Alright, folks, let’s dive into my little experiment today with these two AI models – “gpt-4o” and what I’m calling “gpt-4o mini”. I was curious to see how they stack up, so I put them through their paces.
Setting the Stage
First, I grabbed my usual testing prompts. I have a bunch of these, ranging from simple questions like “What’s the weather like?” to more complex stuff, like “Write a short story about a talking dog.” Nothing too fancy, just everyday tasks to see how these models perform.
Round 1: Simple Questions
I started by firing off the easy questions. Both models handled them pretty well, no surprises there. They gave me accurate weather info, explained basic concepts clearly, and generally did what I expected.
- “What is the Capital of France?” Both answered Paris.
- “Explain photosynthesis” Both gave adequate, similar results.
No winner here. They are neck and neck.
Round 2: Getting Creative
Now for the fun part! I asked both models to write that short story about a talking dog. This is where things got interesting.
“gpt-4o” spun a pretty detailed tale. It included character descriptions, a bit of a plot twist, and even some dialogue. It felt like a real, albeit short, story.
“gpt-4o mini”, on the other hand, produced something much shorter. It was still a story about a talking dog, but it lacked the depth and detail of the “gpt-4o” version. It felt more like a summary of a story than a story itself.
For example, I had “gpt-4o mini” continue this very blog post:
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gpt-4o: “Round 3: Coding Challenges…
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gpt-4o mini: “Okay, here we go with the coding challenges. I’m going to give both of these AIs…”
Notice above, “gpt-4o mini” seems to state the obvious. It can continue, but not as well.
Round 3: The Code Test
I am not a programmer, but I know there are differences to be seen here.
I asked each to print “Hello, World!” in a variety of computer languages.
They both provided adequate results.
I was not equipped to tell which model was best here.
My Takeaway
Based on my little test, here’s what I think:
- “gpt-4o” is the more powerful, well-rounded model. It handles both simple and complex tasks with ease, and it excels at creative writing.
- “gpt-4o mini” is, well, mini. It’s good for quick answers and simple tasks, but it struggles with more demanding requests. It’s like the lite version of “gpt-4o”.
So, which one should you use? It depends on what you need. If you want the best all-around performance, go with “gpt-4o”. If you just need something quick and easy, “gpt-4o mini” might be enough. It is like choosing between a pickup truck, and a small car. They both can get you there, but in a different style, and with different utility.
That’s it for my experiment today. Hope you found it helpful! I mainly see myself sticking with the full “gpt-4o” model, as it produces much better results for my prompts.