Mungert/phi-2-GGUF

phi-2 GGUF Models

Ultra-Low-Bit Quantization with IQ-DynamicGate (1-2 bit)

Our latest quantization method introduces precision-adaptive quantization for ultra-low-bit models (1-2 bit), with benchmark-proven improvements on Llama-3-8B. This approach uses layer-specific strategies to preserve accuracy while maintaining extreme memory efficiency.

Benchmark Context

All tests conducted on Llama-3-8B-Instruct using:

• Standard perplexity evaluation pipeline
• 2048-token context window
• Same prompt set across all quantizations

Method

• Dynamic Precision Allocation:
  • First/Last 25% of layers → IQ4_XS (selected layers)
  • Middle 50% → IQ2_XXS/IQ3_S (increase efficiency)
• Critical Component Protection:
  • Embeddings/output layers use Q5_K
  • Reduces error propagation by 38% vs standard 1-2bit

Quantization Performance Comparison (Llama-3-8B)

Quantization	Standard PPL	DynamicGate PPL	Δ PPL	Std Size	DG Size	Δ Size	Std Speed	DG Speed
IQ2_XXS	11.30	9.84	-12.9%	2.5G	2.6G	+0.1G	234s	246s
IQ2_XS	11.72	11.63	-0.8%	2.7G	2.8G	+0.1G	242s	246s
IQ2_S	14.31	9.02	-36.9%	2.7G	2.9G	+0.2G	238s	244s
IQ1_M	27.46	15.41	-43.9%	2.2G	2.5G	+0.3G	206s	212s
IQ1_S	53.07	32.00	-39.7%	2.1G	2.4G	+0.3G	184s	209s

Key:

• PPL = Perplexity (lower is better)
• Δ PPL = Percentage change from standard to DynamicGate
• Speed = Inference time (CPU avx2, 2048 token context)
• Size differences reflect mixed quantization overhead

Key Improvements:

• 🔥 IQ1_M shows massive 43.9% perplexity reduction (27.46 → 15.41)
• 🚀 IQ2_S cuts perplexity by 36.9% while adding only 0.2GB
• ⚡ IQ1_S maintains 39.7% better accuracy despite 1-bit quantization

Tradeoffs:

• All variants have modest size increases (0.1-0.3GB)
• Inference speeds remain comparable (<5% difference)

When to Use These Models

📌 Fitting models into GPU VRAM

✔ Memory-constrained deployments

✔ Cpu and Edge Devices where 1-2bit errors can be tolerated

✔ Research into ultra-low-bit quantization

Choosing the Right Model Format

Selecting the correct model format depends on your hardware capabilities and memory constraints.

BF16 (Brain Float 16) – Use if BF16 acceleration is available

• A 16-bit floating-point format designed for faster computation while retaining good precision.
• Provides similar dynamic range as FP32 but with lower memory usage.
• Recommended if your hardware supports BF16 acceleration (check your device's specs).
• Ideal for high-performance inference with reduced memory footprint compared to FP32.

📌 Use BF16 if:
✔ Your hardware has native BF16 support (e.g., newer GPUs, TPUs).
✔ You want higher precision while saving memory.
✔ You plan to requantize the model into another format.

📌 Avoid BF16 if:
❌ Your hardware does not support BF16 (it may fall back to FP32 and run slower).
❌ You need compatibility with older devices that lack BF16 optimization.

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F16 (Float 16) – More widely supported than BF16

• A 16-bit floating-point high precision but with less of range of values than BF16.
• Works on most devices with FP16 acceleration support (including many GPUs and some CPUs).
• Slightly lower numerical precision than BF16 but generally sufficient for inference.

📌 Use F16 if:
✔ Your hardware supports FP16 but not BF16.
✔ You need a balance between speed, memory usage, and accuracy.
✔ You are running on a GPU or another device optimized for FP16 computations.

📌 Avoid F16 if:
❌ Your device lacks native FP16 support (it may run slower than expected).
❌ You have memory limitations.

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Quantized Models (Q4_K, Q6_K, Q8, etc.) – For CPU & Low-VRAM Inference

Quantization reduces model size and memory usage while maintaining as much accuracy as possible.

• Lower-bit models (Q4_K) → Best for minimal memory usage, may have lower precision.
• Higher-bit models (Q6_K, Q8_0) → Better accuracy, requires more memory.

📌 Use Quantized Models if:
✔ You are running inference on a CPU and need an optimized model.
✔ Your device has low VRAM and cannot load full-precision models.
✔ You want to reduce memory footprint while keeping reasonable accuracy.

📌 Avoid Quantized Models if:
❌ You need maximum accuracy (full-precision models are better for this).
❌ Your hardware has enough VRAM for higher-precision formats (BF16/F16).

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Very Low-Bit Quantization (IQ3_XS, IQ3_S, IQ3_M, Q4_K, Q4_0)

These models are optimized for extreme memory efficiency, making them ideal for low-power devices or large-scale deployments where memory is a critical constraint.

• IQ3_XS: Ultra-low-bit quantization (3-bit) with extreme memory efficiency.

  • Use case: Best for ultra-low-memory devices where even Q4_K is too large.
  • Trade-off: Lower accuracy compared to higher-bit quantizations.

• IQ3_S: Small block size for maximum memory efficiency.

  • Use case: Best for low-memory devices where IQ3_XS is too aggressive.

• IQ3_M: Medium block size for better accuracy than IQ3_S.

  • Use case: Suitable for low-memory devices where IQ3_S is too limiting.

• Q4_K: 4-bit quantization with block-wise optimization for better accuracy.

  • Use case: Best for low-memory devices where Q6_K is too large.

• Q4_0: Pure 4-bit quantization, optimized for ARM devices.

  • Use case: Best for ARM-based devices or low-memory environments.

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Summary Table: Model Format Selection

Model Format	Precision	Memory Usage	Device Requirements	Best Use Case
BF16	Highest	High	BF16-supported GPU/CPUs	High-speed inference with reduced memory
F16	High	High	FP16-supported devices	GPU inference when BF16 isn't available
Q4_K	Medium Low	Low	CPU or Low-VRAM devices	Best for memory-constrained environments
Q6_K	Medium	Moderate	CPU with more memory	Better accuracy while still being quantized
Q8_0	High	Moderate	CPU or GPU with enough VRAM	Best accuracy among quantized models
IQ3_XS	Very Low	Very Low	Ultra-low-memory devices	Extreme memory efficiency and low accuracy
Q4_0	Low	Low	ARM or low-memory devices	llama.cpp can optimize for ARM devices

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Included Files & Details

phi-2-bf16.gguf

• Model weights preserved in BF16.
• Use this if you want to requantize the model into a different format.
• Best if your device supports BF16 acceleration.

phi-2-f16.gguf

• Model weights stored in F16.
• Use if your device supports FP16, especially if BF16 is not available.

phi-2-bf16-q8_0.gguf

• Output & embeddings remain in BF16.
• All other layers quantized to Q8_0.
• Use if your device supports BF16 and you want a quantized version.

phi-2-f16-q8_0.gguf

• Output & embeddings remain in F16.
• All other layers quantized to Q8_0.

phi-2-q4_k.gguf

• Output & embeddings quantized to Q8_0.
• All other layers quantized to Q4_K.
• Good for CPU inference with limited memory.

phi-2-q4_k_s.gguf

• Smallest Q4_K variant, using less memory at the cost of accuracy.
• Best for very low-memory setups.

phi-2-q6_k.gguf

• Output & embeddings quantized to Q8_0.
• All other layers quantized to Q6_K .

phi-2-q8_0.gguf

• Fully Q8 quantized model for better accuracy.
• Requires more memory but offers higher precision.

phi-2-iq3_xs.gguf

• IQ3_XS quantization, optimized for extreme memory efficiency.
• Best for ultra-low-memory devices.

phi-2-iq3_m.gguf

• IQ3_M quantization, offering a medium block size for better accuracy.
• Suitable for low-memory devices.

phi-2-q4_0.gguf

• Pure Q4_0 quantization, optimized for ARM devices.
• Best for low-memory environments.
• Prefer IQ4_NL for better accuracy.

🚀 If you find these models useful

❤ Please click "Like" if you find this useful!
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Final word

I fund the servers to create the models files, run the Quantum Network Monitor Service and Pay for Inference from Novita and OpenAI all from my own pocket. All of the code for creating the models and the work I have done with Quantum Network Monitor is open source. Feel free to use what you find useful. Please support my work and consider buying me a coffee . This will help me pay for the services and increase the token limits for everyone.

Thank you :)

Model Summary

Phi-2 is a Transformer with 2.7 billion parameters. It was trained using the same data sources as Phi-1.5, augmented with a new data source that consists of various NLP synthetic texts and filtered websites (for safety and educational value). When assessed against benchmarks testing common sense, language understanding, and logical reasoning, Phi-2 showcased a nearly state-of-the-art performance among models with less than 13 billion parameters.

Our model hasn't been fine-tuned through reinforcement learning from human feedback. The intention behind crafting this open-source model is to provide the research community with a non-restricted small model to explore vital safety challenges, such as reducing toxicity, understanding societal biases, enhancing controllability, and more.

How to Use

Phi-2 has been integrated in the transformers version 4.37.0, please ensure that you are using a version equal or higher than it.

Phi-2 is known for having an attention overflow issue (with FP16). If you are facing this issue, please enable/disable autocast on the PhiAttention.forward() function.

Intended Uses

Given the nature of the training data, the Phi-2 model is best suited for prompts using the QA format, the chat format, and the code format.

QA Format:

You can provide the prompt as a standalone question as follows:

Write a detailed analogy between mathematics and a lighthouse.

where the model generates the text after "." . To encourage the model to write more concise answers, you can also try the following QA format using "Instruct: <prompt>\nOutput:"

Instruct: Write a detailed analogy between mathematics and a lighthouse.
Output: Mathematics is like a lighthouse. Just as a lighthouse guides ships safely to shore, mathematics provides a guiding light in the world of numbers and logic. It helps us navigate through complex problems and find solutions. Just as a lighthouse emits a steady beam of light, mathematics provides a consistent framework for reasoning and problem-solving. It illuminates the path to understanding and helps us make sense of the world around us.

where the model generates the text after "Output:".

Chat Format:

Alice: I don't know why, I'm struggling to maintain focus while studying. Any suggestions?
Bob: Well, have you tried creating a study schedule and sticking to it?
Alice: Yes, I have, but it doesn't seem to help much.
Bob: Hmm, maybe you should try studying in a quiet environment, like the library.
Alice: ...

where the model generates the text after the first "Bob:".

Code Format:

def print_prime(n):
   """
   Print all primes between 1 and n
   """
   primes = []
   for num in range(2, n+1):
       is_prime = True
       for i in range(2, int(math.sqrt(num))+1):
           if num % i == 0:
               is_prime = False
               break
       if is_prime:
           primes.append(num)
   print(primes)

where the model generates the text after the comments.

Notes:

• Phi-2 is intended for QA, chat, and code purposes. The model-generated text/code should be treated as a starting point rather than a definitive solution for potential use cases. Users should be cautious when employing these models in their applications.

• Direct adoption for production tasks without evaluation is out of scope of this project. As a result, the Phi-2 model has not been tested to ensure that it performs adequately for any production-level application. Please refer to the limitation sections of this document for more details.

• If you are using transformers<4.37.0, always load the model with trust_remote_code=True to prevent side-effects.

Sample Code

import torch
from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer

torch.set_default_device("cuda")

model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained("microsoft/phi-2", torch_dtype="auto", trust_remote_code=True)
tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained("microsoft/phi-2", trust_remote_code=True)

inputs = tokenizer('''def print_prime(n):
   """
   Print all primes between 1 and n
   """''', return_tensors="pt", return_attention_mask=False)

outputs = model.generate(**inputs, max_length=200)
text = tokenizer.batch_decode(outputs)[0]
print(text)

Limitations of Phi-2

• Generate Inaccurate Code and Facts: The model may produce incorrect code snippets and statements. Users should treat these outputs as suggestions or starting points, not as definitive or accurate solutions.

• Limited Scope for code: Majority of Phi-2 training data is based in Python and use common packages such as "typing, math, random, collections, datetime, itertools". If the model generates Python scripts that utilize other packages or scripts in other languages, we strongly recommend users manually verify all API uses.

• Unreliable Responses to Instruction: The model has not undergone instruction fine-tuning. As a result, it may struggle or fail to adhere to intricate or nuanced instructions provided by users.

• Language Limitations: The model is primarily designed to understand standard English. Informal English, slang, or any other languages might pose challenges to its comprehension, leading to potential misinterpretations or errors in response.

• Potential Societal Biases: Phi-2 is not entirely free from societal biases despite efforts in assuring training data safety. There's a possibility it may generate content that mirrors these societal biases, particularly if prompted or instructed to do so. We urge users to be aware of this and to exercise caution and critical thinking when interpreting model outputs.

• Toxicity: Despite being trained with carefully selected data, the model can still produce harmful content if explicitly prompted or instructed to do so. We chose to release the model to help the open-source community develop the most effective ways to reduce the toxicity of a model directly after pretraining.

• Verbosity: Phi-2 being a base model often produces irrelevant or extra text and responses following its first answer to user prompts within a single turn. This is due to its training dataset being primarily textbooks, which results in textbook-like responses.

Training

Model

• Architecture: a Transformer-based model with next-word prediction objective

• Context length: 2048 tokens

• Dataset size: 250B tokens, combination of NLP synthetic data created by AOAI GPT-3.5 and filtered web data from Falcon RefinedWeb and SlimPajama, which was assessed by AOAI GPT-4.

• Training tokens: 1.4T tokens

• GPUs: 96xA100-80G

• Training time: 14 days

Software

• PyTorch

• DeepSpeed

• Flash-Attention

License

The model is licensed under the MIT license.

Trademarks

This project may contain trademarks or logos for projects, products, or services. Authorized use of Microsoft trademarks or logos is subject to and must follow Microsoft’s Trademark & Brand Guidelines. Use of Microsoft trademarks or logos in modified versions of this project must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Any use of third-party trademarks or logos are subject to those third-party’s policies.