On August 1, 2024, Black Forest Labs released three innovative new models of Flux.1 – Pro, Dev, and Schnell. While the Pro version remains closed source and can be accessed through their Application Programming Interface (API), both Dev and Schnell versions are open source and freely available for download via Huggingface page.
Though Dev is superior in quality, Schnell compensates with enhanced processing speed, outperforming with a quick four-step process. Both models, however, share heftiness, requiring high computational power to function at optimal capacity, given their large size of 23.8GB each. Therefore, to run these models, a high level of Video Random Access Memory (VRAM) is needed, preferably 32GB RAM.
Regardless, Black Forest Labs has made provisions for their use on lower VRAM Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). For instance, on a RTX4080 with 16GB, both Dev and Schnell are executable. While Dev might take approximately three minutes to generate an image with dimensions 1024px by 1536px, Schnell could accomplish the same in just about 30-40 seconds.
Another remarkable aspect of these models is their performance, which is particularly drawing attention for matching up with Midjourney. Based on tests conducted, these models have shown better results in several areas such as quality, resolution, text rendering and prompt handling. Furthermore, unlike other models, these do not apply unwanted changes to the generated images, thereby retaining the intended prompt specifics.
For usage, update ComfyUI to the latest version and download the following files: Flux1-Schnell or Flux1-Dev models (after agreeing to the terms), AE (their original VAE), and Clip files – T5xxl_fp8_e4m3fn for under 32GB VRAM systems or T5xxl_fp16 for systems having 32GB or above VRAM. Following their respective placements in the ComfyUI directories, restart ComfyUI and refresh your web browser. Both default and adapted versions of workflows are available for download, provided by ComfyAnonymous on GitHub and within the main text respectively.
Flux.1 has created waves with its excellent release, significantly influencing the AI models market. The discussion now rolls over to whether Black Forest Labs will be able to replace Midjourney—a future decision that now lies in the hands of their continually evolving technologies and improving services.
