Step 5 Preview vs GPT-6.1 Sol
Step 5 Preview took 10 min 44 s and $0.33 at list price, GPT-6.1 Sol took 12 min 10 s and $0.37 at list price. GPT-6.1 Sol took 1.1× as long and cost 1.1× as much.
Step 5 Preview
StepFun · $2.70/M out · 155 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 workshop based in Rotterdam, dedicated to keeping vintage synthesizers alive and playable. We are technicians, musicians, and obsessive tinkerers who believe that classic analog instruments deserve better than silence. From temperamental Jupiter-8s to worn-out ARP Odysseys, we restore, repair, and maintain the machines that shaped the sound of modern music. Every repair starts with listening—both to the instrument and to the person who plays it. Whether you are chasing a rare fault, need a full calibration, or simply want your old synth to feel new again, our bench is open. We understand that no two synthesizers arrive with the same story, and we treat each circuit, slider, and key with the care its history deserves. At Patchbay, we are here to make sure the sounds of tomorrow are built on those that came before.
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
| Step 5 Preview | GPT-6.1 Sol | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | StepFun | OpenAI |
| Made in | China | US |
| Released | 8 Oct 2026 | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $1.00 | $2.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $2.70 | $10.00 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Weights | open | closed |
| Hacker News points | 155 | 1,166 |
| Time for the six prompts | 10 min 44 s | 12 min 10 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.33 | $0.37 |
Step 5 Preview was cheaper: $0.039 less at list price, and less on 4 of the 6 prompts. Step 5 Preview was faster: 86 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: GPT-6.1 Sol's rebuild matched the screenshot at 97%; Step 5 Preview was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: GPT-6.1 Sol's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Step 5 Preview was not in it.





