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RUNNING-LOCAL-LLMS5 MIN READ

Quantization Is a Tradeoff, Not a Badge

Evaluate quantized local models with a small PDCA loop tied to task quality and performance.

The move: test quantization as an operating decision. Quantization reduces model weight precision so a model can fit into less memory and often run faster. It can also change output quality. The mistake is treating quantization labels as status symbols: Q8 must be serious, Q4 must be cheap, bigger must be better. That thinking ignores the actual workflow. Use PDCA. Plan: define the task, prompts, quality bar, latency bar, and hardware. Do: run each candidate on the same sample. Check: compare quality, speed, errors, and memory headroom. Act: standardize the smallest variant that meets the bar, or revise the plan.…

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