Sample Count Is Not Enough

Sample Count Is Not Enough: Candidate-Generation Strategy Shapes the Energy and Performance of LLM Test-Time Scaling
arXiv:2609.19499 — At fixed candidate count N, how candidates are batched into generation calls can change LLM test-time scaling energy and latency by several times on A100 GPUs.
Mobina Kashaniyan, Ali Jannesari
Posted Nov 1, 2026 Conference Paper, Workshop Paper, Preprint, Large Language Models, High-Performance Computing, Energy Efficiency
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Sample Count Is Not Enough (arXiv:2609.19499): Why Candidate-Generation Strategy Matters for LLM Test-Time Scaling Energy and Performance
arXiv:2609.19499 — Candidate count N alone does not define the systems cost of LLM test-time scaling. At fixed N=8, generation schedules like 1×8 vs 8×1 can change A100 energy by about 4.6–4.9× and P95 latency by about 5.8–6.1×.
Mobina Kashaniyan
Posted Sep 16, 2026 Last updated Sep 17, 2026 Large Language Models, High-Performance Computing, Energy Efficiency, Test-Time Scaling, Research Summary

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