The ASUS ROG Phone II Review: Mobile Gaming First, Phone Second
by Dr. Ian Cutress on September 30, 2019 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Asus
- Qualcomm
- Smartphones
- ROG
- RGB
- Snapdragon 855 Plus
- ROG Phone II
GPU Performance
As always with the GPU testing we do here, how a device ends up in the results is pretty much equally impacted by the SoC microarchitecture and GPU itself as it is by other factors such as software thermal throttling configurations as well as the hardware design of the phone – whether it can properly dissipate the heat from the SoC to the body of the phone.
We’re testing the ROG Phone II both in the default mode as well as the X Mode to determine any differences.
In the Physics test of 3DMark we see a difference in the reported peak performance of the RP2 depending on whether X Mode is on or off. Oddly enough, this has zero impact on the sustained performance scores as they end up nigh identical, pointing out that the X Mode doesn’t look to have any large impact on the thermal throttling of the phone, at least on the side of the CPU.
In the graphics tests, the ROG Phone II is dominating and is clearly posting the highest performance among any smartphone out there when it comes to its sustained performance. The device is able to distinguish itself from the rest thanks to the increased GPU frequency of the Snapdragon 855+ SoC.
Furthermore, the phone doesn’t look like it throttles much at all on the GPU side of things, and the behaviour is similar to that of the OPPO Reno 10x and the OnePlus 7 Pro. Of course, this also comes at a cost of extremely high device temperatures again – the phone’s internal temperature sensor in ASUS’s own monitoring tools showcased temps of in excess of 55°C, and the phone would burn through one’s finger if held at the hottest spots.
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dqniel - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Incredible hardware. Hideous design.boredsysadmin - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Gaming for me is secondary, but YUGE 6k battery, 3.5mm audio port mated to the high-performance phone at the same price as other flagship phones - I say why not. In fact, after I read most the article I fail to see the negative points. Why the camera was tested only with daylight? Yes, I expect it to lag behind Huawei/Apple/Google night mode, but I am a potential buyer curious to see to how much exactly it lags in quality.to dqniel - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
PeachNCream - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
It's pretty ungainly looking to say the least, but it is a lot of innards for a less than typically insane price for a top end phone. Once they're a generation or so older like the first Razer gaming phone is now, it will likely be possible to obtain one for 1/4th or so of the original asking price which might make it worth scooping up as it will still be relatively powerful at that point.Lord of the Bored - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
You mean "awesome stealth fighter design", right?DanNeely - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
So, to indicate that you're in "X mode" they light up a Y shaped area on the default desktop. I don't even...hemedans - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Thanx for review, probably my next smartphone, am Glad someone is moving away from Notch/glass/bezell less madness.Clamier - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Yep my too after reading i love it !hanselltc - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Phone size, Wafer Eater for scale. Nice.Kishoreshack - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Incredible HardwareIncredible Design
Asus you just have upped the game
hope you lead the industry & push the boundaries
skavi - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 - link
lol