Beam 1.0 vs Grok 4.7
Beam 1.0 took 2 min 35 s and $0.063 at list price, Grok 4.7 took 18 min 1 s and $0.63 at list price. Grok 4.7 took 7.0× as long and cost 9.9× as much.
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to repairing vintage synthesizers and keeping electronic instruments alive. We work with analog and digital keyboards, drum machines, and modular systems, restoring worn circuits, replacing fragile components, and returning each machine to reliable musical use. Our small team combines careful technical work with genuine respect for the instruments that shaped decades of music. Whether an instrument needs a routine service, a difficult diagnosis, or a full restoration, we approach it with patience, clear communication, and attention to detail. We believe these machines are not just equipment; they are tools with history, character, and sound worth preserving. Based in Rotterdam, we serve musicians, collectors, and studios who want their gear maintained properly and played again. At Patchbay, every repair is treated as a collaboration between craft and music, ensuring that classic synthesizers continue to inspire new sounds for years to come.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to the repair of vintage synthesizers. We work on instruments that have already lived a long life on stages, in studios, and in spare rooms, and we treat each one as something worth keeping rather than replacing. Our benches are set up for careful diagnosis, component-level repair, and the slow work of bringing an old circuit back into reliable use.
The three of us share the shop, the tools, and the jobs. One person may trace a failing voice while another sources a part or recalibrates an oscillator; we pass instruments between us until the sound is right and the hardware is stable. Clients come to us with analog polys, early digital machines, drum boxes, and the odd modular that has been patched and repatched for decades. We listen first, then open the case.
We are not a museum and we are not a showroom. Patchbay exists so that working musicians, collectors, and curious owners in Rotterdam and beyond can keep playing the instruments they already love.
Specs and numbers
| Beam 1.0 | Grok 4.7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Reflection AI | xAI |
| Made in | US | US |
| Released | 16 Oct 2026 | 21 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.25 | $2.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $1.00 | $6.00 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 500,000 tokens |
| Weights | open | closed |
| Hacker News points | — | 629 |
| Time for the six prompts | 2 min 35 s | 18 min 1 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.063 | $0.63 |
Beam 1.0 was cheaper: $0.56 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Beam 1.0 was faster: 15 min 25 s less in total, and faster on each of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: Grok 4.7's rebuild matched the screenshot at 59%; Beam 1.0 was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Grok 4.7's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Beam 1.0 was not in it.