For this comparison, we chose a series of games selected by Nvidia and optimized for Tegra 3. The only limitation we imposed was that the titles also had to be available for iOS, so we could compare the Tegra 3’s visuals to that of the iPhone 5. We added two more test platforms, a Samsung Galaxy S III and a pre-release Google Nexus 4, to compare Nvidia’s chip to GPUs from ARM and Qualcomm.
| Test Setup | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | HTC One X+ | Apple iPhone 5 | Google Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
| SoC | Nvidia Tegra 3 (AP37) | Apple A6 | Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) | Samsung Exynos 4 (4412) |
| CPU | Cortex-A9 @ 1.7 GHz (quad-core) | Swift @ 1.3 GHz (dual-core) | Krait @ 1.5 GHz (quad-core) | Cortex-A9 @ 1.4 GHz (quad-core) |
| GPU | ULP GeForce @ 520 MHz | PowerVR SGX543MP3 @ 266 MHz | Adreno 320* | Mali-400 MP4 @ 400 MHz |
| Memory | 1 GB | 1 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Storage** | 64 GB | 16 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Display | 4.7” S-LCD 2 @ 1280x720 (312 PPI) | 4” IPS LCD @1136x640 (326 PPI) | 4.7” WXGA IPS @1280x768 (318 PPI) | 4.8” Super AMOLED @1280x720 (306 PPI) |
| MSRP*** | $650 | $650 | $300 | $700 |
| *Qualcomm does not disclose the frequency of the Adreno 320. **The Storage specs are off the base models to help with pricing. ***Base models, as of 12/20/12. | ||||
| Benchmark Suite | ||||
| Title | Tegra Optimization | |||
| Beach Buggy Blitz | Yes | |||
| Dead Trigger | Yes | |||
| Fruit Ninja | Separate THD Edition | |||
| Galaxy On Fire 2 | THD-only* | |||
| Grand Theft Auto III | ||||
| Heroes Call | Yes | |||
| Princess Punt | Yes | |||
| Shadowgun: DeadZone | Yes | |||
| Sprinkle | Yes | |||
| SoulCraft | Separate THD Edition | |||
| The Dark Meadow: The Pact | Yes | |||
| Zen Pinball | THD-only | |||
| *Also available for the Sony Xperia Play. | ||||
When available, we ran the Tegra HD (THD) version of each game on the HTC One X+. The standard Android version from Google Play was used on the Galaxy S III and Nexus 4. Obviously, the iOS version from the App Store was used on the iPhone 5. So that everyone can test at home, all but one of the games we’ve selected is a free title. Our one exception, Grand Theft Auto III is only five bucks, and in our opinion, well worth the price of admission considering the very un-mobile scope of this sandbox favorite.
Remember that today we’re concentrating on visual differences rather than performance, so don’t expect the usual frames-per-second performance data. Instead, we have side-by-side screen shots of the same area in each game on all four test phones. While we originally wanted to provide a video comparison between the various games, due to DRM issues, we weren’t able to. Besides, screen capture software for today’s mobile devices causes far too much of a performance impact to make the comparison valid.
- Nvidia's Tegra 3: King Of Android Gaming?
- Test Setup And Benchmark Suite
- Beach Buggy Blitz And Dead Trigger
- Fruit Ninja And Galaxy On Fire 2
- Grand Theft Auto III And Heroes Call
- Princess Punt And Shadowgun: DeadZone
- Sprinkle And SoulCraft
- The Dark Meadow: The Pact And Zen Pinball
- Tegra HD: Must-Have Or Marketing Gimmick?




Exactly what is wrong with tech today, for 30 years companies learned to embrace compatibility after the Sony Betamax failure (technically better, but priced beyond comsumer appreciation). Now everyone wants to follow Apple forgetting they too suffered from a "closed shop" for 20 years.
Exactly what is wrong with tech today, for 30 years companies learned to embrace compatibility after the Sony Betamax failure (technically better, but priced beyond comsumer appreciation). Now everyone wants to follow Apple forgetting they too suffered from a "closed shop" for 20 years.
What's bothersome for me though is that some tegra optimized titles actually run on a low resolution by default on the N7 (to compensate for low memory bandwidth???) yet still play on a 30-40ish frame rate, luckily the devs have put resolution option in the setting (see Riptide, beach buggy blitz), but you'll be playing at 20-30fps if you bump it up to the max/native res.
Another title, Horn, which is actually a Tegra exclusive using UE3, actually runs on a low res but does not provide any option to change that, and even with the low resolution, it is extremely choppy at times I can easily notice 15-20fps.
One dev that I like is MADFINGER Games (dead trigger, shadowgun), their titles are so heavily optimized that they run at a consistent 35-45fps on my N7 and I do not notice lag nor inconsistent frame rate. still runs at constant 60fps on my Note II though...
Meanwhile I can't think of anything that doesn't run at 60fps on my Note II, So much that wonder how much better the gpu performance is on Snapdragon S4 pro and apple A6 devices.
Yes, but tiny screens u put u fingers on ruin the experience of gaming, i get my old megadrive out and play or niintendo 64 for some funny simple old school games. Phones look the 'tiny' part like it but its just not the same. I bought a whole heap of games on my iphone only to put them down and never play again since the format in which u play is just not 'fun' and thats the whole point of games is it not. Oh well, consoles or pc's FTW
definitely, GTAIII and Vice City were both PS2 games and the new mobile versions have upgraded textures
Q - Why no benchmarks?
Sorry about that, my bad - it's fixed now.
There's plenty of hardcore games for mobile devices. Play any Shm'up, especially those from Cave co. like Bug Princess. Although that's probably more processing power rather than graphics power.
Were talking about 15 or 16 years ago here. Ohh look how small it is now with more power.
you just did!
Agreed, PhysX is the word I think of, after read couple of lines...
Comparing Tegra 3 with the other SoC on the Tegra 3 optimized titles was interesting, but it comes to the wrong conclusion and recommendation.
The vast majority of the games available on the Google Play store are NOT Tegra optimized, and the Tegra 3 GPU is the slowest of the bunch.
Why not testing the most graphically intensive games, such as Asphalt 7, ME Infiltrator, Wild Blood?
Also you could have been researching a bit better, Shadowgun for example is also available on the Samsung store with SGS III optimizations.
marketing.