Ternary Bonsai 2 9B vs Gemini 4 Argon
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B took 7 min 4 s and $0.004 at list price, Gemini 4 Argon took 13 min 43 s and $0.68 at list price. Gemini 4 Argon took 1.9× as long and cost 151× as much.
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B
PrismML · $0.13/M out
Gemini 4 Argon
Google · $10.00/M out · 2,036 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.
Welcome to Patchbay. A dedicated three-person studio in Rotterdam, where analog warmth meets modern precision. Our workshop is a sanctuary for vintage synthesizers, circuit boards, and forgotten sounds. We operate on the belief that vintage gear deserves respect and careful handling. Every unit we restore is given a new life, preserving its unique character while ensuring it functions reliably. We work meticulously on instruments that shaped electronic music history. This isn't just repair; it is resurrection. Our artisans take the time to solder every connection and clean every capacitor, understanding that imperfections hold stories worth keeping. We aim to keep the legacy of analog synthesis alive. Whether you need a fix or advice on your collection's condition, we support the analog revival. Trust in our expertise to get your dreams humming again. In a digital world, we choose to sound the truth. We believe in the tangible sound of history.
In a quiet industrial building overlooking the Maas, the air smells of warm dust, solder flux, and ozone. This is Patchbay, a three-person workshop in Rotterdam dedicated to keeping the golden age of electronic music alive. We don’t view vintage synthesizers as museum pieces to be locked behind glass. To us, a Roland Jupiter-8 or an ARP Odyssey is a living, breathing instrument meant to be played, gigged, and pushed to its sonic limits.
Between the three of us, we have spent decades deciphering faded schematics, hunting down obsolete transistors, and cleaning decades of club grime from beneath weighted keys. Rotterdam is a city built on raw electronics and relentless rhythms, and we take pride in keeping its hardware running. Whether you bring us a touring workhorse with a dead voice chip or a garage-find modular rig that hasn’t powered on since 1984, we are here to make it sing again.
Specs and numbers
| Ternary Bonsai 2 9B | Gemini 4 Argon | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | PrismML | |
| Made in | US | US |
| Released | 16 Oct 2026 | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.08 | $2.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.13 | $10.00 |
| Context | 262,144 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | closed |
| Hacker News points | — | 2,036 |
| Time for the six prompts | 7 min 4 s | 13 min 43 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.004 | $0.68 |
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B was cheaper: $0.67 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Ternary Bonsai 2 9B was faster: 6 min 39 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, Ternary Bonsai 2 9B's Breakout game stopped painting; Gemini 4 Argon's plays.
Rebuild this screen experiment: Gemini 4 Argon's rebuild matched the screenshot at 69%; Ternary Bonsai 2 9B was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Gemini 4 Argon's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Ternary Bonsai 2 9B was not in it.