What is the Theoretically Optimal Quantization Bit-Width for LLMs?
takuonline · reddit · 2026-08-08
A deep discussion on Reddit explores the optimal bit-width for LLM quantization under a fixed memory budget. The poster questions whether a smaller 8-bit model outperforms a much larger 2-bit or 1.5-bit model. While 4-bit used to be the sweet spot, recent empirical studies show promising results for lower bits. The thread dives into scaling laws and the trade-off between quantization degradation and parameter gains.
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