Gemini 4 Argon vs Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Gemini 4 Argon took 13 min 43 s and $0.68 at list price, Qwen3.8 Max Prime took 37 min 2 s and $2.29 at list price. Qwen3.8 Max Prime took 2.7× as long and cost 3.4× as much.
Gemini 4 Argon
Google · $10.00/M out · 2,036 HN pts
Qwen3.8 Max Prime
Alibaba · $12.00/M out
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.
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.
Patchbay is a small studio in Rotterdam dedicated to the repair and care of vintage synthesizers. Run by three people who share a deep love for these instruments, we work hands-on with analog circuits, voices, keyboards, and aging components to bring old machines back to reliable musical life. Every synthesizer that enters the studio has a history, and we treat that history with respect, preserving original character while making sure the instrument can be played with confidence today. Our work ranges from routine servicing and calibration to careful troubleshooting and restoration of rare or badly worn gear. We work patiently, because these machines ask for time, attention, and understanding. We believe these instruments deserve to be heard, not stored away, and that good repair is a form of listening. From our bench in Rotterdam, we serve musicians, collectors, and studios who value craftsmanship, honesty, and the enduring sound of classic electronic instruments.
Specs and numbers
| Gemini 4 Argon | Qwen3.8 Max Prime | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Alibaba | |
| Made in | US | China |
| Released | 13 Oct 2026 | 23 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $10.00 | $12.00 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Weights | closed | closed |
| Hacker News points | 2,036 | — |
| Time for the six prompts | 13 min 43 s | 37 min 2 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.68 | $2.29 |
Gemini 4 Argon was cheaper: $1.61 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Gemini 4 Argon was faster: 23 min 20 s less in total, and faster on each of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: Gemini 4 Argon's rebuild matched the screenshot at 69%; Qwen3.8 Max Prime was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Gemini 4 Argon's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Qwen3.8 Max Prime was not in it.