Time to train
Beginner
How long a machine takes to teach an AI model until it is good enough at its task. MLPerf Training scores machines this way.
Novice
The wall-clock time from first touching the training data until the model reaches a set quality target on held-out data. It rewards both raw speed and choices that help the model learn in fewer steps.
Expert
Chosen over throughput because tricks that raise samples/s (larger batches, lower precision) can raise the number of steps needed. Scored over several runs with the fastest and slowest dropped; convergence faster than the reference’s statistical bounds is rejected.
Explained in Comparing chips (Architectures).