Researchers systematically compared NVFP4 training recipes on dense 8B and MoE 30B models up to 1T tokens to determine which techniques are essential for accuracy recovery. The study identifies specific ingredients necessary for stable low-precision pretraining beyond small-scale tests. A final recommended recipe incorporates unbiased gradient estimation and other state-of-the-art methods to match established stable training principles.
- Validates NVFP4 recipes at medium scale (8B/30B MoE) rather than just toy models
- Identifies specific necessary ingredients for accuracy recovery in 4-bit training
- Proposes a recipe using unbiased gradient estimation for stable large-scale runs
- Addresses the gap between small-scale success and large-scale stability in FP4