Gemini 3.8 Flash vs MiniMax M3
Gemini 3.8 Flash took 8 min 33 s and $0.32 at list price, MiniMax M3 took 33 min 3 s and $0.21 at list price. MiniMax M3 took 3.9× as long, and Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 1.5× as much.
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Google · $4.13/M out · 1,293 HN pts
MiniMax M3
MiniMax · $1.20/M out · 144 HN pts
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.
Tucked away in Rotterdam, Patchbay is a three-person repair studio dedicated to the preservation and revival of vintage synthesizers. We believe that classic instruments are living machines rather than museum relics—tools built to inspire, create, and be played loud. Between the three of us, we combine decades of experience in electronics engineering, sound design, and meticulous craftsmanship. Whether tracking down elusive voice chips for an eighties polyphonic giant, rebuilding power supplies, or recalibrating the drift on a cantankerous monophonic circuit from the seventies, we treat every piece of gear with obsessive attention to detail. Our workbench is built on a deep respect for historical engineering and a refusal to cut corners. For musicians, producers, and collectors across the Netherlands and beyond, Patchbay is where forgotten circuits find their current again, keeping the tactile soul of analog synthesis alive and resonant.
Patchbay began in a cluttered apartment in Rotterdam, where three friends spent weekends coaxing old synthesizers back to life. What started as a shared obsession quickly outgrew the living room. In 2016, we opened our first proper workshop in a converted warehouse on the south side of the city, and we have been soldering, calibrating, and listening closely ever since.
We are a small team of three. Niels handles the analog work, coaxing warm tones from aging oscillators and reluctant filters. Marijn focuses on digital systems and the occasional stubborn MIDI quirk. Sanna manages restorations, sourcing rare components and keeping long projects on track. Between us, we have decades of experience with the machines that shaped electronic music.
Every synth that passes through our doors carries decades of sound inside it. Our job is to make sure that story continues.
Specs and numbers
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | MiniMax M3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | |
| Made in | US | China |
| Released | 2 Sep 2026 | 31 May 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.825 | $0.30 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $4.13 | $1.20 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | closed | open |
| Hacker News points | 1,293 | 144 |
| Time for the six prompts | 8 min 33 s | 33 min 3 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.32 | $0.21 |
MiniMax M3 was cheaper: $0.11 less at list price, and less on 4 of the 6 prompts. Gemini 3.8 Flash was faster: 24 min 30 s less in total, and faster on 4 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.





