DeepSeek V4.1 Flash voxel world on 2 vs 4 DGX Sparks: 73.7 vs 49.7 minutes
Same voxel-world prompt: two Sparks (EXL3 2.5bpw) took 73.7 min at ~70 tok/s decode with a 5.5/10 self-rating; four Sparks (4.0bpw) took 49.7 min at ~82 tok/s with 7.5/10, though differing quant and recipe versions prevent isolating Spark count.
2 Sparks vs 4 Sparks / 12,000$ vs 24,000$ @bertholomusai 's DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on two DGX Sparks against four, same voxel-world prompt: 73.7 min against 49.7 min. Two Sparks: EXL3 2.5 bpw, TP2, recipe v0.7.2 (commit 30a5bf9), as of Oct 24. Four Sparks: EXL3 4.0 bpw, TP4, recipe commit 8f84e7a, as of Oct 22. That is a different quant and a different recipe version, so this does not isolate the Spark count. Both ran in the DeepSeek Harness 0.2.1-rc.2 with the recipe's own sampling, thinking on, one prompt, one try, no help. Two Sparks, world LUMENFALL: Agent time: 73.7 min Tokens written: 138,675 Browser check: 8.0/10 My rating of the world: 5.5/10 Decode, code: 70.5 tok/s Decode, prose: 70.6 tok/s 500 words: about 10.0 s Eight requests at once: 106.3 tok/s in total Four Sparks, world Aetherfall: Agent time: 49.7 min Tokens written: 121,707 Browser check: 9.0/10, scored with the older capture method My rating of the world: 7.5/10 Decode, code: 82.8 tok/s Decode, prose: 80.8 tok/s 500 words: about 9.1 s Eight requests at once: 141.2 tok/s in total Context: 1,048,576 tokens on both, the recipe's setting. Answer limit in the build test: 262,144 tokens on both, the figure on the model card. The recipe's default is 32,768, so I raised it. Open: the two-Spark browser check took 2 points off, for the orbit-by-mouse test and the frame rate in the test's software rendering. Its closing screenshot stalled, so I re-ran the same checks with a different capture method. My four Sparks are cabled as a switchless ring, so that run used the recipe's neighbor-ring mode. The two-Spark recipe wants RDMA GID index 5, which my Sparks did not have, so I gave the link ports IPv4 addresses. One Spark, an ASUS GX10, has an older driver. Are the extra 12,000$ worth it? Play both worlds in your browser. Every number, the exact command and the raw output: Two Sparks: https://niklaslenz.com/v2/deepseek-v41-flash-2sparks-bertholomus-tp2/ Four Sparks: https://niklaslenz.com/v2/deepseek-v41-flash-4sparks-bertholomus-tp4/ Recipe, quant and TensorFold fork by @bertholomusai. TensorFold engine by @ashxhart. Model by DeepSeek.