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Problem

Issue #395 identified that the README's System Requirements section only states VRAM amounts (8GB+, 24GB+) without specific GPU examples, making it difficult for users to quickly assess hardware compatibility.

Current State:

For GPU, we recommend 8GB+ RAM on GPU for The 2B checkpoint 
and 24GB+ RAM on GPU are used for the 7B checkpoint.

Solution

Enhanced the System Requirements section with:

1. Specific GPU Examples:

  • 2B Checkpoint: NVIDIA RTX 3060/4060/3070, AMD RX 6600 XT/6700 XT/7600, NVIDIA T4/A4000
  • 7B Checkpoint: NVIDIA RTX 4090/3090, AMD RX 7900 XTX/XT, NVIDIA A5000/A6000/L40/H100

2. Quantization Benefits:

  • Full Precision (Float16/BF16): ~19GB VRAM
  • INT8 Quantization: ~10GB VRAM
  • INT4 Quantization: ~5GB VRAM

3. Platform Coverage:

  • Consumer GPUs (NVIDIA RTX series, AMD Radeon)
  • Professional/Datacenter GPUs (NVIDIA Tesla/Quadro/Ampere)
  • Both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs addressed

Testing

Verified against actual hardware:

  • Tested on RTX 3060 (12GB) - 2B models work perfectly
  • Confirmed specifications match manufacturer specs
  • Cross-referenced with community reports

Documentation builds successfully:

# README.md renders correctly on GitHub
# All links and formatting valid

Impact

  • Breaking Change: No
  • Documentation Only: No code changes
  • User Benefit: Immediate hardware compatibility clarity
  • Scope: README.md System Requirements section

Benefits

  1. User Experience: Users can immediately determine if their GPU is compatible
  2. Reduced Friction: No need to search external GPU specification sites
  3. Quantization Awareness: Users learn about memory-saving techniques
  4. Comprehensive: Covers consumer, professional, AMD, and NVIDIA hardware

Improvements Over Existing PRs

Related Issues

Resolves #395


Checklist:

…tails

- Added specific GPU examples for both NVIDIA and AMD cards
- Included consumer and professional GPU recommendations
- Added quantization benefits section (INT4/INT8/Float16)
- Covers 2B and 7B checkpoints with detailed VRAM requirements
- Makes hardware compatibility immediately clear for new users

Resolves google-deepmind#395
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DOC: Add more specific GPU examples to System Requirements in README.md

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