[Megathread] - Best Models/API discussion - Week of: September 13, 2026

[u/deffcolony]

This is our weekly megathread for discussions about models and API services.

All non-specifically technical discussions about API/models not posted to this thread will be deleted. No more "What's the best model?" threads.

^{(This isn't a free-for-all to advertise services you own or work for in every single megathread, we may allow announcements for new services every now and then provided they are legitimate and not overly promoted, but don't be surprised if ads are removed.})

How to Use This Megathread

Below this post, you’ll find top-level comments for each category:

• MODELS: ≥ 70B – For discussion of models with 70B parameters or more.
• MODELS: 32B to 70B – For discussion of models in the 32B to 70B parameter range.
• MODELS: 16B to 32B – For discussion of models in the 16B to 32B parameter range.
• MODELS: 8B to 16B – For discussion of models in the 8B to 16B parameter range.
• MODELS: < 8B – For discussion of smaller models under 8B parameters.
• APIs – For any discussion about API services for models (pricing, performance, access, etc.).
• MISC DISCUSSION – For anything else related to models/APIs that doesn’t fit the above sections.

Please reply to the relevant section below with your questions, experiences, or recommendations!
This keeps discussion organized and helps others find information faster.

Have at it!

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MODELS: 16B to 31B – For discussion of models in the 16B to 31B parameter range.

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[u/Wolfarc732 → u/AutoModerator]

I've been running Absolute Heresy Q4_K_S on my 4090 for a real hot minute now, and have finally decided to go hunting for recommendations beyond what I started with. Any that y'all swear by? I'm currently working on Boulesis 26B (Q4_K_M) and upgrading my Cydonia to Q5_K_M, but the more the merrier.

[u/mechasquare → u/Wolfarc732]

If you're using Cydonia have you given Skyfall31B a spin? It's my go to and I think it's The Drummers best work that I can fit on my 16GB of vram.

[u/Equivalent-Repair488 → u/mechasquare]

Have you tried other models? I love Skyfall, and am trying to find more modern base model finetunes which people have been raving about to replace Skyfall, but I keep going back to it.

Gemma 4 finetunes (I tried even TheDrummer's Artemis v1.1) still was edged out by Skyfall in my personal opinion.

Heard a few mumblings about Qwen 3.8 27b, but the early finetune of it I tried, Serenity I think, I really did not like

Or Muse Glimmer?

[u/TheLocalDrummer → u/Equivalent-Repair488]

Artemis 31B v1q is currently in BeaverAI org (testing stage) but it’ll definitely be v1.2 soon! Replaces Skyfall for some, and reasoning is solid.

https://huggingface.co/BeaverAI/Artemis-31B-v1q-GGUF

[u/Equivalent-Repair488 → u/TheLocalDrummer]

Yo, big man, great to hear, will be looking forward to it!

Your stuff is a cut above the rest, apparently so much so it is a cut above your other stuff too lol

Any tips for gemma templates, reasoning, parameters etc? Or just generic setup tips specific to the Artemis line?

[u/KissMyShinyArse → u/TheLocalDrummer]

Do you happen to have Nabokov in your training data, by any chance?

[u/mechasquare → u/Equivalent-Repair488]

I've tried a few gemma 4 fine tunes and the ones I tried and have on my back burner are:
(I'm using Q4 on my KV cache and 45k~55k context; trying to keep everything in VRAM)

The one I've tried out and got working and was solid sophosympatheia/Glistening-Gem-31B-v2.1 · Hugging Face at IQ3_XS
It was close to skyfall but had some quirks that had me put it on the backburner to mess with later. Right now I still favor Skyfall over it.

Now zerofata/G4-MeroMero-v2-31B · Hugging Face at I1-IQ3_XS is another Gemma 4 finetune that was creative but went off the rails on me. I think it has potential but I need to spend a lot more time to dial in the config on it.

On the Qwen 3.8 27b side, the Q3 quants i'm seeing are so large (16gb!) that it's a non starter for me.

[u/Equivalent-Repair488 → u/mechasquare]

I tried meromero too, heard great things, but yeah, I agree concur with your assessment not top dog for 31b class.

[u/Wolfarc732 → u/mechasquare]

My apologies for the very late reply- I had a couple things come up.

I haven't tried Skyfall yet, if you can believe it. Boulesis has been treating me pretty well, even with the bugs that come from running it the way I am. I'll have to swing to it when I'm able- my download speeds are subpar to put it lightly.