How should reasoning effort be compared across model upgrades?
Record the exact effort setting, tools, prompt, timeout and success criteria for each configuration. Compare the cost and latency required to reach the same quality bar. Matching the name of an effort level does not establish equivalent computation, and maximum effort is not automatically the best product default.
Answered in
Claude Sonnet 5.5: How to Test an Upgrade Without Fooling YourselfAnthropic reports faster, more efficient Sonnet performance. Here is how to separate a real workflow improvement from a flattering benchmark.
Read the full analysisOther questions this article answers
More how ai actually works questions
- What are the three scenarios for the AI economy?
- What happens in the 25% Bull Case?
- What would trigger the 15% Bear Case crash?
- What does the 60% base case look like?
- Who are the winners in the 60% base case?
- Why is BitNet called 1.58-bit?
- Can any existing model be converted to BitNet?
- Does GraphRAG eliminate hallucinations?
Every answer on Crashtech is written by the editor of the article it comes from — never auto-summarised. Browse all answers or the How AI Actually Works beat.