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Cache Compression Won the Cost Axis Until Weights Became the Wall

A profiled simulator places tensor parallelism and KV compression on one cost-latency chart.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-08-26-019
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Summary

A profiled simulator places tensor parallelism and KV compression on one cost-latency chart.

Across two model sizes and three GPU types, compression was 1.20 to 2.00 times cheaper in every comparable memory-relief configuration. Above roughly 36 billion parameters on an 80 GB device, weights—not cache—became the binding constraint, making tensor parallelism an entry requirement despite higher cost.

Why it matters

A profiled simulator places tensor parallelism and KV compression on one cost-latency chart.

Limits and context

  • Above roughly 36 billion parameters on an 80 GB device, weights—not cache—became the binding constraint, making tensor parallelism an entry requirement despite higher cost.

Key claims

  1. A profiled simulator places tensor parallelism and KV compression on one cost-latency chart.

    Qualification: Above roughly 36 billion parameters on an 80 GB device, weights—not cache—became the binding constraint, making tensor parallelism an entry requirement despite higher cost.

    Evidence: source-2026-08-26-021

Sources

  1. arXiv preprint 2608.23962arXiv · primary research

Corrections

No corrections have been recorded for this story.