Comparative studies of implementations of the controlled NOT quantum gate operation using vibrational states of ammonia as the qubit states are presented. The quantum gate operations are realized using tailored laser pulses, which are calculated using a combined approach of optimal control theory and the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method. We compare results obtained with a reduced model of ammonia with three degrees of freedom (all N–H bond distances fixed) to those obtained with a full six-dimensional model. In our study, the optimal laser pulses of both models induce similar underlying physical mechanisms while the gate quality within the reduced model (>98%) is much higher than within the six-dimensional model (≈80%).