Nemotron 3.5 Lightning vs MiniMax M3
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning took 10 min 9 s and $0.012 at list price, MiniMax M3 took 33 min 3 s and $0.21 at list price. MiniMax M3 took 3.3× as long and cost 18× as much.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
NVIDIA · $0.20/M out · free route · 399 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.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to the restoration and repair of vintage synthesizers. We believe analog gear holds a living voice, and our purpose is to safeguard that sound for musicians, collectors, and creators who value authenticity. With hands-on experience in circuitry, voltage calibration, and component preservation, we treat every console, drum machine, or modular voice with meticulous care. Rotterdam’s eclectic artistic community fuels our commitment to keeping analog heritage alive, bridging past technology with present music. Whether rescuing a neglected lab unit or reviving a cherished polysynth, we approach each instrument as a unique piece of musical history, ensuring it performs as intended for years ahead. We love helping artists reconnect with the warmth and character only vintage hardware can offer. Our workshop sits in the heart of the city, where dusty circuit boards meet fresh compositions, and every repaired synth becomes part of a new musical story.
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
| Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | MiniMax M3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | NVIDIA | MiniMax |
| Made in | US | China |
| Released | 11 Aug 2026 | 31 May 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | free route (list $0.07/M) | $0.30 |
| Price out, per M tokens | free route (list $0.20/M) | $1.20 |
| Context | 262,144 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | open |
| Hacker News points | 399 | 144 |
| Time for the six prompts | 10 min 9 s | 33 min 3 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.012 | $0.21 |
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was cheaper: $0.20 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was faster: 22 min 53 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.