GPT 4.5 vs Claude 3.7 — LLM Showdown
These two new models were released just days apart. One costs 10-25x as much, but it is any better?
OpenAI likes to do this thing where it launches right after someone else.
They did this to Google last year following their “I/O” yearly announcement event, and they did it just the other week to Anthropic following their release of Claude 3.7.
My initial reaction to GPT 4.5 was that it must be incredible—given the high price tag. But while the price reflects the size of the model and the difficulty of running inference with such a large LLM, it doesn’t seem to reflect real-world value at all
So, even though it’s not a fair fight, I put them head-to-head. If OpenAI doesn’t fight fair then neither will I.
Check out the video on YouTube
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Topics from this week’s video
Introduction to the Showdown
Comparing OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 and Anthropic’s Claude 3.7
Focus areas: emotional intelligence, pattern recognition, storytelling
Metrics: quality, cost, response time
Why Compare These Models?
GPT-4.5 is significantly more expensive (25x input token cost vs. Claude’s Sonnet)
Released at the same time, possibly as a competitive move
GPT-4.5 seems half-baked and expensive without clear performance gains
Model Introductions
GPT-4.5 (OpenAI)
12.8 trillion parameters, 128,000-token context window
Claude 3.7 Sonnet (Anthropic)
Focused on coding, data analysis, and planning
Test 1: Creative Ideation
Prompt: Generate top five AI-driven business ideas for 2025
Test 2: Business Strategy Planning
Prompt: Turnaround plan for a failing bookstore
Test 3: Writing Assistance
Prompt: Write an introduction to an email newsletter
Test 4: Persuasive Writing (Ad Creation)
Prompt: Write three ad variations for a VR headset (Gamers, Tech Pros, Casual Users)
Test 5: Math & Logic Reasoning
Prompt: Solve a fencing optimization problem and convert units
Test 6: Ethical & Philosophical Reasoning
Prompt: Bullet-point argument on AI rights
Test 7: Creative Writing (Story Opening)
Prompt: Write a short story intro featuring a Tlingit tribe
Test 8: Teaching & Explanation
Prompt: Explain quantum entanglement to three different audiences
Behind-the-Scenes (Bonus Section)
Web app built to automate model comparisons
Using Claude 3.5 for programming assistance
Source code available on GitHub for reference
The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.
C.S. Lewis