GPU-speed ASR). Disable with
-`OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT=0`.
+Loading a model onto a nearly-full card "succeeds", and then the first
+transcribe runs out of memory with zero segments. So on CUDA the engine
+checks free VRAM before loading and uses the CPU instead when the card is
+too full (flush the TTS model to restore GPU-speed ASR).
+
+For the OpenAI Whisper checkpoints, the budget follows the model it loads in
+fp16: the weights, plus about 1.5 GB of working memory and 0.5 GB of
+headroom. Any other repository, including a fine-tune, keeps 5 GB.
+
+| Model | Free VRAM needed |
+|---|---|
+| `openai/whisper-large-v3-turbo` (default) | 3.6 GB |
+| `openai/whisper-large`, `-large-v2`, `-large-v3` | 5 GB |
+| `openai/whisper-medium` / `-small` / `-base` / `-tiny` (and `.en`) | 3.5 / 2.5 / 2.2 / 2.1 GB |
+| any other repository | 5 GB |
+
+A 6 GB card with nothing else loaded runs the default model on the GPU
+([#2041](https://github.com/debpalash/VoiceStudio/issues/2041)). Disable
+the check with `OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT=0`.
 
 ## Quirks
 
diff --git a/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_fallback.py b/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_fallback.py
index 6a23e9b7..395b8e98 100644
--- a/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_fallback.py
+++ b/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_fallback.py
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ def test_low_free_vram_routes_pytorch_whisper_to_cpu(monkeypatch):
     import torch
 
     monkeypatch.setattr("services.model_manager.get_best_device", lambda: "cuda:0")
-    monkeypatch.setattr(torch.cuda, "mem_get_info", lambda: (4 * 1024**3, 24 * 1024**3))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(torch.cuda, "mem_get_info", lambda: (3 * 1024**3, 24 * 1024**3))
 
     assert ab.PyTorchWhisperBackend._pick_device() == "cpu"
 
diff --git a/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_vram_budget_2041.py b/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_vram_budget_2041.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..36ed5ce1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_pytorch_whisper_vram_budget_2041.py
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+"""#2041 — PyTorch Whisper demanded 5.0 GB of free VRAM for every model, sized
+for full large-v3, so a 6 GB card was sent to CPU for the default
+large-v3-turbo although CUDA ran the same audio in 37 s."""
+import pytest
+
+GiB = 1024**3
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def pick(monkeypatch):
+    torch = pytest.importorskip("torch")
+    from services import asr_backend as ab
+
+    for name in ("OMNIVOICE_PYTORCH_ASR_MODEL", "OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT"):
+        monkeypatch.setenv(name, "x")  # recorded, so the teardown restores it
+        monkeypatch.delenv(name)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("services.model_manager.get_best_device", lambda: "cuda:0")
+    warnings = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(ab.logger, "warning", lambda msg, *args: warnings.append(msg % args))
+
+    def with_free(free_gb, model=None):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(torch.cuda, "mem_get_info", lambda: (int(free_gb * GiB), 6 * GiB))
+        return ab.PyTorchWhisperBackend._pick_device(model)
+
+    with_free.warnings = warnings
+    return with_free
+
+
+def test_the_reported_6gb_card_keeps_turbo_on_cuda(pick):
+    # The report: a 6 GB Quadro RTX 3000 with nothing else resident, 5.0 GB free.
+    assert pick(5.0) == "cuda:0"
+
+
+def test_turbo_still_falls_back_on_a_genuinely_full_card(pick):
+    assert pick(2.0) == "cpu"
+
+
+def test_full_large_v3_keeps_its_five_gigabyte_budget(pick):
+    assert pick(4.5, "openai/whisper-large-v3") == "cpu"
+    assert pick(5.2, "openai/whisper-large-v3") == "cuda:0"
+
+
+def test_an_unknown_model_gets_the_conservative_budget(pick):
+    assert pick(4.5, "someone/custom-asr") == "cpu"
+
+
+def test_the_fallback_warning_names_the_model_and_the_opt_out(pick):
+    pick(1.0)
+    assert "OMNIVOICE_ASR_VRAM_PREFLIGHT=0" in pick.warnings[-1]
+    assert "whisper-large-v3-turbo" in pick.warnings[-1]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "custom",
+    [
+        "someone/turbo-whisper-xl",
+        "acme/small-talk-asr",
+        "org/database-asr",
+        "openai/whisper-small-finetuned",
+    ],
+)
+def test_a_custom_repo_with_a_size_word_keeps_the_conservative_budget(pick, custom):
+    # Substring matching gave these a reduced budget and could admit a model
+    # that then ran out of VRAM (#2044 review).
+    assert pick(4.5, custom) == "cpu"
+
+
+def test_english_only_checkpoints_and_stray_case_are_recognised(pick):
+    assert pick(3.0, "openai/whisper-small.en") == "cuda:0"
+    assert pick(3.0, " OpenAI/Whisper-Small ") == "cuda:0"