GLBenchmark 2.5 Performance on iOS and Android Devices
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Brian Klug on July 31, 2012 8:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- GLBenchmark
- Mobile
- Tablets
- SoCs
Earlier today we published our first results using GLBenchmark 2.5, the long awaited update to one of our most frequently used mobile GPU benchmarks. As a recap, here's a quick introduction to the new benchmark:
GLBenchmark 2.5.0 primarily addresses a few shortcomings from the previous version of the Egypt test, primarily by moving to a more challenging version of Egypt. The new game test is named Egypt HD, and moves to a much more complex scene while keeping roughly the same test animation. Geometry count has increased, texture resolution has increased, there's a new water shader, more reflections, and more shadowing. In addition, the offscreen test has now moved to a default resolution of 1080p instead of the previous 720p, for a more challenging workload. This offscreen resolution is now customizable, but we'll be running 1080p for ease of comparison. In addition, the "classic" Egypt test is also a part of GLBenchmark 2.5.0 for those wishing to compare to 2.1.5. In addition, the triangle and fill subtests also stay around for a lower level look at OpenGL ES 2.0 performance. It should go without saying, but GLBenchmark 2.5 is still an OpenGL ES 2.0 test.
In our first article we ran GLBenchmark 2.5 on devices based on Samsung's Exynos dual and quad SoCs, Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4, NVIDIA's Tegra 2/3 and TI's OMAP 4. We had problems getting older devices to run, which is why we only had the abridged set of starting data on Android. In addition, GLBenchmark 2.5 for Android only supports Android 3.x and up.
GLBenchmark 2.5 is already available in the Google Play store, however the iOS version isn't quite ready for public release. Thankfully we've been able to get our hands on the iOS version and now have results for the new iPad, iPad 2 as well as the iPhone 4S. Just as before we've split results into tablet and smartphone performance. Let's tackle the tablets first.
Tablet Performance in GLBenchmark 2.5
Apple's A5X SoC is a beast as we found in our investigation of the chip earlier this year. The SoC marries a quad-core PowerVR SGX 543 with a quad-channel memory controller, good for up to 12.8GB/s of memory bandwidth. The combination of the two is a GPU that significantly outperforms anything else on the market today.
The A5X's dominance extends to GLBenchmark 2.5. Low level performance ranges from 33% faster than NVIDIA's Tegra 3 on the low end to over 3x the performance at the high end. Even Apple's A5 found in the iPad 2 tends to be the second fastest SoC in these tests.
Egypt HD continues to be unrelentless in its punishment of mobile SoCs. The A5X is able to just keep up with the A5 thanks to the new iPad's significantly higher native resolution. Even the A5 running at 1024 x 768 can only muster 22 fps in the new Egypt HD test. It's going to take another generation of mobile GPUs to really sustain playable frame rates here.
The offscreen test runs without vsync enabled and at a standard 1080p resolution for all devices. In the case of the new iPad this works out to be a significantly lighter workload, which is responsible for the 20% higher frame rate. Even at 1080p though, the A5X isn't enough to sustain 30 fps.
The classic Egypt benchmark once again gives us a good indication of present day gaming performance, which for the most part is fine on any of the latest SoCs.
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amdwilliam1985 - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
Apple hater here, won't buy another iProduct since Apple is still an arrogant bully.Also, I stop playing games with my iPhone 3gs and SGS2, after realizing mobile games are just plain boring(rehash of the same games over and over and over again). I did game about 2+ years with 3gs and SGS2.
Apple products can never do usb-plugin-file-transfer. Who needs iTunes when you can drag and drop. Worst pain-point with 3gs, got a lot of dead brain cells trying to make iTunes work with 3gs :(
3gs went into my collection chest, iPad 2 just went to gf after I got my Nexus 7. Wish someone can take my 13" 2011 MBA.
I tried to give it to my brother for free, but failed. He preferred a HP 15" Envy that can actually do games, lol.
darkcrayon - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
You couldn't make iTunes work with a 3GS...Focher - Friday, August 3, 2012 - link
I'll take your MBA for free. I'll even pay for shipping.UltraTech79 - Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - link
Sounds more like user error than hardware error. Maybe get a clue?TrackSmart - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
It would also be great to see an update addressing the Verizon versions of the Galaxy SIII (i.e. how battery life shakes out between the various models). I remember mention of this some weeks back, but never saw it appear. Probably not high on the list, since the hardware is so similar to the other models.As usual, thanks for the hard work!
Belard - Friday, August 3, 2012 - link
Great... I am pretty much SOLD on it. Both my business partner and my own Galaxy Captivate are 2 years old. Mine has slowing showing touch-screen issues and lock ups, GPS was always crap on GS1. But his suddenly died yesterday!They only had a single Red SGS3 in stock and the HTC One. I think the newer Samsung and the home button is what sold him.
I had the chance to play with a dummy Atrix HD, in terms of weight and feel... and that *IS* important to me. I don't use covers on my phones or iPad. Also, Apple is pissing me off with being a patent troll over the rectangle and BS on prior art.
Anyho, I almost went with the HTC-One X (like the LED light), but the button arrangement and concerns with its coating rubbing off pretty much nixed it. The SGS3... is such a fingerprint magnet... why go with the cheap plastic cover? It took seconds to make the nice red-back look "dirty". Oh, it comes with a cleaning cloth - oh wow. He put a cover on it anyway.
Since all phones are now HUGE, the AtixHD is slightly the smaller of the bunch. While the back of the phone is plain flat. The feel of the phone is excellent. Its not TOO thin on the sides... and *I* did like the feel of the various textures as well. Battery is not removable has me concerned (resetting the phone), as I'm used to pulling out the battery... I like the curvature of the phone and that in my pocket, I know its orientation. Unlike most Samsungs.
From the ratings on at&t, people are saying the battery is a bit weak (like all smart phones) but I would expect and hope its a lot better than my Captivate!
On your reviewers, older Motorola phones seem to have better battery life than my captivate - which in all honesty, I never really liked. It was "the best" at the time. Also, some raters said the speaker (speaker phone mode) is very loud.
So, unless the phone blows chunks... I'm 95% sure it will be my next purchase. The Home button on the SGS3 is a selling point to me... but I don't seem to want that phone. Know what I mean?
codedivine - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
Well the older benchmark also had a "Pro" part. Does the new version only have a Egypt HD?Brian Klug - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
The new version has Egypt HD and Egypt Classic, Pro is now retired basically.-Brian
ltcommanderdata - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
You seem to be missing the A5X datapoint in the Triangle Texture Test - Fragment Lit Offscreen figure on the tablet page.Any chance of putting in Apple A4 and Adreno 220 results, tablet and/or smartphone, as reference points? Those devices would be coming up to the 2 year upgrade cycle that most people likely follow so it'd be useful to see how things have progressed.
H.A.L. 9000 - Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - link
LOL. A4 would run this at probably LESS than 1FPS. SGX535 and an 800MHz Cortex A8... Adreno 220, maybe.