It's no secret that the performance of your future smartphone directly depends on three components: the processor, the graphics core and random access memory. They determine how smoothly the interface on your phone will work, whether games will slow down, and how quickly applications will launch. Today we will tell you how to choose a smartphone that will suit you with its performance.
The fact that it's 40% faster is impressive, but that's mostly due to improvements in the high-performance pair of cores, not because there are twice as many of them. Don't forget that the main processor is not responsible for graphics performance. The main thing is that a phone with an octa-core processor will not necessarily be best choice for games.
Of course, we are talking about processors and performance at a very high level. The latter is especially important since applications must be written to use all available processor cores. However, this is beyond the scope of this article. So let's get to the main question. Is it better to buy a phone with the most cores you can get?
Produced mobile processors such companies as Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, Intel, NVIDIA and some others who are just beginning to explore the market. Therefore, today we will not make forecasts for the future and guess whether the company will release or not commercial version prototype presented at the exhibition, and let's look at the specific models that are used in the production of smartphones. But we'll talk about this a little later, when we start the review. specific models processors, and now let's talk a little about the manufacturers.
We've tested the performance of many, many phones, and there's no evidence that more cores equals better performance. And there's really no point in buying a phone based on its underlying score, any more than you would buy a car based solely on the number of cylinders in its engine: there are far, far more.
So if you are looking for a phone upgrade, be sure to check out our shopping district. The current generation of smartphones is bursting with performance. Thus, the time for long pauses ends. Do you really need four cores or even “just” two?
One of the leaders in the production of energy-efficient microchips built on ARM technology is Qualcomm, which has released such hits as Snapdragon 400, 600, 800. But Apple designs processors for its smartphones itself, also using ARM architecture in them. In turn, Samsung also produces its own powerful Samsung Exynos processors for its top-end smartphones.
High quality smartphones always come with the latest and the best technologies On the market. The only question is: does the difference really make itself felt in practice? Thus, a dual-core processor can run much faster and perform multiple tasks simultaneously without being completely loaded.
Or can you imagine a small fan in your smartphone? There is no danger of burning and the smartphone is not damaged. However, strong heat generation is unpleasant. It's true that quad-core processors are fast, powerful, and can run multiple programs simultaneously. It may happen that, despite the existence of four cores, only one is working, while the others are taking a break.
The Chinese manufacturer is not far behind. MediaTek Corporation is confidently gaining its position in the market, getting rid of the stigma of second-tier brands. Separately, I would like to say about the “smart” products of the famous company NVIDIA, since its processors are equipped with a special Tegra video core, which is focused mainly on the gaming industry. Thanks to this manufacturer, a new class of devices has appeared, gaming tablets and smartphones. There is also such a player in the traditional PC industry as Intel on the market. Moreover, Intel produces Atom processors based on x86 architecture, the same as in regular computers, so the products of this company can most often be found on Windows devices.
Conclusion: evaluation of results
Single-core smartphones and the end of the world are far behind us. But as mentioned above, it ultimately depends on whether it supports software multi-core processors. Current smartphone operating systems now support multi-core processors. And applications are mainly designed to run on multiple cores.
Therefore, if you need especially powerful smartphone, because you want to play, for example, complex and graphically demanding games, it is recommended to use a quad-core smartphone. If you have average performance without constant lag, you should buy a dual-core smartphone. One of them, by the way, is present in most modern middle-class smartphones. However, if you don't want to spend little money on your new mobile phone because you don't mind even small interruptions, a single core is enough.
When choosing fast smartphone You can’t rely on just one indicator, the processor clock speed. Although, as a rule, the higher this indicator, the better. All modern mobile processors are able to lower and increase their own frequency depending on the load, just as their older brothers do in full-fledged computers. Therefore, the specification indicates precisely the upper limit of the processor clock frequency. Budget processors have a frequency of 1000-1300 MHz, mid-range - 1300-1700 MHz, and flagships operate at 1900 MHz or more.
Smartphone Hardware What You Should Know About Processor, Memory and Battery
Because these smartphones are now very cheap to buy. How quickly users can switch between apps or play complex games depends on the performance of the smartphone's processor. The processor and memory in the smartphone ensure that the user can act quickly and store many applications. But how much processor power is needed, how big should the memory be, and how long should the battery last?
Mostly small computers. Therefore, it is worth looking at the equipment specifications. In these closed systems, the software usually runs smoothly even with weaker hardware, so pure hardware comparisons of different systems are usually few and far between. High-end devices can use up to eight data cores. More processor power also usually means a higher price. Less for most applications. However, even with the device entry level there must be at least two data cores.
It is worth remembering, however, that some megahertz can be an order of magnitude faster than others, that is, in addition to frequency, the speed of operation is influenced by a bunch of different parameters. Therefore, it is incorrect to compare different smartphones head-to-head based on the frequency of their processor. It's better to take advantage special program Benchmark. The most popular Android smartphone in the world Benchmark AnTuTu, by running this test, you will receive a result in the form of an abstract number of points or, as seasoned observers say, “parrots”. With the help of this program you need to compare the speed of different smartphones. In any case, it is better to choose a processor with clock frequency not lower than 1500 MHz, this is a reasonable minimum today.
This speeds up transitions between applications, web browsing and a lot of gaming. Again, a lot helps. Even complex games or photo templates can be made from it. Today, average devices must have at least one gigabyte installed. To do this, there are currently a number of applications that are installed on devices. various types, allow you to control the operation of equipment under averaging conditions.
This is so that the consumer knows how well the equipment available to them in the market works. We have eliminated some deceptively high scores and some incomplete scores caused by unexpected closures during tests. Typically, the chip directly determines the performance of the smartphone. The list shows that the top 10 positions are mostly occupied by phones released in the second half.
Number of processor cores
And now we come to a very interesting question: how many computing cores should there be in a processor? Single-core processors today are the lot not even of budget models, but of irrevocably outdated devices.
The market is dominated by multi-core solutions, in which several computing units can work in parallel on different tasks. Following dual-core processors, four-, five- and even eight-core processors appeared. It would seem that everything is simple, the more cores, the faster the chip. However, in practice this is not always the case. Firstly, a smartphone most often does not use all processor cores at the same time. Secondly, most applications can work with a maximum of two computing cores. Even latest version The iPhone 5s uses a processor with only two cores, but thanks to excellent optimization, they deliver results that would be the envy of much more multi-core devices. For example, in the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, the fifth core performs an auxiliary function, ensuring that the device operates in power saving mode, that is, checking mail and processing system processes, or when the phone is in standby mode. The older four cores are sleeping at this time.
Every day we all struggle with some similar problem on our mobile phones, regardless of their brand. Some of them are related to the age of the device. However, experts on the subject point out that there are other inconveniences that are even more recurring and that require care to optimize interaction with the equipment.
On the one hand, there are sporadic power outages, generated mainly by some evil code. On the other hand, there are errors related to the memory and storage capacity offered by the device, another very common evil. These factors may affect the battery life of your device.
Let's pay attention to the eight-core Samsung Exynos 5 processor, which is equipped in some regions of the model Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 3. Essentially, it includes two 4-core processors. One of them is weak, but economical, and the other, on the contrary, is very powerful, but unusually voracious. The point here is that depending on what the smartphone is doing, only one of the two processors works. When the load increases, for example, when starting a heavy game, more powerful processor. The rest of the time, tasks are executed on the processor, which consumes less energy, which saves battery. At the same time, a full-fledged 8-core processor has already appeared - the MTK 6592 chip from MediaTek. This giant has settled in such smartphones as Gionee Elife S5.5, Lenovo S939 and Huawei Honor 3X.
Over time, the battery loses its resource. Each of them has several charging cycles. If your battery is very old, it is better to change it. Otherwise, check which apps are draining the load. You will see a list of programs with the percentage of load they spend.
It is advisable to use original charging device each brand and link. To do this, it suggests closing services that are not currently in use by tapping the Apps button and then tapping Clear All. Additionally, it may happen that the user installs mobile services that exceed and consume the resources available on the phone. This starts filling up the cache and internal memory. It is also recommended to exclude unused services.
For budget models, the best would be a 2-core processor. And if you are a gamer, then there are 4-core mid- and top-class models for you. The 8-core chip is currently more suitable for enthusiasts, since there is nowhere to use it to its full potential, and when this opportunity appears, premium smartphones will cost the same as state phones.
Although this process should be done once a year because if it is done, it can cause serious damage. Security and storage capacity: two vital factors for increased productivity. If your smartphone shuts down or runs slower than usual, there is a high chance of being infected with malware. This is because this type of virus consumes a lot of phone resources, according to Roberto Martinez, a security analyst at Kaspersky Lab.
They will check and fix your computer's security status. On the other hand, there is the storage capacity of your phone. If it is finished, it affects the speed of the reaction. Photos, videos and music are the files that take up the most memory. Ideally you should use cloud services to save files.
The speed of a smartphone in games directly depends on the graphics accelerator. This is a microprocessor that deals exclusively with graphics processing and output. If in desktop computers a powerful video card has always been a separate board, then everything in smartphones should be as compact as possible. Therefore, the graphics core in them is physically adjacent to the central processor. They are placed on the same integrated circuit. For this reason, you cannot independently select the optimal combination of processor and video core; manufacturers have already done this for you. But in order to understand whether games will slow down, it is still useful to know which video core is used in the smartphone. Currently, most graphics accelerators use Mali and Adreno cores, known to us from Qualcomm processors, but PowerVR from Imagination Technologies and GeForce from NVIDIA, these chips have many varieties and are multi-core.
There are many smart phones of different brands and ranges, and it is normal that if you do not have a lot of knowledge in this area, you will end up buying a device that will not suit your needs. You may even be one of those who didn't end up buying some research lousy terminal, just because you were offered by a company with a good advertising gimmick, came at a price that looks ridiculous to you, but you end up paying dearly.
We'll give you some tips every week. various functions smartphones, you need to know to know how much profit you will draw. Firstly, with processors there are three things to keep in mind, the core or cores you have, the maximum clock speed you can run at, and the structure of that.
Don’t forget, the higher the resolution of the display in a smartphone, the more powerful the chip it needs to process graphics, otherwise there will be slowdowns. Therefore, devices with Full HD resolution require flagship graphics accelerators PowerVR SGX544, Adreno 220 and Mali 450. And mid-level graphics chips Mali 400, Adreno 220, PowerVR SGX 540 are suitable for those who are not chasing performance in games, but would like to have no problems Watch HD videos and play medium-heavy games.
Processors in mobile and computer must keep in mind that a good clock speed accompanied by the right number of cores is the ideal combination. But this does not mean that if we have a lot it is good, because it will affect the long term in the component of carrying the phone.
Choose the right processor phone for your needs
But this does not always mean that the low range cannot work well depending on what use we give it.
There are alternatives for advanced users
That doesn't mean it's a good thing, because it obviously must have an impact on the battery, but it's also not something wrong, because it means we're entering a generation of better smartphones. If you liked this new section and want to know how mobile fits your needs, feel free to comment or share your opinion, remember that it is always well received.Smartphone RAM
Many people confuse RAM with the built-in flash drive, but if the latter is only used to store files on your smartphone, then the RAM temporarily houses the commands and data that the processor needs to perform work. The larger the amount of RAM, the faster applications launch, and the more simultaneous tasks the smartphone can perform without unloading them from memory.
Even for us who have to read and read and re-read a lot of smartphones, we sometimes have a hard time getting to the ground to understand that big processors don't make a better smartphone, and that's exactly what we'll be talking about. We can say that the processor is the most important component of a smartphone. It is the one that has the most important task, since it calculates the data necessary for the operation of our smartphone. Come on, that's what makes it work, kind of like the brain of the phone. The microprocessor is the basis of all computing, so the role of the processor plays a vital role in a smartphone.
The maximum amount of RAM in smartphones today is 3 GB. To comfortably perform daily tasks on a smartphone with a mobile operating system Android system 1 to 2 GB of RAM is enough. But it’s definitely not worth going any lower.
Now let's look at the models of the most powerful processors from different manufacturers.
Now, many times when we talk about high-end smartphones, we always point out that it has the most modern processor, and the truth is that while it is true that a better processor makes a better smartphone, it is also a big lie that best smartphone must have a better processor.
Today, not a single smartphone with dual core processor will not be better than a smartphone with the latest quad-core processor, that's true. If you see a smartphone with the latest generation processor, you know that the smartphone has good quality. Obviously, a higher-end processor also means greater smartphone capacity and more power. It's like a brain that thinks faster and thinks better. We rarely find a basic smartphone with a high-end processor. And thanks to this, we come to the conclusion that the vast majority of smartphones with a large processor are good smartphones.
As is known, for the first time a 64-bit processor is used in a mobile chipset. Apple A7 is two main cores clocked at 1300 MHz, used here latest architecture ARM v8. The new cores are called Cyclone, and the entire Apple A7 chip is produced by Samsung using the new 28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process. The iPhone 5/5c, we recall, uses a 32-bit Apple A6 processor, also made by Samsung, but made using the older 32 nm process. Thus, despite the fierce struggle in the smartphone market between Samsung and Apple, it is the Korean manufacturer that continues to produce chips for the iPhone. Graphics accelerator The iPhone 5s also features a 4-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430 that supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. This is one of the most powerful mobile graphics chips on the market in this moment. The amount of RAM has not changed compared to the iPhone 5/5c - 1 GB, but it uses a faster version of LPDDR3 instead of LPDDR2.
As you can see, Apple decided not to chase the number of cores or ultra-high frequencies, which in addition to power also increase power consumption, but simply used the best developments on the market and optimized software.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is an ARM chip for top-end tablets and smartphones. It is produced at TSMC factories on the 28-nanometer HKMG process and includes 4 processor cores based on the Krait 400 architecture, operating at frequencies up to 2500 MHz. Adreno 330 is used as a video adapter at a frequency of up to 375 MHz. Compared to the Snapdragon 800 series chips, such as the MS8974AB, the Snapdragon 801 model offers increased processor and graphics card frequencies.
The processor part of the chip is based on Qualcomm's Krait architecture, which is fully compatible with the ARMv7 instruction set. The new Krait 400 cores differ slightly from the Krait 300 (Snapdragon 600) with an accelerated L2 cache. With an operating frequency of up to 2500 MHz and high performance per clock (above Cortex-A9, but below Cortex-A15), Snapdragon 801 provides very high performance processor. The main competitors of the Snapdragon 801 are NVIDIA Tegra 4, Samsung Exynos 5420 and Apple A7, as well as any new top-end chips. The Snapdragon 801 is currently one of the most powerful chips on the market, but the release of the Snapdragon 805 will make it lose some ground.
Another difference between the Snapdragon 801 and the Snapdragon 600 is the improved graphics core. The Snapdragon 600 uses the Adreno 320 GPU (400 to 450 MHz), while the Snapdragon 801 has the more powerful Adreno 330 (MSM8974AC: 578 MHz). Taking into account the increased throughput memory, it is not surprising that its performance is significantly better. Adreno 330 is slightly faster than Mali-T628 (Samsung Exynos 5420 chip) or PowerVR G6430 (Apple A7 chip). However, the final performance depends on the device in which the chip is installed, in particular, its cooling. The video adapter supports OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.2. This chip can today be found in Gionee Elife E7, Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2, HTC One(M8), Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, Oppo find 7, ZTE Nubia X6 and OnePlus One.
MediaTek MT6592 is an ARM chip for mid-range Android tablets and smartphones. It was released at the end of 2013 and is produced on a 28 nm process technology. It consists of 8 Cortex-A7 processor cores operating at frequencies from 1700 to 2000 MHz, and an ARM Mali-450MP4 video adapter operating at 700 MHz. In addition, the chip also includes a Wi-Fi module, a video decoder (hardware 4K video decoding), an LPDDR3 memory controller (up to 666 MHz) and a 2G/3G radio module (UMTS/HSPA+).
Although the MT6592 is equipped with relatively powerful processor cores, its performance in everyday scenarios is often lower than that of dual-core chips like the Apple A7 or quad-core Cortex-A15 or Krait chips (Snapdragon 800). This should be blamed partly on the slow Cortex-A7 architecture with its low performance per clock, and partly on the fact that not all applications are able to use all eight cores of the chip. The built-in ARM Mali-450MP4 video adapter includes 4 cores operating at a frequency of 700 MHz. Therefore performance this decision not much lower than NVIDIA Tegra 4. Like the latter, Mali-450MP4 does not support OpenGL ES 3.0, but shows excellent gaming performance. This processor can be found in Gionee Elife S5.5, Lenovo S939, Huawei Honor 3X, ThL T200, Zopo ZP1000, Explay Diamond, ThL T100, Zopo ZP990+ and Zopo ZP998.
With this processor, we are being a little disingenuous, since this latest development can so far be found in one Explay 4Game smartphone and an NVIDIA Shield tablet, but there is simply no point in recommending the previous NVIDIA Tegra 3, since at the moment it is beginning to lose ground. The chip includes a 4-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor with a maximum frequency of 1900 MHz, a fifth companion core with a maximum frequency of 500 MHz, and a 72-core video accelerator NVIDIA GeForce ULP with 3D Stereo image support, as well as a dual-channel memory controller. In the case of NVIDIA Tegra 4, an LTE modem is also integrated into the chip.
Verdict
In the 1st quarter of 2015, the release of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 models is already planned, and in the 4th quarter the announcement of the innovative 8-core MediaTek MT6752 with the Mali T760 video core is expected. Progress does not stand still, and we will definitely talk about this later. Our main task is to answer the question: which processor should you pay attention to when choosing a smartphone?
The answer may seem somewhat vague, but it is the most objective. The one you really need. Above we gave examples of where and in what devices this or that chip is used. You shouldn’t chase the number of cores and clock speed if you just need a “toy”. In this case, you can't would be better suited NVIDIA Tegra 4. For practical people who love stability - the Apple A7, and for those who need crazy performance despite power consumption, the Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is an ideal option. MediaTek MT6592 is suitable for thrifty people, that is, those who bought a smartphone for more than one year and want the processor to have some, albeit ephemeral, potential. The store offers the most powerful and inexpensive smartphones, and even with good discounts.
Many smartphone manufacturers would like to attract potential customers with the specifications of their devices. However, most users simply don't know what hardware specifications mean. Let's try to figure this out together
Many smartphone manufacturers would like to attract potential customers with the specifications of their devices. However, most users simply don't know what hardware specifications mean. Let's try to figure this out together. 
Battery life
Most manufacturers indicate the battery life of the smartphone on the packaging. This unit is often expressed in milliamps per hour (mAh). The larger this value, the better. At the same Apple time, for example, does not indicate the battery capacity of its iPhone 5, but says that its charge will be enough for 10 hours of video playback. For many users, this approach is more understandable.
With each new generation of smartphones, manufacturers are trying to increase battery life. For example, the battery power of the recently announced Nokia Lumia 920 is 2000 mAh. Motorola's Droid Razr M has the same battery power. Power new samsung batteries Galaxy Note 2 will be 3200 mAh. However, this does not mean that the device will last longer on a single charge than the Lumia, since the Galaxy Note 2 consumes more power when running.
Today the majority good smartphones have a battery capacity of about 2000 mAh or higher, which allows the device to operate without recharging for at least 10 hours. Motorola and Nokia remain the best in this indicator, followed closely by Apple and Samsung.
Number of processor cores
It doesn't take a child prodigy to understand that even the most powerful battery becomes completely useless if the device is not equipped with a good central and GPU. A single-core processor running at 1.2 GHz (Gigahertz is a measure of the speed of a device) will benefit slightly from having a powerful battery. A device with a dual-core processor will work much faster.
When buying a smartphone, know that the higher the GHz, the better and, of course, a dual-core device is better than a single-core one. Most modern smartphones today come with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz. There are also smartphones with quad-core processors on the market.
When buying a smartphone, deciding on the number of processor cores, it is worth remembering two factors. The more cores, the faster your device will run. At the same time, the more cores, the more energy the smartphone will consume and, therefore, the more powerful battery it must be equipped.
You may have come across names such as ARM or x86. Almost all modern smartphones and tablets are powered by ARM processors, since these processors are more energy efficient than Intel's x86 processors.
Screen resolution
It is with this indicator that many manufacturers often try to attract buyers. Screen resolution is determined by two measures: the total number of pixels and the pixel density per inch. The more pixels per inch, the higher quality the picture will be. At the same time, the higher the screen resolution, the more energy the device consumes.
The screen resolution density of the iPhone 5 is 326 ppi. The iPhone 4S had exactly the same resolution. The total resolution of the new device is 1136x640. Apple's biggest iPhone competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S III, boasts 306 ppi and an overall resolution of 1280x720. Technically, the Galaxy has more pixels, however, the screen of the device is also larger, and the density is per inch less, which means the picture will be of lower quality.
