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EVGA Tegra Note 7 Review: Nvidia's Tegra 4 For $200

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Nvidia is partnering with EVGA on the company's second Tegra 4-based device. Its Tegra Note 7 sells for $200, sports unique stylus technology, and ships with a bloatware-free build of Android. Can it set a new standard for affordable seven-inch tablets?

Test Setup And Methodology

Test System Specs

Today we're comparing the Tegra Note 7 to an odd assortment of devices. As the only other Tegra 4-based Android device, we include the Shield. Because the Note is an entry-level seven-inch tablet, we also have the current Nexus 7 from Google, which retails for just $30 more. The new Nexus also introduces Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 into the discussion. We're adding last year's Nexus 7 in order to present a very clean comparison between Tegra 4 and Tegra 3.

Moving up the size ladder, the 10.1" Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 Edition is here to represent the company's Exynos Octa 5 SoC along with a Mali GPU. Moving down in size we have two smartphones: Apple's iPhone 5s with the A7 SoC and the flagship PowerVR graphics core, and the Sony Xperia Z1 with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon/Adreno combo.

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DeviceSoCCPU CoreGPU CoreMemoryDisplay
Nvidia Tegra NoteNvidia Tegra 4T114 ARM Cortex-A15 (quad-core) @ 1.7 GHzGeForce ULP1 GB DDR37" IPS @ 1280x800
Nvidia ShieldNvidia Tegra 4T114 ARM Cortex-A15 (quad-core) @ 1.8 GHzGeForce ULP2 GB DDR35" IPS @ 1280x800
Google Nexus 7 (2012)Nvidia Tegra 3T30L ARM Cortex-A9 (quad-core) @ 1.2 GHzGeForce ULP (12-core) @ 416 MHz1 GB DDR3L7" IPS @ 1280x800
Google Nexus 7 (2013)Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Krait 300 (quad-core) @ 1.5 GHzAdreno 320 (quad-core) @ 400 MHz2 GB DDR3L7" IPS @ 1920x1200
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1" (2014)Samsung Exynos Octa 5Exynos 5420 (octa-core) @ 1.9 GHzARM Mali T628 MP6 (hexa-core) @ 600 MHz3 GB DDR310" TFT @ 2560x1600
Sony Xperia Z1Qualcomm Snapdragon 800Krait 400 (quad-core) @ 2.2 GHzAdreno 330 (quad-core) @ 450 GHz2 GB DDR35" TFT @ 1920x1080
Apple iPhone 5sApple A7ARM v8 (dual-core) @ 1.3 GHzPowerVR G6430 (four-cluster) @ 300 MHz1 GB DDR34" IPS @ 1136x640

Benchmark Suite

Our gadget test suite consists of five major sections: CPU, GPU, Web, Display, And Battery.

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CPU BenchmarksAnTuTu v4
CF-Bench Pro
Primate Labs Geekbench 3
Principled Technologies MobileXPRT 2013
GPU BenchmarksFuturemark 3DMark
Rightware Basemark GUI Free
Rightware Basemark X
Epic Citadel
Kishonti GFXBench v2.7.2
Silicon Studios Mobile GPUMark v2.0
Web BenchmarksRightware Browsermark v2.0
JSBench
Futuremark Peacekeeper v2.0
Impact HTML5 Benchmark
Principled Technologies WebXPRT 2013
Display MeasurmentsBrightness (Minimum and Maximum)
Calibrated Black Level
Calibrated Contrast Ratio
Calibrated Gamma
Calibrated Color Temperature
Color Gamut Volume (sRGB and AdobeRGB)
Battery TestsGaming (Mobile GPUMark - Loop)

Let's begin with our CPU testing and see how the Tegra Note 7, with its Tegra 4 SoC, stacks up in computational performance.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
37 Comments Comment from the forums
  • MasterMace
    It lacks a 1080 screen - deal killer for me.
    Reply
  • DelightfulDucklings
    Performance wise it is very good for the price seemingly but I just hate the design, to me it just looks plain ugly
    Reply
  • JD88
    Front facing speakers are really nice. One of the very few complaints I have about my Nexus 7 is volume.

    This thing is a powerhouse for the money.
    Reply
  • ananke
    No 1080p, no sales. Otherwise great device, and good price, but DOA because of the screen. The Chinese knock offs will outsell it.
    Reply
  • TheSchmed
    I am considering buying this tablet, but I'm weighing it against the less-expensive Dell Venue 7 and 8 (Android, not W8). I hope Tom's will review the Dell tablets and evaluate Intel processor performance and battery life!
    Reply
  • johnjohn67
    Pretty good deal and it has a micro sd slot.
    Reply
  • somebodyspecial
    CF BENCH:
    "Sony has been optimising for Snapdragon-based devices since the Xperia range took on the Krait core, and its experience shows as the Xperia Z1 comfortably leads the Tegra Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 in both Managed and Native."

    xperia java=32352
    Tegra Note7=32648.5

    Unless I'm not understanding what is going on here, 32648 is the longer bar/better score right? So while it lost NATIVE, it did not lose Java Managed right? It seems Sony won NATIVE and TEGRA note 7 won Java Managed. You need to fix the text.
    Reply
  • Lessthannil
    Why does everyone complain about no 1080p? The difference between 1280x800 to 1920X1080p on a 7" screen is minimal while it requires signifigantly more performance and power. Also, its a $199 tablet, what where you expecting?
    Reply
  • JeanLuc
    While benchmarking did you check to see if the any of the devices you were testing were boosting the SOC clock rates beyond the advertised clock speeds in certain benchmarks? Anandtech looked at this issue a while ago, it would be good to see publications like Toms testing for this sorting of thing and name and shame culprits.
    Reply
  • somebodyspecial
    Shows the power of the T4, I just wish they'd put it in something I want. And I agree 1080p min on anything that is above a phone' 5in size. But I also understand some just don't care so really a personally complaint about that. I'll wait for T5 and hope they get it into 1080/1200p on 13in or 20in ;) I have no use for 10 or below after using nexus10. Print etc, stuff is just too dang small. Maybe spoiled by 24in/22in dual monitors. I just can do squat on something that small and enjoy it other than some games and I'm not even sure about that. I hope they make a 7in shield 2 :) (maybe a 10in?...LOL).

    Smaller and THINNER (you took how much of my batter for thinner?) are USELESS to me. Give me back that larger and FAT model please, so I can run with more power or longer life (or some combo of both). As soon as I see "THINNER" in any description I just put my wallet back and shake my head :( Did I want thinner 10-15 years ago, yeah...Now that party ended ages ago for me.
    Reply