NVIDIA Shield Review: At the Crossroads of PC and Mobile Gaming
by Brian Klug on July 31, 2013 12:14 AM ESTGFXBench 2.7.0
While GFXBench 2.7 (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) doesn't yet take advantage of OpenGL ES 3.0 (GLB 3.0 will deliver that), it does significantly update the tests to recalibrate performance given the advances in modern hardware. Version 2.7 ditches classic, keeps Egypt HD and adds a new test, T-Rex HD, featuring a dinosaur in pursuit of a girl on a dirt bike.
Scene complexity goes up tremendously with the T-Rex HD benchmark. GLBenchmark has historically been more computationally bound than limited by memory bandwidth. The transition to T-Rex HD as the new flagship test continues the trend. While we see scaling in average geometry complexity, depth complexity and average memory bandwidth requirements, it's really in the shader instruction count that we see the biggest increase in complexity.
The fill rate tests put Shield significantly behind the iPad 4 and about on par with the Nexus 10. Looking at Triangle throughput we see Apple hold onto an advantage there as well, although Tegra 4 does show impressive gains over Tegra 3.
It's really in the pixel shader bound tests that Tegra 4 really excels:
As promised, Tegra 4's GPU manages to outperform the iPad 4's PowerVR SGX 554MP4 in GFXBench 2.7. The 50% performance advantage is appreciable, and should be very nice on a high res display. It's a shame Shield is stuck with a 720p panel. Note that we're also half way to the performance of Intel's HD 4000 here. The Adreno 330 comparison is, once again, extremely close. Qualcomm pulls ahead by 8% and that's without a fan in a tablet chassis.
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ervinshiznit - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Is it possible to run a battery life test with a H.264 encoded video being played back AND streamed over Wifi somehow? I feel like that would be a better simulation of the battery life under PC game streaming without having to sit there and play the game outright until the battery dies (although I'm sure that would be a lot of fun =))Crono - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
The problem with this kind of gaming device is that it's guaranteed to be selling well only in a niche market.It's too big to be portable, not powerful enough to be a console or desktop killer, and not versatile enough or the right form factor to be competitive against tablets. And then there's the obvious fact that mobile gaming is being dominated right now by smartphones and smaller tablets and more traditional handhelds.
The comparison picture tells a lot: larger than an Xbox 360 controller is too large.
darkich - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Desktop killer??Did you even read about this device at all??
This is a desktop EXTENSION in the best way possible
PNN - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
How is it not versatile enough to compete against 7 inch tablets? If you can spare those 2 inches, you get:- It's probably going to have more power than any 7-inch tablet released in the next year.
- Excelente battery life.
- Kickstand/gamepad
- Great speakers (except from the BB Playbook, I haven't seen a 7-inch tablet with decent audio).
Weight is the only major disadvantage over a 7-inch tablet.
geniekid - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Crono's point is that this device is a mobile gaming device. It won't replace a tablet, a smartphone, a laptop, or anything with a virtual/physical keyboard. It's most direct competition is the DS/Vita, which have much higher quality game libraries.So who's going to buy this thing? Enthusiast gamers with a need for mobile gaming that aren't satisfied with their DS/Vita. That's a pretty small market these days.
PNN - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
It obviously won't replace a smartphone or a laptop, not even 9/10/11 inch tablets, but I can imagine people buying one of these instead of an iPod Touch, iPad Mini or a 7 inch Android tablet. It offers similar functionality for a similar price. Again, only if the weight is not too much of an issue.Jumangi - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
It doesn't offer anywhere near the functionality when you take into consideration the form factors with something like the Nexus 7. And saying it will sell over an Ipad mini/ Wow the bizarre reality some people live in to justify weird tech.PNN - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
You're not getting my point. Bye.Spunjji - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Form factor is a huge consideration too. You will not fit this in a jacket pocket or small bag as easily as any of the devices you mentioned, and you're certainly not going to use it comfortably with one hand. I'm not saying your point is entirely invalid, but you're arguing this thing will fit into niches where it's not an ideal match.darkich - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
"much higher quality game libraries" ..oh man what a load of horse s!it.You are obviously completely ignorant about iTunes and Google Play games.
There's still so much prejudice going on about that among you pc dinosaurs.
Let me break it down:
The vast majority of Games on google Play cost up to 7$