GLM 5.3 vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
GLM 5.3 took 22 min 22 s and $0.34 at list price, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning took 10 min 9 s and $0.012 at list price. GLM 5.3 took 2.2× as long and cost 29× as much.
GLM 5.3
Z.ai · $1.40/M out · 3,306 HN pts
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
NVIDIA · $0.20/M out · free route · 399 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 workshop in Rotterdam where vintage synthesizers come back to life. Whatever lands on our bench — a battered Minimoog, a Juno with dead keys, an ARP silent since the eighties — gets the same treatment: careful diagnosis, honest advice, and repairs done right.
We started Patchbay because we believe a good synthesizer shouldn't die of old age. These machines are more than circuits and sliders — they're the sound of records you grew up with, and the reason some of us got into music in the first place. Every one we fix goes back out into the world ready to make more.
Between us we handle everything from recapping and calibration to keybed work and the hunt for parts nobody has made in decades. It's slow, meticulous work, and we like it that way. If something in your collection hums, crackles, or refuses to turn on, bring it in — we'll see what we can do.
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.
Specs and numbers
| GLM 5.3 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Z.ai | NVIDIA |
| Made in | China | US |
| Released | 18 Aug 2026 | 11 Aug 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.07 | free route (list $0.07/M) |
| Price out, per M tokens | $1.40 | free route (list $0.20/M) |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Weights | open | open |
| Hacker News points | 3,306 | 399 |
| Time for the six prompts | 22 min 22 s | 10 min 9 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.34 | $0.012 |
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was cheaper: $0.33 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was faster: 12 min 13 s less in total, and faster on 3 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, GLM 5.3's Breakout game stopped painting; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning's plays. GLM 5.3's Breakout game showed a blank first frame when the still was taken.
Tea Garden experiment: GLM 5.3's game passed 1 of 5 checks; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was not in it.





