Upcoming AI Model Upgrade – Qwen3 30B
I wanted to share a quick update about an improvement coming to Ithiel AI.
During the upcoming Projects system upgrade, I will also be upgrading Ithiel’s default AI model from Qwen3 8B to Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct.
This is a pretty significant jump in capability.
The previous default model (Qwen3 8B) was around 7 GB, while the new model is roughly 40 GB. This means it requires more disk space and more system resources, but the improvement in intelligence and usefulness is well worth it.
What this upgrade improves
Moving from an 8B parameter model to a 30B model brings several noticeable improvements:
• Stronger reasoning and problem solving
• Better coding assistance and technical explanations
• Improved ability to organize and plan projects
• More coherent long-form responses
• Better understanding of complex prompts
Since Ithiel is designed to help users build, organize, and manage projects, the larger model should make Ithiel far more capable as a real assistant rather than just a chatbot.
Why I'm making this change
Originally I selected the 8B model to ensure Ithiel could run on a wide range of systems.
However, after watching how people are using the program and experimenting with larger models, I realized something interesting:
Many of the users trying Ithiel actually have more powerful systems than I do.
So I decided to push the default model further and give users a much stronger AI out of the box.
Storage Requirements
Because the new model is significantly larger, Ithiel will now require additional disk space.
• Previous default model: ~7 GB
• New default model: ~40 GB
Users will need enough storage space available to download and run the new model.
Rolling out with the Projects System
This upgrade will arrive alongside improvements to the Projects system, which I'm currently working on.
The goal is to make Ithiel better at helping users organize ideas, build projects, and eventually integrate with tools like Steam Workshop.
Thank you for testing Ithiel
Ithiel is still being built by a single developer, and every bit of feedback helps shape the direction of the project.
If you have thoughts about model performance or suggestions for improvements, feel free to share them in the community discussions.
More updates coming soon.
— Smash
Developer of Ithiel AI