GoonIntroduction to AI Coding Models
The world of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, with various models being developed to enhance reasoning and coding capabilities. Two such models that have garnered significant attention are OpenAI's o3-mini and DeepSeek's R1. In this article, we will compare the coding abilities of these models when used in Cursor and Windsurf, two prominent AI-assisted code editors. We will also compare them with Claude 3.5 Sonet, a baseline model.
Overview of OpenAI's o3-mini and DeepSeek's R1
OpenAI's o3-mini employs a dense transformer model, utilizing all parameters for each input token. This architecture enables the model to excel in tasks requiring structured reasoning, such as mathematics and coding. The o3-mini is available through OpenAI's API services, with associated costs. On the other hand, DeepSeek's R1 utilizes a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) approach, activating subsets of parameters per token for efficiency. This architecture demonstrates strong capabilities in complex reasoning and contextual understanding. The R1 model is open-source, freely accessible for integration into various applications.
Introduction to OpenAI's o3-mini and DeepSeek's R1
Cursor and Windsurf: AI-Assisted Code Editors
Cursor and Windsurf are two prominent tools that enhance developer productivity. Cursor offers robust context management, allowing the inclusion of whole document sets, specific web pages, and git branches in the coding context. Windsurf, on the other hand, provides a user-friendly experience with features like the Cascade agent for step-by-step code generation. Both tools have their strengths and weaknesses, with Cursor known for its speed and quality of responses, though occasional inaccuracies may occur. Windsurf offers a polished experience, with rapid development and a focus on beginner-friendly features.
Comparison of Cursor and Windsurf
Integration of o3-mini and R1 with Cursor and Windsurf
Windsurf recently added support for the open weights models from DeepSeek, named R1, and DeepSeek V3. It also added support for the new OpenAI reasoning model, o3-mini. Cascade can use all of these models. Cursor also supports o3-mini, but its integration is not as seamless as Windsurf's. The o3-mini integration in Windsurf is better than Cursor's integration, but it's still not the greatest experience.
Integration of o3-mini and R1 with Cursor and Windsurf
Testing o3-mini and R1 with Windsurf
When testing o3-mini with Windsurf, we see a big difference between o3-mini and R1. We have a stream of the thinking R1 does, which is a great developer experience. The disclosed R1 thinking is so much more human-like and detailed than o3-mini's version in chat. GPT R1 doesn't natively support tool calling, so the Windsurf team implemented a version of their own.
Testing o3-mini and R1 with Windsurf
Comparison with Claude 3.5 Sonet
When using the same prompt with Claude 3.5 Sonet, we see that it produces a similar result in Windsurf and will produce a similar result in Cursor. Claude Sonet is very good, but most tools are optimized to work well with it. Sonnet kept the theme and implemented all the requirements in one shot in Windsurf.
Comparison with Claude 3.5 Sonet
Testing R1 with Windsurf
When testing R1 with Windsurf, we see that it added the signed-in user's email but destroyed the mobile footer. It also ignored the theme we have in place. The sign-out functionality works, but the top navigation bar doesn't look good and doesn't look like our theme at all.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the choice between these models and tools depends on specific needs. For advanced reasoning and structured tasks, OpenAI's o3-mini and Cursor may be more suitable. For efficient performance and open-source flexibility, DeepSeek R1 and Windsurf are compelling options. Evaluate your requirements to select the best fit for your projects.
Final Thoughts
The winner between OpenAI's o3-mini, DeepSeek R1, and Claude 3.5 Sonet is Claude 3.5 Sonet. Windsurf is the IDE winner because it supports R1 and had a working version with o3-mini after two shots.
Costs and Usage
The total costs are $20 for Cursor and $15 for Windsurf. In terms of usage in Windsurf, 12 user prompt credits and 23 flow action credits were used for this review, including the failed o3-mini tests.
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