Some of these quants (Q3_K_XL, Q4_K_L etc) are the standard quantization method with the embeddings and output weights quantized to Q8_0 instead of what they would normally default to.
llama.cpp automatically "repacks" weights into an interleaved layout at load time for faster inference on ARM and AVX machines - details in this PR. This once required downloading special Q4_0_4_4/4_8/8_8 files; those are long gone. Online repacking now covers Q4_0, IQ4_NL, and most K-quants, so no special quant choice is needed for CPU inference.
An older (early 2024) but still useful write-up with charts comparing quant performances is provided by Artefact2 here
The first thing to figure out is how big a model you can run. To do this, you'll need to figure out how much RAM and/or VRAM you have.
If you want your model running as FAST as possible, you'll want to fit the whole thing on your GPU's VRAM. Aim for a quant with a file size 1-2GB smaller than your GPU's total VRAM.
If you want the absolute maximum quality, add both your system RAM and your GPU's VRAM together, then similarly grab a quant with a file size 1-2GB Smaller than that total.
Hugging Face can also do this math for you: add your hardware in your Local Apps settings and the model page will show which files fit.
Next, you'll need to decide if you want to use an 'I-quant' or a 'K-quant'.
If you don't want to think too much, grab one of the K-quants. These are in format 'QX_K_X', like Q5_K_M.
If you want to get more into the weeds, you can check out this extremely useful feature chart:
But basically, if you're aiming for below Q4, and you're running cuBLAS (Nvidia) or rocBLAS (AMD), you should look towards the I-quants. These are in format IQX_X, like IQ3_M. These are newer and offer better performance for their size.
These I-quants can also be used on CPU, but will be slower than their K-quant equivalent, so speed vs performance is a tradeoff you'll have to decide.
# custom terms: read the license before you download$ fw get bartowski/LiquidAI_LFM2.5-VL-3B-GGUF
# manifest sha256 ce3538fef853… · 44.5 GB · 29 files$ fw verify ./LiquidAI_LFM2.5-VL-3B-GGUF bartowski/LiquidAI_LFM2.5-VL-3B-GGUF
Terms that come with these files. LFM 1.0: commercial use only for organisations under US$10M annual revenue. Keep a copy of the license with the files.
Custom license (custom).Read the license text first. Open this panel to show the commands once you accept its terms.
fw.pyChecks the signature and every sha256, tries each source in order, resumes.