• The iPad Air's Graphics Performance is 40-70% Better Than That of the Fourth-Gen iPad

    by
    Akshay Masand
    Published on 2013-10-31 10:39 AM
    14 Comments Comments


    The iPad Air’s graphics performance appears to be 40% to 70% than its predecessor in benchmarks conducted by the folks over at Anandtech in an extensive review of the new tablet. Much like the iPhone 5S, the iPad Air incorporates an A7 chip with IMG’s PowerVR G6430 graphics processing unit (GPU), which is estimated to have a max GPU clock of 450 Mhz. In T-Rex HD game simulation benchmarks, the iPad Air performed up to 75% better than the fourth-gen iPad and up to 36% better in the 3DMark Ice Storm benchmark. GPU gains over the iPad 4 were as high as 60% in 3DMArk’s GPU-specific benchmark suite.

    Although the iPad Air outperformed the iPad 4 in the majority of the tests that were run, there was a decline in triangle rate performance in the new model, though AnandTech has yet to see any real world impact from this change. Along with significant improvements in GPU performance, the iPad Air also has huge gains in processing power. In the Geekbench 3 benchmarks which were recently published, the iPad Air was found to be twice as fast as the iPad 4.

    Those of you interested in reading more in-depth results should hit the source link below where Anandtech has conducted a full review of the iPad Air that includes an array of benchmarks comparing the GPU performance of the iPad Air, the fourth-gen iPad, the iPhone 5S, the iPad mini, and several competing Android tablets. If you’re looking to pick one up or on the fence about it, it’s definitely worth a read.

    Source: AnandTech
    This article was originally published in forum thread: The iPad Air's Graphics Performance is 40-70% Better Than That of the Fourth-Gen iPad started by Akshay Masand View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. Apple,
    3. iPad
    Comments 14 Comments
    1. smith01's Avatar
      smith01 - 2013-10-31, 05:13 PM
      And Android wins again.
    1. daytonaviolet's Avatar
      daytonaviolet - 2013-10-31, 05:27 PM
      so the tegra in the shield has a better graphics performance?
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-10-31, 05:28 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by smith01 View Post
      And Android wins again.
      Uhh, where? You don't mean that supercharged gaming platform that looks like a console controller do you (shield)? I would hope a device who's sole purpose was gaming built by one of the biggest graphics card makers could outperform any multi-use tablet. That's like comparing a PC or Mac to a PS3/Xbox.
    1. Zokunei's Avatar
      Zokunei - 2013-10-31, 05:35 PM
      I don't see how the iPad Air got a higher score than the iPhone 5s given that it's the same chip running at a higher resolution. Unless this is a test where they gave everything the same resolution, in which case it still doesn't make sense to me.
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-10-31, 05:45 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Zokunei View Post
      I don't see how the iPad Air got a higher score than the iPhone 5s given that it's the same chip running at a higher resolution. Unless this is a test where they gave everything the same resolution, in which case it still doesn't make sense to me.
      Do they have the same graphics chip too though? Clocked higher maybe? Not too sure.
    1. Zokunei's Avatar
      Zokunei - 2013-10-31, 06:01 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
      Do they have the same graphics chip too though? Clocked higher maybe? Not too sure.
      The article says they have the same graphics chip. It might need to be clocked higher to support the higher resolution. Then if these tests use a standard resolution for all devices it might make it seem like the iPad would perform better.
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-10-31, 06:17 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Zokunei View Post
      The article says they have the same graphics chip. It might need to be clocked higher to support the higher resolution. Then if these tests use a standard resolution for all devices it might make it seem like the iPad would perform better.
      This could help explain it: iPad Air’s A7 chip is identical to the iPhone’s, just faster | Ars Technica
    1. bigboyz's Avatar
      bigboyz - 2013-10-31, 07:00 PM
      No MS wins. They are the only one's offering a full Desktop Tablet at this time. Im waiting for Apple to do the same thing. When you have 100+ billion in cash hoards, I think its time to give the people what they need. The time of creating a need is over. No one has done it since 2007 for phone/tablet. I just don't see the use of an iPad at this time, other than a bigger surface to look at.
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-10-31, 07:08 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by bigboyz View Post
      No MS wins. They are the only one's offering a full Desktop Tablet at this time. Im waiting for Apple to do the same thing. When you have 100+ billion in cash hoards, I think its time to give the people what they need. The time of creating a need is over. No one has done it since 2007 for phone/tablet. I just don't see the use of an iPad at this time, other than a bigger surface to look at.
      I think 170+ million people would disagree with you. And that's just tablets from Apple.
    1. cpotoso's Avatar
      cpotoso - 2013-10-31, 07:32 PM
      Graphics performance is an issue in 2013? Really??? Almost anything these days is plenty capable of running most anything you through at it.
    1. Gamemaster77's Avatar
      Gamemaster77 - 2013-10-31, 09:55 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
      Uhh, where? You don't mean that supercharged gaming platform that looks like a console controller do you (shield)? I would hope a device who's sole purpose was gaming built by one of the biggest graphics card makers could outperform any multi-use tablet. That's like comparing a PC or Mac to a PS3/Xbox.
      Umm, PCs perform better than PS3's and Xbox's. Bad analogy.
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-11-01, 01:29 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Gamemaster77 View Post
      Umm, PCs perform better than PS3's and Xbox's. Bad analogy.
      Not if you are comparing them to PC's from 7 years ago, when those game systems came out. You obviously can't compare them to hardware that is out now.
    1. smith01's Avatar
      smith01 - 2013-11-01, 03:39 AM
      Consoles have ALWAYS been behind the PC at the same time. The PC right now is better than the PS4/Xboned.
      The PC 6 months even 12 months ago was still better than the PS4.

      I love the way the xboned uses 720P and the PS4 used 1080P and they are struggling to keep that resolution and framerates. The PC has done 4k for many years. Its done some stupid resolutions so long ago you wonder why consoles are fighting for graphics quality when PC kicks their butts everytime.

      Go compare any multiplatform game on xbox, ps3, and PC and you will see PC has the more graphics options and looks so much better.

      And my first comment, what OS does the shield run? Android thats right. I dont care who make it or whatever the Android OS device was on top.

      But in the end PCs will ALWAYS win. Where are most of the apps made for consoles or PCs or tablets or whatever? on PCs so there will always be a need for a PC and PCs will always win as they have to, they make everything.
    1. Simon's Avatar
      Simon - 2013-11-01, 03:56 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by smith01 View Post
      Consoles have ALWAYS been behind the PC at the same time. The PC right now is better than the PS4/Xboned.
      The PC 6 months even 12 months ago was still better than the PS4.

      I love the way the xboned uses 720P and the PS4 used 1080P and they are struggling to keep that resolution and framerates. The PC has done 4k for many years. Its done some stupid resolutions so long ago you wonder why consoles are fighting for graphics quality when PC kicks their butts everytime.

      Go compare any multiplatform game on xbox, ps3, and PC and you will see PC has the more graphics options and looks so much better.

      And my first comment, what OS does the shield run? Android thats right. I dont care who make it or whatever the Android OS device was on top.

      But in the end PCs will ALWAYS win. Where are most of the apps made for consoles or PCs or tablets or whatever? on PCs so there will always be a need for a PC and PCs will always win as they have to, they make everything.
      You both are missing the point entirely. You can't compare the shield to a iPad anymore than you can compare it to the top of the line consumer android tablet (Nexus 7/10 I suppose right now). Apples and Oranges man, sure they're both fruit, but they aren't the same by any stretch of the imagination. The shield and the Nexus 10 both run android, but it isn't really a fair comparison to compare the two to each other since one is specifically designed to cater to a small section of the industry, gaming.
      Seeing as you two would like to get so picky with my analogies let's get more specific, I will refine my analogy specifically between the xbox/ps3 when they were released VS a PC at the same time at the same price level as them.

      If you want to do a more current analogy which do you think would have the better graphics power right now, a PS4 at $399 or a Dell/HP/Any other brand at $399. My money is on the PS4, something tells me that Sony didn't put integrated intel graphics into it.

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