MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-6.1 Sol
MiniMax M3.1 Flash took 23 min 37 s and $0.095 at list price, GPT-6.1 Sol took 12 min 10 s and $0.37 at list price. MiniMax M3.1 Flash took 1.9× as long, and GPT-6.1 Sol cost 3.9× as much.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax · $0.60/M out · 550 HN pts
GPT-6.1 Sol
OpenAI · $10.00/M out · 1,166 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.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam, keeping vintage synthesizers in working hands. We repair the instruments that have picked up a crackle, lost a voice, drifted out of tune, or stopped making sound altogether.
We like the patient side of repair: tracing a fault, understanding an old circuit, and finding the right fix rather than the quickest workaround. Our aim is to make each instrument dependable without sanding away the character that made someone fall for it in the first place.
Some synths arrive with a clear problem. Others come with a story and a noise that only happens after twenty minutes. Either way, the work starts with listening—to the instrument and to the person who plays it.
We’re a small studio by choice. It keeps us close to the work, and to the musicians who trust us with something they want to keep making music with.
Specs and numbers
| MiniMax M3.1 Flash | GPT-6.1 Sol | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | OpenAI |
| Made in | China | US |
| Released | 19 Oct 2026 | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.15 | $2.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.60 | $10.00 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Weights | open | closed |
| Hacker News points | 550 | 1,166 |
| Time for the six prompts | 23 min 37 s | 12 min 10 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.095 | $0.37 |
MiniMax M3.1 Flash was cheaper: $0.27 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. GPT-6.1 Sol was faster: 11 min 28 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%, GPT-6.1 Sol's 97%. Tea Garden experiment: MiniMax M3.1 Flash's game passed 5 of 5 checks, GPT-6.1 Sol's 5 of 5.