majentik/gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M overview
WARNING Fork compatibility 2026 07 07 : the llama cpp turboquant fork is currently based on a llama.cpp revision that predates gemma4 architecture support — it…
Runs locally from ~2.98 GB disk (4 GB VRAM class GPUs with llama.cpp / guIDE).
Repository Files & Downloads
| File | Type | Quantization | Size | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-Q3_K_M.gguf | GGUF | Q3_K_M | 2.98 GB | Download |
Model Details
| Model ID | majentik/gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M |
|---|---|
| Author | majentik |
| Pipeline | image-text-to-text |
| License | apache-2.0 |
| Base model | google/gemma-4-E2B |
| Last modified | 2026-07-20T16:25:57.000Z |
Model README
---
license: apache-2.0
base_model: google/gemma-4-E2B
tags:
- gguf
- rotorquant
- kv-cache-quantization
- gemma
- gemma4
- edge
- llama-cpp
- quantized
library_name: gguf
pipeline_tag: image-text-to-text
---
> [!WARNING]
> Fork compatibility (2026-07-07): the llama-cpp-turboquant fork is currently based on a llama.cpp revision that predates gemma4 architecture support — it fails with unknown model architecture: 'gemma4' and cannot run this model at all. Until the fork rebases, use mainline llama.cpp (which loads this GGUF fine with standard KV-cache types); the RotorQuant/TurboQuant KV-cache options are not usable with gemma-4 yet.
<!-- gemma4-fork-note -->
> [!TIP]
> KV-cache quantization without any fork (recommended, 2026): upstream
> llama.cpp/Ollama now cover this natively — use -ctk q8_0 -ctv q8_0
> (~half KV memory, negligible quality loss: perplexity +0.002–0.05) or
> -ctk q4_0 -ctv q4_0 (~quarter memory, ≈7.6% perplexity increase). In
> Ollama: OLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPE=q8_0 with OLLAMA_FLASH_ATTENTION=1. Keep
> K and V types symmetric to stay on the fast fused Flash-Attention path.
> Since April 2026, mainline llama.cpp also applies Hadamard rotation to
> KV activations (PR #21038),
> which greatly improves low-bit KV quality (opt-out:
> LLAMA_ATTN_ROT_DISABLE=1).
>
> The RotorQuant/TurboQuant fork flow below is experimental/legacy: the
> TurboQuant llama.cpp PR was closed without merging (June 2026) and the fork
> is unmaintained relative to mainline. It is NOT required to use this model.
<!-- kv-upstream-note -->
gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M
GGUF Q3_K_M weight-quantized variant of google/gemma-4-E2B optimised for use with RotorQuant KV cache compression via a dedicated llama.cpp fork.
> Important: RotorQuant KV cache types (planar3, iso3) are not available in upstream llama.cpp, standard Ollama, or LM Studio.
> They require a specific llama.cpp fork.
> The GGUF file itself is a standard GGUF and works with any llama.cpp-compatible runtime using normal KV cache types (f16, q8_0, q4_0, etc.).
Hardware compatibility
| Device | VRAM / RAM | Recommendation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CPU host with ≥8 GB RAM | ~1.0 GB | works via llama.cpp; slower than GPU but no accelerator required |
| Apple Silicon (Metal) | ~1.1 GB | llama.cpp Metal backend; fast on M-series unified memory |
| NVIDIA GPU (partial offload) | split between GPU + RAM | offload as many layers as VRAM allows; rest on CPU |
Overview
This model combines two independent compression techniques:
| Technique | What it does | Requirement |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| GGUF Q3_K_M weight quantization | Reduces model size from ~4 GB (BF16) to ~0.9 GB | Any llama.cpp-compatible runtime |
| RotorQuant KV cache compression — block-diagonal Clifford-algebra rotors for 3-bit KV cache (--cache-type-k iso3 --cache-type-v iso3) | Block-diagonal rotations / random rotation for compressed KV cache | llama-cpp-turboquant fork only |
Quickstart
Option A — RotorQuant KV cache (experimental fork — not required)
You must build from the RotorQuant-enabled llama.cpp fork:
# Clone and build the fork
git clone https://github.com/johndpope/llama-cpp-turboquant.git
cd llama-cpp-turboquant && git checkout feature/planarquant-kv-cache
# CUDA (Windows/Linux)
cmake -B build -DGGML_CUDA=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release && cmake --build build -j
# Metal (Apple Silicon)
cmake -B build -DGGML_METAL=ON -DGGML_METAL_EMBED_LIBRARY=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release && cmake --build build -j
# Run with RotorQuant KV cache
./build/bin/llama-cli -m gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M.gguf \
--cache-type-k iso3 --cache-type-v iso3 \
-ngl 99 -fa \
-p "Explain quantum computing"
# Or run as a server
./build/bin/llama-server -m gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M.gguf \
--cache-type-k iso3 --cache-type-v iso3 \
-ngl 99 -fa --jinja
Option B — With standard llama.cpp / LM Studio / Ollama
The GGUF works as a normal quantised model. You won't get RotorQuant-specific KV cache benefits, but standard KV cache quantization (q8_0, q4_0) still reduces VRAM significantly.
llama.cpp (upstream)
llama-cli -m gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M.gguf \
--cache-type-k q8_0 --cache-type-v q8_0 \
-ngl 99 -fa \
-p "Explain quantum computing"
LM Studio
- Download the GGUF file and load in LM Studio.
- Enable Developer Mode (Settings → Developer).
- In the model loader's advanced settings, set Flash Attention to ON.
- Set K Cache Quantization and V Cache Quantization to
q8_0(orq4_0for more aggressive VRAM savings). - Note: LM Studio does not currently support RotorQuant's
iso3cache types. Track this feature request for updates.
Ollama
# Standard Ollama does not support RotorQuant cache types.
# Use with default or q8_0 KV cache via OLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPE=q8_0
OLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPE=q8_0 OLLAMA_FLASH_ATTENTION=1 ollama run majentik/gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M
Specifications
| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Base Model | google/gemma-4-E2B |
| Architecture | Dense transformer (Edge optimised) |
| Parameters | ~2B |
| Context Length | 128K |
| Weight Quantization | GGUF Q3_K_M (compact 3-bit, slight quality loss) |
| Original Size (BF16) | ~4 GB |
| Quantized File Size | ~0.9 GB |
| KV Cache (RotorQuant) | 3-bit via --cache-type-k iso3 --cache-type-v iso3 (fork only) |
| KV Cache (standard) | q8_0, q4_0, f16, etc. (any llama.cpp runtime) |
| License | apache-2.0 |
| Modalities | Text + Image (image-text-to-text) |
| Compatible Runtimes | llama.cpp, LM Studio, Ollama, koboldcpp |
About the RotorQuant / TurboQuant labels
RotorQuant and TurboQuant are this project's release labels, not distinct
quantization algorithms — for any given tier, both brand repos carry
byte-identical weights produced with the standard MLX / llama.cpp quantizers.
No brand-specific speedup is claimed or measured. The KV-cache fork these
labels originally referred to is legacy; for KV-cache memory savings use the
upstream options described above (-ctk/-ctv q8_0, OLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPE).
Current Status of RotorQuant in the Ecosystem
| Runtime | RotorQuant Support | Standard KV Quant |
|---------|---------------------|-------------------|
| llama.cpp (upstream) | ❌ Not merged | ✅ q8_0, q4_0, q4_1, iq4_nl, q5_0, q5_1 |
| llama-cpp-turboquant fork | ✅ planar3, iso3 | ✅ All standard types |
| LM Studio | ❌ Requested | ✅ Via advanced settings |
| Ollama | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Via OLLAMA_KV_CACHE_TYPE |
| koboldcpp | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Standard types |
Recommended Settings
For VRAM-constrained setups, standard q8_0 KV cache quantization already halves KV cache memory with negligible quality impact. Flash Attention should always be enabled — it is required for V cache quantization and improves memory efficiency regardless.
| VRAM | Suggested Configuration |
|------|------------------------|
| 24 GB (RTX 4090) | Q3_K_M + q8_0 KV cache + Flash Attention, 8K–16K context |
| 16 GB | Q3_K_M + q4_0 KV cache + Flash Attention, 4K–8K context |
| 48+ GB | Q3_K_M + f16 KV cache, full 32K+ context |
See Also
- RotorQuant GitHub
- llama-cpp-turboquant fork
- TurboQuant llama.cpp discussion
- TurboQuant paper (arXiv: 2504.19874)
- Base model: google/gemma-4-E2B
- gemma-4-E2B announcement
Quant trade-off (GGUF lane)
| Quant | Approx size | Use case | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2_K | ~1.1 GB | Lossy, low-RAM CPU/edge | Resource-constrained inference |
| Q3_K_M | ~1.2 GB | Smaller-than-Q4, modest quality drop | Edge devices with ~16 GB RAM |
| IQ4_XS | ~1.0 GB | Importance-quant 4-bit, smaller than Q4_K_M | Best size/quality at 4-bit |
| Q4_K_M | ~1.5 GB | Balanced default | Recommended for most users |
| Q5_K_M | ~1.6 GB | Higher fidelity than Q4 | Quality-sensitive applications |
| Q6_K | ~1.8 GB | Approaching FP16 quality | High-fidelity CPU/edge |
| Q8_0 | ~2.0 GB | Near-lossless reference | Fidelity-critical work |
| MXFP4_MOE | ~1.1 GB | Microscaling FP4 (MoE-aware) | vLLM / transformers users |
(Current variant — Q3_K_M — is bolded.)
Variants in this family
(Showing 14 sibling variants under majentik/gemma-4-e2b-*. The current variant — RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M — is bolded.)
| Variant | Runtime | Approx size | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| RotorQuant-GGUF-IQ4_XS | llama.cpp | ~1.7 GB | Lossy 4-bit, low-RAM CPU/edge |
| RotorQuant-GGUF-Q2_K | llama.cpp | ~1.2 GB | Lossy, low-RAM CPU/edge |
| RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M | llama.cpp | ~1.6 GB | Smaller 3-bit, CPU-friendly |
| RotorQuant-GGUF-Q4_K_M | llama.cpp | ~2.2 GB | Balanced default |
| RotorQuant-GGUF-Q5_K_M | llama.cpp | ~2.6 GB | Higher fidelity, more RAM |
| RotorQuant-GGUF-Q8_0 | llama.cpp | ~4.2 GB | Near-lossless reference |
| RotorQuant-MLX-2bit | mlx-lm | ~655 MB | Apple Silicon, smallest |
| RotorQuant-MLX-4bit | mlx-lm | ~1.2 GB | Apple Silicon balanced |
| RotorQuant-MLX-8bit | mlx-lm | ~2.4 GB | Apple Silicon reference |
| TurboQuant-MLX-2bit | mlx-lm | ~655 MB | Apple Silicon, smallest |
| TurboQuant-MLX-4bit | mlx-lm | ~1.2 GB | Apple Silicon balanced |
| TurboQuant-MLX-8bit | mlx-lm | ~2.4 GB | Apple Silicon reference |
Run majentik/gemma-4-E2B-RotorQuant-GGUF-Q3_K_M with guIDE
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