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Comparisons / Qwen3-8B vs Phi-3 Mini Block

Qwen3-8B vs Phi-3 Mini Block

What gets cut to make a small model small.

Phi-3 Mini Block has 7.9B fewer parameters than Qwen3-8B: 1 layer added, 210 removed, 8 changed.

Baseline

Qwen3-8B

Layers
219
Parameters
8.2B
Input
1 × 40960
Output
1 × 40960 × 151936
Forward-passes
yes
Est. train cost
$20,863
Compared

Phi-3 Mini Block

Layers
10
Parameters
310M
Input
1 × 2048
Output
1 × 2048 × 32064
Forward-passes
yes
Est. train cost
$16.76

The deltas

Every number is Phi-3 Mini Block relative to Qwen3-8B.

Parameters
-7.9B (-96.2%)
Layers
-209
Added
1
Removed
210
Changed
8
Unchanged
3

Which GPUs each one fits

Each side is measured at its own declared input (1 × 40960 against 1 × 2048). Both columns are right about their own model; the difference between them is not a fact about the designs.

GPUQwen3-8BPhi-3 Mini Block
T4 16GBnono
A100 40GBnofits
H100 80GBnofits

Layer by layer

Aligned in topological order. 3 of 222 rows are the same layer with the same parameters.

Show all 222 rows
Qwen3-8BPhi-3 Mini Block
LayerParamsOutputLayerParamsOutput
1changed
shape
Input
Input
1 × 40960tokens
Input
1 × 2048
2added—rope
Rope
3changed
vocabSize, embeddingDim, maxSeqLen, numEmbeddings
Embedding
Embedding
622M1 × 40960 × 4096embed
Embedding
99M1 × 2048 × 3072
4removedRMSNorm_1_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
5removedAttention_1
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
6removedAdd_1_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
7removedRMSNorm_1_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
8removedFFN_1
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
9removedAdd_1_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
10removedRMSNorm_2_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
11removedAttention_2
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
12removedAdd_2_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
13removedRMSNorm_2_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
14removedFFN_2
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
15removedAdd_2_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
16removedRMSNorm_3_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
17removedAttention_3
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
18removedAdd_3_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
19removedRMSNorm_3_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
20removedFFN_3
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
21removedAdd_3_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
22removedRMSNorm_4_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
23removedAttention_4
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
24removedAdd_4_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
25removedRMSNorm_4_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
26removedFFN_4
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
27removedAdd_4_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
28removedRMSNorm_5_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
29removedAttention_5
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
30removedAdd_5_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
31removedRMSNorm_5_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
32removedFFN_5
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
33removedAdd_5_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
34removedRMSNorm_6_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
35removedAttention_6
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
36removedAdd_6_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
37removedRMSNorm_6_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
38removedFFN_6
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
39removedAdd_6_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
40removedRMSNorm_7_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
41removedAttention_7
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
42removedAdd_7_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
43removedRMSNorm_7_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
44removedFFN_7
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
45removedAdd_7_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
46removedRMSNorm_8_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
47removedAttention_8
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
48removedAdd_8_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
49removedRMSNorm_8_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
50removedFFN_8
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
51removedAdd_8_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
52removedRMSNorm_9_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
53removedAttention_9
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
54removedAdd_9_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
55removedRMSNorm_9_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
56removedFFN_9
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
57removedAdd_9_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
58removedRMSNorm_10_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
59removedAttention_10
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
60removedAdd_10_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
61removedRMSNorm_10_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
62removedFFN_10
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
63removedAdd_10_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
64removedRMSNorm_11_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
65removedAttention_11
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
66removedAdd_11_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
67removedRMSNorm_11_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
68removedFFN_11
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
69removedAdd_11_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
70removedRMSNorm_12_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
71removedAttention_12
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
72removedAdd_12_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
73removedRMSNorm_12_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
74removedFFN_12
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
75removedAdd_12_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
76removedRMSNorm_13_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
77removedAttention_13
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
78removedAdd_13_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
79removedRMSNorm_13_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
80removedFFN_13
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
81removedAdd_13_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
82removedRMSNorm_14_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
83removedAttention_14
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
84removedAdd_14_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
85removedRMSNorm_14_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
86removedFFN_14
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
87removedAdd_14_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
88removedRMSNorm_15_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
89removedAttention_15
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
90removedAdd_15_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
91removedRMSNorm_15_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
92removedFFN_15
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
93removedAdd_15_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
94removedRMSNorm_16_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
95removedAttention_16
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
96removedAdd_16_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
97removedRMSNorm_16_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
98removedFFN_16
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
99removedAdd_16_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
100removedRMSNorm_17_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
101removedAttention_17
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
102removedAdd_17_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
103removedRMSNorm_17_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
104removedFFN_17
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
105removedAdd_17_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
106removedRMSNorm_18_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
107removedAttention_18
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
108removedAdd_18_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
109removedRMSNorm_18_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
110removedFFN_18
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
111removedAdd_18_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
112removedRMSNorm_19_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
113removedAttention_19
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
114removedAdd_19_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
115removedRMSNorm_19_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
116removedFFN_19
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
117removedAdd_19_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
118removedRMSNorm_20_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
119removedAttention_20
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
120removedAdd_20_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
121removedRMSNorm_20_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
122removedFFN_20
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
123removedAdd_20_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
124removedRMSNorm_21_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
125removedAttention_21
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
126removedAdd_21_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
127removedRMSNorm_21_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
128removedFFN_21
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
129removedAdd_21_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
130removedRMSNorm_22_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
131removedAttention_22
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
132removedAdd_22_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
133removedRMSNorm_22_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
134removedFFN_22
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
135removedAdd_22_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
136removedRMSNorm_23_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
137removedAttention_23
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
138removedAdd_23_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
139removedRMSNorm_23_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
140removedFFN_23
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
141removedAdd_23_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
142removedRMSNorm_24_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
143removedAttention_24
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
144removedAdd_24_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
145removedRMSNorm_24_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
146removedFFN_24
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
147removedAdd_24_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
148removedRMSNorm_25_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
149removedAttention_25
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
150removedAdd_25_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
151removedRMSNorm_25_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
152removedFFN_25
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
153removedAdd_25_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
154removedRMSNorm_26_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
155removedAttention_26
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
156removedAdd_26_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
157removedRMSNorm_26_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
158removedFFN_26
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
159removedAdd_26_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
160removedRMSNorm_27_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
161removedAttention_27
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
162removedAdd_27_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
163removedRMSNorm_27_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
164removedFFN_27
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
165removedAdd_27_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
166removedRMSNorm_28_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
167removedAttention_28
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
168removedAdd_28_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
169removedRMSNorm_28_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
170removedFFN_28
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
171removedAdd_28_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
172removedRMSNorm_29_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
173removedAttention_29
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
174removedAdd_29_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
175removedRMSNorm_29_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
176removedFFN_29
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
177removedAdd_29_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
178removedRMSNorm_30_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
179removedAttention_30
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
180removedAdd_30_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
181removedRMSNorm_30_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
182removedFFN_30
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
183removedAdd_30_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
184removedRMSNorm_31_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
185removedAttention_31
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
186removedAdd_31_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
187removedRMSNorm_31_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
188removedFFN_31
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
189removedAdd_31_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
190removedRMSNorm_32_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
191removedAttention_32
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
192removedAdd_32_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
193removedRMSNorm_32_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
194removedFFN_32
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
195removedAdd_32_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
196removedRMSNorm_33_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
197removedAttention_33
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
198removedAdd_33_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
199removedRMSNorm_33_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
200removedFFN_33
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
201removedAdd_33_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
202removedRMSNorm_34_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
203removedAttention_34
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
204removedAdd_34_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
205removedRMSNorm_34_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
206removedFFN_34
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
207removedAdd_34_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
208removedRMSNorm_35_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
209removedAttention_35
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096—
210removedAdd_35_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
211removedRMSNorm_35_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096—
212removedFFN_35
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096—
213removedAdd_35_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096—
214changed
normalizedShape
RMSNorm_36_1
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096norm_attn
Rms Norm
3.1K1 × 2048 × 3072
215changed
embedDim, numKVHeads, headDim
Attention_36
Grouped Query Attention
42M1 × 40960 × 4096attn
Grouped Query Attention
38M1 × 2048 × 3072
216sameAdd_36_attn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096residual_1
Add
1 × 2048 × 3072
217changed
normalizedShape
RMSNorm_36_2
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096norm_ffn
Rms Norm
3.1K1 × 2048 × 3072
218changed
embedDim, dim, intermediateSize
FFN_36
Swiglu
151M1 × 40960 × 4096ffn
Swiglu
75M1 × 2048 × 3072
219sameAdd_36_ffn
Add
1 × 40960 × 4096residual_2
Add
1 × 2048 × 3072
220changed
normalizedShape
Final_RMSNorm
Rms Norm
4.1K1 × 40960 × 4096norm_out
Rms Norm
3.1K1 × 2048 × 3072
221changed
inFeatures, outFeatures, bias
LM_Head
Linear
622M1 × 40960 × 151936lm_head
Linear
1 × 2048 × 32064
222sameOutput
Output
1 × 40960 × 151936output
Output
1 × 2048 × 32064

What this is not

Take it further

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