The ASUS ZenFone 2 Review
by Brandon Chester on May 26, 2015 8:00 AM ESTGPU Performance
As I’ve already mentioned a few times, both models of the ZenFone 2 use the PowerVR G6430 GPU from Imagination Technologies. This is the same GPU used in Apple’s A7 chip, although the implementation in A7 likely has a max GPU clock of around 450MHz, while in Atom Z3560 and Z3580 it peaks at 533MHz. While one would think this would give the ZenFone 2 a lead over the Apple A7 based iOS devices, factors like driver optimization can also play a role.
The ZenFone’s performance in 3DMark is very good, and is one of the highest that we’ve seen. Much of this is due to the score in the physics test, which bests even the Galaxy S6 that had previously topped the chart, and second only to the Venue 8 7000 tablet. In the graphics test it achieves a score similar to that of the iPhone 6. The overall weighted average of the two tests puts the ZenFone 2 in fourth place, between the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy S6 Edge.
In BaseMark X we see that the ZenFone 2 stumbles compared to the G6430 implementation in the iPhone 5s. Despite the higher clock speed on the GPU, it trails the iPhone 5s in both the Dunes and Hanger tests. The final score ends up right in the middle of the chart. It’s not as quick as the iPhone 5s and faster devices, but it’s quicker than those that use Snapdragon 801 and Adreno 330.
Our last benchmark is GFXBench. In the off screen 1080p tests we see that the ZenFone 2 is slightly quicker than the iPhone 5s in both Manhattan and T-Rex HD. The differences are small enough to be attributed to test variance, but the important point is that the G6430 GPU ends up being as quick as the implementation in Apple’s A7 SoC. The fact that it’s only as quick as the iPhone 5s despite its higher clock speeds indicates that PowerVR GPU drivers on Android are not as well optimized as on iOS, and it would be great to see GPU performance improve a little bit down the road via driver improvements.
Overall, the GPU in the ZenFone 2 is more than fast enough to run the OS smoothly and run any 2D or 3D games a user will want to play. The performance is substantially better than any other phone at this price point. It looks like there's still a gap between the optimization of PowerVR GPU drivers on iOS versus Android, but despite that the ZenFone 2 still delivers performance that I know won't disappoint any of its buyers.
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tipoo - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
File system metadata structures in HFS+ have global locks. Only one process can update the file system at a time. The benchmark that only uses one IO thread isn't artificially limiting the iPhones, it's using exactly what it can. In the future, may as well use the newer multithreaded one for Androids even if the iPhones is single threaded, imo.soccerballtux - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
videos of this 'smoothness' in the ZenUI and app animations you spoke of would have been cool. I don't notice it [desensitized] like I used to, but Android has very...uncomfortable...transition animations.blzd - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
Android does? Are you sure you're not thinking of Touchwiz or some other poorly implemented manufacturer skin?Android 5 (Lollipop) has very smooth animations. Heck even Kit Kat did. Nexus and Motorola devices (stock android) have been 100% smooth for 2 years or more now.
Sammaul - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
Very smooth animations. Camera is.....ok. But as I am coming from a Mate 2, it's actually an improvement for me lol. Been using the phone for 3 days now, and have seen no stutter, no jittery animations. Everything loads quickly and smoothly. The 2 channel ram is very nice imoCory Yalowicki - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
I'd like a review that compares this phone with the Alcatel Onetouch Idol 3.Seems like that is this phone's closest competitor.
tipoo - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
That performs pretty bad in games from what I saw in video comparisons, GPU is much weaker than this one. The 8 A53 cores are dumb too, the 4 slightly higher performing ones in the Zenfone 2 are preferable. The Idol 3 has better battery life.vision33r - Wednesday, May 27, 2015 - link
For $300 I think the G3 is a better phone. You get a QHD display, very good camera, performance is usable, removeable battery and micro SD. The QHD Display looks very sharp and clear. The Asus is a good phone but I can't use a smartphone with a horrible camera in 2015. G3 has optical focus and shoots great videos too. I don't get one thing is how bulky the Asus looks but yet the battery is not user replaceable. The ASUS TF series has really spotty QC such as bad batteries I can't trust relying on Asus hardware.blzd - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
Where is the G3 $300? I know the G2 is around there now, G3 is still about $500 from what I can see.Sammaul - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
G3 at $300? Where? And please don't say Swappa, or any other resale site. Personally I refuse to buy used phones.YB0006 - Thursday, May 28, 2015 - link
i got a asus phone days ago from dhgate.com and it feels very good till now!