Low-Level Test Results: ALU
Reminiscent of demoscene “progs” from the '90s, this ALU test measures shader compute performance by rendering a complex scene using a full-screen quad and fragment shader code.
The results are bound to be dramatically different between the native and off-screen tests.
On-Screen
The Apple iPhone 5s wins again, but its sub-720p display is very much a contributing factor. Google's Nexus 7 comes in an extremely close second place, while the EVGA Tegra Note slips in right behind in third. It's actually surprising to see the Tegra Note trailing, since it employs a lower-resolution display. With that said, the top three devices are extremely close to each other.
Google's 2013 Nexus 7 rules the lower portion of the field. Meanwhile, the Adreno 320-equipped Oppo N1 is another 20% slower than the Nexus. Clearly, Oppo’s ColorOS is again not as efficient as pure Android 4.4.2 even when pushing slightly fewer pixels. The two Exynos 5 Octa-based devices, the Meizu MX3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1” 2014 Edition, are again battling for last place.
Off-Screen
The Nexus 5's Snapdragon 800 SoC features Adreno 330 graphics, which demonstrates significantly higher shader performance than the iPhone 5s.
Oppo's N1 and Google's Nexus 7 sit in third and fourth place (respectively). This is how we'd hope to see them, given similar GPUs operating at similar clock rates.
EVGA's Tegra Note is a disappointment. Then again, of the Tegra 4 SoC's 72 shaders, remember that only 48 are dedicated to pixel shading operations.
Meanwhile, the Exynos 5-based SoCs continue to fall short, regardless of GPU core. Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1” 2014 Edition and the Meizu MX3 take second-to-last and last place, respectively. However, the Mali-T628MP6 is almost twice as capable as Imagination's older PowerVR SGX544MP3. The pattern is pretty evident; Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa is the big loser this cycle.
