Two-Stage Grid Optimization for Group-wise Quantization of LLMs

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kim, Junhan, Lee, Gukryeol, Son, Seungwoo, Kim, Jeewook, Jeon, Yongkweon
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Kim, Junhan
Lee, Gukryeol
Son, Seungwoo
Kim, Jeewook
Jeon, Yongkweon
author_facet Kim, Junhan
Lee, Gukryeol
Son, Seungwoo
Kim, Jeewook
Jeon, Yongkweon
contents Group-wise quantization is an effective strategy for mitigating accuracy degradation in low-bit quantization of large language models (LLMs). Among existing methods, GPTQ has been widely adopted due to its efficiency; however, it neglects input statistics and inter-group correlations when determining group scales, leading to a mismatch with its goal of minimizing layer-wise reconstruction loss. In this work, we propose a two-stage optimization framework for group scales that explicitly minimizes the layer-wise reconstruction loss. In the first stage, performed prior to GPTQ, we initialize each group scale to minimize the group-wise reconstruction loss, thereby incorporating input statistics. In the second stage, we freeze the integer weights obtained via GPTQ and refine the group scales to minimize the layer-wise reconstruction loss. To this end, we employ the coordinate descent algorithm and derive a closed-form update rule, which enables efficient refinement without costly numerical optimization. Notably, our derivation incorporates the quantization errors from preceding layers to prevent error accumulation. Experimental results demonstrate that our method consistently enhances group-wise quantization, achieving higher accuracy with negligible overhead.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_02126
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Two-Stage Grid Optimization for Group-wise Quantization of LLMs
Kim, Junhan
Lee, Gukryeol
Son, Seungwoo
Kim, Jeewook
Jeon, Yongkweon
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Group-wise quantization is an effective strategy for mitigating accuracy degradation in low-bit quantization of large language models (LLMs). Among existing methods, GPTQ has been widely adopted due to its efficiency; however, it neglects input statistics and inter-group correlations when determining group scales, leading to a mismatch with its goal of minimizing layer-wise reconstruction loss. In this work, we propose a two-stage optimization framework for group scales that explicitly minimizes the layer-wise reconstruction loss. In the first stage, performed prior to GPTQ, we initialize each group scale to minimize the group-wise reconstruction loss, thereby incorporating input statistics. In the second stage, we freeze the integer weights obtained via GPTQ and refine the group scales to minimize the layer-wise reconstruction loss. To this end, we employ the coordinate descent algorithm and derive a closed-form update rule, which enables efficient refinement without costly numerical optimization. Notably, our derivation incorporates the quantization errors from preceding layers to prevent error accumulation. Experimental results demonstrate that our method consistently enhances group-wise quantization, achieving higher accuracy with negligible overhead.
title Two-Stage Grid Optimization for Group-wise Quantization of LLMs
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02126