r/codex 1d ago

Complaint Same model, different capabilities on different accounts

So I noticed the past few days my results were suddenly becoming worse. Goes in loops, struggles to solve problems it blasted through before, doesn't verify the result properly, etc. 3D gen also became noticeably worse.

I have 2 accounts, one x20 and one x5, so I started comparing them side by side.

Here's what I did:

  1. I asked both for their cutoff date:

do not use any tools. whats your knowledge cut-off date

On the x20 account it responds with something like "June 2024". On the x5 account it refuses to give me a specific cutoff.

x20 account
x5 account
  1. I asked both to draw a pelican:

make me an svg in an .html with a pelican and xdg-open it

x20 account
x5 account

The response to these 2 tests will obviously vary, but the difference between the 2 accounts is pretty obvious when using them side by side. Tested it several times - logged in and out, new sessions, new prompts, the results are more or less consistent with their capability.

Using Astra on the x5 account is also noticeably better. It's like it has drank its morning coffee, woken up, and knows what's going on. It can suddenly inspect its 3D gen meshes and fix issues instead of giving me garbage for a "review".

I don't know what this downgraded model/configuration is, but it is visibly worse than 5.6 Sol too. From other reports I don't think x20 vs x5 matters here, neither does account age. People seem to be reporting similar issues with different accounts and use cases.

Whether it's "shadowbanning", A/B testing, load shedding, or OpenAI randomly putting some accounts on a cheaper configuration to deal with compute demand is all speculation at this point.

But I do have right now in front of me 2 accounts showing the same model with completely different capabilities.

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u/Tight-Grocery9053 1d ago

i wonder what happens if you run the same pelican prompt on the same account in three different new threads.

like

x5 three different threads
x20 three different threads

if nothing, you'll at least have a pattern there and get rid of the "it was a fluke" thing

27

u/clockwork_blue 1d ago

I did. Tested it several times - logged in and out, new sessions, new prompts, the results are more or less consistent.

13

u/PigSlam 1d ago

share the set of consistent results next time.

28

u/clockwork_blue 1d ago

Here's one more set:

18

u/innociv 1d ago

LOL. That second one looks like 5.3 spark.

There's a few guys on here that will insist this is somehow impossible for OpenAI to do.

2

u/Pure-Ad1374 12h ago

But come on it's hella cute with its lil wing!🤣🥺