Battle of the Bards: Qwen vs. Llama 3 vs. Mistral on a Budget PC

We’re kicking off a series of quick, no-BS model showdowns, all run through our VibeFlowChat app. The goal? To see which AI has the most soul.

First up: a test of pure creativity. We gave three popular 7B-class models the same simple prompt and watched what happened.

The Prompt:

Write a short, four-line poem about a lonely robot watching a sunrise.

The Twist: We didn’t run this on some dual-RTX 4090 monster. We ran it on a humble, entry-level rig to prove that with the right tools, you don’t need a supercomputer to make AI sing.

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
CPU: Intel Core i3-6320 @ 3.90GHz
RAM: 32 GB

Now, let’s see the results.

The Contenders

Mistral 7B Instruct: The Classic Poet

In twilight’s slumber, awakes the steel heart,

Bears witness to the dawn’s gentle start.

A spectator of life’s vibrant art,

Longing for companionship, in the luminous dart.

Vibe Check: Mistral went full Shakespeare on us. It uses complex language (“luminous dart,” “vibrant art”) and nails a perfect AABB rhyme scheme. It’s technically impressive and captures the “longing” aspect beautifully.

Qwen 7B: The Minimalist

In robotic silence,

The sunrise awakens alone.

Gleaming metal eyes,

Bask in the fleeting dawn’s throne.

Vibe Check: Qwen chose a more modern, free-verse style. No strict rhymes, but powerful, punchy imagery. “Fleeting dawn’s throne” is a killer line. It’s stark, cold, and very fitting for a robot’s perspective.

Llama 3 8B: The Optimist

Metal heart beats slow and still,

As morning sunbeams softly spill.

The world awakens, new each day,

Leaving loneliness to fade away.

Vibe Check: Llama 3 is the feel-good option. It starts melancholic but ends on a note of hope, suggesting the loneliness is temporary. It’s a simple, clean poem that tells a complete emotional story.

The Verdict

While all three did an amazing job, we’re giving the creative crown to Mistral 7B for its technical skill and evocative language. Qwen gets an honorable mention for its cold, artistic vibe.

But the real winner here is the platform. The ability to seamlessly switch between these three AI brains in VibeFlowChat on a modest, aging PC proves our point: you don’t need a monster rig to explore the creative frontiers of AI. You just need the right tools.

Stay tuned for our next test: Logic & Reasoning.