Performance: Exynos vs. SnapdragonA

Performance: Exynos vs. Snapdragon
After many weeks of trying, I managed to secure both the Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos variants of the Galaxy Note 3 for the performance section of this review. Similar to what we saw with the Galaxy S4, the two variants cover different markets: Snapdragon for LTE (SM-N9005), and Exynos for HSPA+ only (SM-N900). Aside from the differences in radios though, expect some significant differences in many aspects of the internal hardware.
The Qualcomm-powered model uses the tried-and-true Snapdragon 800 MSM8974, which features a 2.26 GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU at 450 MHz, a 600 MHz Hexagon QDSP6V5A DSP, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, and IZAT Gen8B GPS+GLONASS. There’s also a dual-channel LPDDR3 memory controller that connects to 3 GB of RAM, providing bandwidth of around 12.8 GB/s.
I’ve spoken about the Snapdragon 800 in a few of my previous device reviews – for the LG G2, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Sony Xperia Z1 and Google Nexus 5 – so it’s best to go back and check those for more details on the SoC.
The Exynos model is, in many respects, a more interesting device to discuss. The last time I used an Exynos-powered device was the HSPA+ only Galaxy S4 model, and there were several issues that made is simply not worth considering compared to the Snapdragon 600 model. It was slower, featured worse battery life, and lacked some critical camera and connectivity features.

The Galaxy Note 3 SM-N900 doesn’t use the same Exynos 5 Octa 5410 SoC as the Galaxy S4 though, instead packing the upgraded Exynos 5 Octa 5420. It’s still built on the same ARM big.LITTLE foundations – four ARM Cortex-A15 CPU cores at 1.9 GHz plus four ARM Cortex-A7 cores at 1.3 GHz – but still lacks the key inclusion of heterogeneous multi-processing (HMP).
What is so good about HMP? In the Exynos Galaxy S4 (and also with the Note 3), it was only possible to use one set of CPU cores at a time. If the controller wanted to switch from power-saving A7 cores to high-performance A15s (imagine the transition from music playing to web browsing), it would need to power up the A15 cluster, migrate the task, and then power down the A7 cluster. The whole process took up valuable time, and the Galaxy S4 was noticeably laggy whenever it needed to migrate between the clusters.
HMP completely ditches the cluster migration model by allowing all eight cores to run simultaneously. Music playback can be tasked to the A7 cores as web browsing is tasked to the A15s, with no switchover necessary, and no noticeable lag. The HMP model is the ideal ARM big.LITTLE implementation, as it not only provides more processing power and flexibility, but better power management. For us end users, we should experience a faster processor with better battery life.
Unfortunately, while the Exynos 5420 supports HMP, it has not been enabled in the Galaxy Note 3 due to thermal envelope concerns. This is very disappointing to hear, however the cluster migration technique has been improved somewhat, removing the noticeable lag as tasks transition from one cluster to another.
As well as a tweaked CPU setup, the GPU has been upgraded from the PowerVR SGX544MP3 to the Mali-T628 MP6, clocked at somewhere around 480 MHz, providing an (on-paper) doubling of graphics performance. There’s also a slightly faster 14.9 GB/s dual-channel LPDDR3e memory controller (also paired to 3 GB of RAM).
Connectivity-wise, the Exynos 5 Octa falls behind the Snapdragon 800, packing just 42 Mbps HSPA+ (no LTE). However, there is still the usual Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS+GLONASS and NFC.

It’s all well and good talking about the hardware and specifications of the two Galaxy Note 3s, but thus far I’ve ignored how well both devices actually perform. Unlike with the Galaxy S4, where there was a noticeable difference between the two models, both the Snapdragon and Exynos Note 3 variants perform extremely well. Just like any other flagship phone of 2013, the SoC capably handles

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Kinerja: Exynos vs SnapdragonSetelah beberapa minggu mencoba, aku berhasil mengamankan varian Qualcomm Snapdragon maupun Samsung Exynos Galaxy Catatan 3 bagian kinerja dari tinjauan ini. Serupa untuk apa yang kita lihat dengan Galaxy S4, dua varian menutupi pasar yang berbeda: Snapdragon LTE (SM-N9005), dan Exynos untuk HSPA + hanya (SM-N900). Terlepas dari perbedaan dalam radio meskipun, mengharapkan beberapa perbedaan yang signifikan dalam banyak aspek hardware internal.Model bertenaga Qualcomm menggunakan mencoba-dan-benar Snapdragon 800 MSM8974, yang menampilkan 2.26 GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, perkotaan 330 GPU pada 450 MHz, 600 MHz Hexagon QDSP6V5A DSP, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, dan IZAT Gen8B GPS + GLONASS. Ada juga LPDDR3 dual-channel memori controller yang terhubung ke 3 GB RAM, menyediakan bandwidth sekitar 12.8 GB/s.Saya telah berbicara tentang 800 Snapdragon dalam beberapa ulasan perangkat saya sebelumnya – untuk LG G2, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Sony Xperia Z1 dan Google Nexus 5-Jadi terbaik untuk kembali dan memeriksa orang-orang untuk lebih detail tentang SoC.Exynos model adalah, dalam banyak hal, perangkat yang lebih menarik untuk membahas. Terakhir kali saya menggunakan perangkat bertenaga Exynos adalah HSPA + hanya Galaxy S4 model, dan ada beberapa masalah yang dibuat sama sekali tidak layak dipertimbangkan dibandingkan dengan model Snapdragon 600. Itu lebih lambat, lebih buruk Terpilih baterai, dan tidak memiliki beberapa fitur kamera dan konektivitas yang kritis.The Galaxy Note 3 SM-N900 doesn’t use the same Exynos 5 Octa 5410 SoC as the Galaxy S4 though, instead packing the upgraded Exynos 5 Octa 5420. It’s still built on the same ARM big.LITTLE foundations – four ARM Cortex-A15 CPU cores at 1.9 GHz plus four ARM Cortex-A7 cores at 1.3 GHz – but still lacks the key inclusion of heterogeneous multi-processing (HMP).What is so good about HMP? In the Exynos Galaxy S4 (and also with the Note 3), it was only possible to use one set of CPU cores at a time. If the controller wanted to switch from power-saving A7 cores to high-performance A15s (imagine the transition from music playing to web browsing), it would need to power up the A15 cluster, migrate the task, and then power down the A7 cluster. The whole process took up valuable time, and the Galaxy S4 was noticeably laggy whenever it needed to migrate between the clusters.HMP completely ditches the cluster migration model by allowing all eight cores to run simultaneously. Music playback can be tasked to the A7 cores as web browsing is tasked to the A15s, with no switchover necessary, and no noticeable lag. The HMP model is the ideal ARM big.LITTLE implementation, as it not only provides more processing power and flexibility, but better power management. For us end users, we should experience a faster processor with better battery life.Unfortunately, while the Exynos 5420 supports HMP, it has not been enabled in the Galaxy Note 3 due to thermal envelope concerns. This is very disappointing to hear, however the cluster migration technique has been improved somewhat, removing the noticeable lag as tasks transition from one cluster to another.As well as a tweaked CPU setup, the GPU has been upgraded from the PowerVR SGX544MP3 to the Mali-T628 MP6, clocked at somewhere around 480 MHz, providing an (on-paper) doubling of graphics performance. There’s also a slightly faster 14.9 GB/s dual-channel LPDDR3e memory controller (also paired to 3 GB of RAM).Connectivity-wise, the Exynos 5 Octa falls behind the Snapdragon 800, packing just 42 Mbps HSPA+ (no LTE). However, there is still the usual Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS+GLONASS and NFC.It’s all well and good talking about the hardware and specifications of the two Galaxy Note 3s, but thus far I’ve ignored how well both devices actually perform. Unlike with the Galaxy S4, where there was a noticeable difference between the two models, both the Snapdragon and Exynos Note 3 variants perform extremely well. Just like any other flagship phone of 2013, the SoC capably handles