MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash took 23 min 37 s and $0.095 at list price, Gemini 3.8 Flash took 8 min 33 s and $0.32 at list price. MiniMax M3.1 Flash took 2.8× as long, and Gemini 3.8 Flash cost 3.4× as much.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax · $0.60/M out · 550 HN pts
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Google · $4.13/M out · 1,293 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.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam dedicated to bringing vintage synthesizers back to life. We repair analog and digital instruments that shaped the sound of music, from classic drum machines and polyphonic synths to quirky, characterful machines that rarely leave a musician’s side. Our work combines technical knowledge with respect for each instrument’s history, because a synth is more than a circuit board: it carries the decisions, compromises, and personality of its original design.
We diagnose faults, restore unreliable voices, and carefully service aging components without erasing the character that made an instrument worth keeping. Whether a machine has been silent for years or simply needs a thoughtful tune-up, we treat every repair as a careful act of restoration.
Based in Rotterdam, Patchbay works with musicians, studios, collectors, and anyone who believes electronic instruments deserve another chapter. We restore them to sound as they should, preserving the details that make each one unique.
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.
Specs and numbers
| MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | |
| Made in | China | US |
| Released | 19 Oct 2026 | 2 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.15 | $0.825 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.60 | $4.13 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | closed |
| Hacker News points | 550 | 1,293 |
| Time for the six prompts | 23 min 37 s | 8 min 33 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.095 | $0.32 |
MiniMax M3.1 Flash was cheaper: $0.23 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Gemini 3.8 Flash was faster: 15 min 5 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: MiniMax M3.1 Flash's rebuild matched the screenshot at 78%; Gemini 3.8 Flash was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: MiniMax M3.1 Flash's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Gemini 3.8 Flash was not in it.





