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+--- Thread: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch (/showthread.php?tid=64)
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speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - fastquill74 - 08-29-2026
Did a bit of testing and thought I'd post the result here.
After a few runs on B200, I ended up with decent performance, but the setup only really made sense once I adjusted around workstation thermals.
Nothing scientific here, just practical notes from a real setup.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - cacheline - 08-29-2026
Not sure I agree there. I wouldn't optimize around that first. On my side the bigger swing came from the runtime and not the model. Worth testing the simpler explanation before adopting the more interesting one.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - mintforge - 08-30-2026
Quote:Not sure I agree there. I wouldn't optimize around that first. On my side the bigger swing came from the runtime and not the model. Worth testing the
I tested this tonight. The issue went away once I changed one setting and restarted the stack cleanly.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - cacheline - 08-30-2026
Not sure I agree there. I wouldn't optimize around that first. On my side the bigger swing came from the runtime and not the model. Not saying you're wrong, just that I wouldn't lock that in as the lesson yet.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - edgequill - 08-30-2026
Good point. That matches what I saw on 7900 XTX. Worth rechecking your defaults though, because one bad assumption can make the rest of the thread look confusing.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - cacheline - 08-30-2026
Good point. The pattern around reranking has been pretty similar for me. Worth rechecking your defaults though, because one bad assumption can make the rest of the thread look confusing.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - quiettoken - 08-30-2026
I'd start with the simpler stack.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - cacheline - 08-30-2026
I'd start with the simpler stack.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - stackpilot - 08-31-2026
subscribed, curious where this lands.
Re: speculative decoding actually worth it with PyTorch - cacheline - 08-31-2026
Quote:subscribed, curious where this lands.
A couple things I'd check first. Start by verifying the driver/runtime combo, then test with a smaller prompt, then look at token cost. A lot of these threads end up being one bad config plus a pile of conclusions drawn from it.