NVIDIA Shield Review: At the Crossroads of PC and Mobile Gaming
by Brian Klug on July 31, 2013 12:14 AM ESTGFXBench 2.7.0
While GFXBench 2.7 (formerly GLBenchmark 2.7) doesn't yet take advantage of OpenGL ES 3.0 (GLB 3.0 will deliver that), it does significantly update the tests to recalibrate performance given the advances in modern hardware. Version 2.7 ditches classic, keeps Egypt HD and adds a new test, T-Rex HD, featuring a dinosaur in pursuit of a girl on a dirt bike.
Scene complexity goes up tremendously with the T-Rex HD benchmark. GLBenchmark has historically been more computationally bound than limited by memory bandwidth. The transition to T-Rex HD as the new flagship test continues the trend. While we see scaling in average geometry complexity, depth complexity and average memory bandwidth requirements, it's really in the shader instruction count that we see the biggest increase in complexity.
The fill rate tests put Shield significantly behind the iPad 4 and about on par with the Nexus 10. Looking at Triangle throughput we see Apple hold onto an advantage there as well, although Tegra 4 does show impressive gains over Tegra 3.
It's really in the pixel shader bound tests that Tegra 4 really excels:
As promised, Tegra 4's GPU manages to outperform the iPad 4's PowerVR SGX 554MP4 in GFXBench 2.7. The 50% performance advantage is appreciable, and should be very nice on a high res display. It's a shame Shield is stuck with a 720p panel. Note that we're also half way to the performance of Intel's HD 4000 here. The Adreno 330 comparison is, once again, extremely close. Qualcomm pulls ahead by 8% and that's without a fan in a tablet chassis.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
134 Comments
View All Comments
Revdarian - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
I am sorry but you really felt comfortable with a "mobile" gaming device that weight over half a kilo for how long?How comfortable/uncomfortable was it reported by anyone else who actually tried it for prolonged time?
Brian Klug - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Because it spreads a lot of its area out, it really isn't that bad. I definitely spent at least two hours playing nonstop Borderlands 2 without thinking about it. And lots of time outdoors with the AR Drone 2.0.-Brian
zebrax2 - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
For a gaming device review i find it a little disappointing that it seems like not a lot of time was spent playing with the devicejasonelmore - Friday, August 2, 2013 - link
He's been playing With shield for over three months including all of these expos him and anand have went to. I think it's safe to say he's had more playtime than any other reviewer.blanarahul - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
I too want a Nvidia designed phone.chizow - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Who knows, after Tegra 4i launches, if Shield does well enough, that may be the next step for Nvidia.Samus - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
If anything, this great review proves Shield is a technology showcase for Tegra 4, and how excellent it will be in a phone. Obviously active cooling will be nixed so the clocks will drop, but the battery life is substantial.Spunjji - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
I don't understand the logic here. The clocks will have to drop so performance will as well. Power will drop as well probably - depends on leakage) but then you'll be dealing with a much, much smaller battery. To be honest it's a massive unknown at best.PC Perv - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
You can't be serious. So now weight is relative to shape, in your hands? And talk about the shape.Unbelievable how far reviews would go to put gloss on stuff that reviewers themselves will never pay for. The ranting at Google in the last page is pure gold. Talk about "entitlement mentality."
chizow - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Why isn't it serious? How weight is balanced and distributed across a surface plays a HUGE impact in how it feels in the hand. This isn't a foreign concept to just mobile devices, look at how knives, daggers, even guns are critiqued in this respect.