CPU Performance
Our performane comparisons will focus on four current flagship tablets; three from Android and the iPad Air 2.
| Dell Venue 8 7000 | Nexus 9 | SHIELD Tablet | iPad Air 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoC | Atom Z3580 | Tegra K1 Denver | Tegra K1 | Apple A8X |
| CPU Cores | Quad-core 2.3 GHz Silvermont | Dual-core 2.3 GHz Denver | Quad-core 2.2 GHz Cortex-A15 | Triple-core 1.5 GHz Cyclone |
| GPU Cores | PowerVR G6430 | 192-core Kepler | 192-core Kepler | PowerVR GX6850 (8-core) |
| RAM | 2GB LPDDR3 | 2GB LPDDR3 | 2GB LPDDR3-1600 | 2GB LPDDR3 |
| Screen | 2560x1600 OLED 8.4-in (359 ppi) | 2048x5136 IPS 8.9-in (281 ppi) | 1920x1200 IPS 8.0-in (283 ppi) | 2048x1536 IPS 9.7-in (264 ppi) |
| Storage | 16GB eMMC MicroSD Slot (up to 512GB) |
16GB eMMC | 16GB eMMC MicroSD Slot |
16GB/64GB/128GB |
| Camera | 8MP Rear + Dual 720p Depth 2MP Front |
8MP Rear + LED Flash 1.6MP Front |
5MP Front 5MP Rear |
8MP Front, LED Flash 1.2MP Front |
| Battery | 21 Whr 5900 mAh |
25.4 Whr 6700mAh |
19.75 Whr 5200 mAh |
27.3 Whr 7340 mAh |
| Network | None | None | None | Qualcomm MDM9x25 UE Category 4 LTE |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) Bluetooth 4.0 USB 2.0 |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) Bluetooth 4.1 USB 2.0 NFC |
802.11a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz) Bluetooth 4.0 USB 2.0 |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) Bluetooth 4.0 USB 2.0 |
| OS | Android 4.4.4 | Android 5.0.1 | Android 5.0.1 | iOS 8.1.3 |
Geekbench 3 is Primate Labs' cross-platform processor benchmark, with a new scoring system that separates single-core and multi-core performance, and new workloads that simulate real-world scenarios. Geekbench 3 makes it easier than ever to find out if your computer is up to speed. Every test in Geekbench 3 is multi-core aware. This allows Geekbench to show you the true potential of your system. Whether you're running Geekbench on a dual-core phone or a 32-core server, Geekbench is able to measure the performance of all the cores in your system.
Geekbench acts much like a traditional synthetic processor benchmark would, giving us an idea of the peak performance that the CPU offers in both integer and floating point math.
Our first synthetic benchmark looks at the integer compute performance of the Atom Z3580 and in single threaded results it comes up last in our 5-way comparison behind the Coretex-A15 in the SHIELD Tablet. Multi-threaded performance fares better coming within 17% of the SHIELD Tablet, but actually ahead of the Apple A7 in the iPad Mini Retina.
In single threaded floating point performance the Atom Z3580 is again on the bottom of the list, but the multi-threaded results are actually more impressive than the integer results above. In this case, the Dell Venue 8 7000 scores 3162, higher than the Apple A7 and the Tegra K1 Denver SoCs.
Octane 2.0 is a modern benchmark that measures a JavaScript engine’s performance by running a suite of tests representative of today’s complex and demanding web applications. Octane‘s goal is to measure the performance of JavaScript code found in large, real-world web applications, running on modern mobile and desktop browsers.
The updated Octane 2.0 benchmark includes four new tests to measure new aspects of JavaScript performance, among which: garbage collection / compiler latency and asm.js-style JavaScript performance.
Our testing with Google Octane was done exclusively on the latest version of the Chrome browser on Android, and Safari on iOS.
Great start for the Dell system in our Google Octane browser performance testing, beating out both the iPad Mini Retina as well as the SHIELD Tablet. The Apple iPad Air 2 with the A8X processor is only 15% in our testing.
Kraken is a JavaScript performance benchmark created by Mozilla that measures the speed of several different test cases extracted from real-world applications and libraries. The test cases include:
- An implementation of the A* search algorithm
- Audio processing using Corban Brook's DSP.js library
- Image filtering routines, including code from Jacob Seidelin's Pixastic library.
- JSON parsing, including data from Tinderboxpushlog
- Cryptographic routines from the Stanford JavaScript Crypto Library
Our testing with Mozilla Kraken was done exclusively on the latest version of the Chrome browser on Android and Safari on iOS.
In the Mozilla Kraken results the only platform that the Atom Z3580 is able to outperform is the Apple iPad Mini Retina with the A7 SoC.
This is SunSpider, a JavaScript benchmark. This benchmark tests the core JavaScript language only, not the DOM or other browser APIs. It is designed to compare different versions of the same browser, and different browsers to each other.
This test mostly avoids microbenchmarks, and tries to focus on the kinds of actual problems developers solve with JavaScript today, and the problems they may want to tackle in the future as the language gets faster. This includes tests to generate a tagcloud from JSON input, a 3D raytracer, cryptography tests, code decompression, and many more examples. There are a few microbenchmarkish things, but they mostly represent real performance problems that developers have encountered.
This test is balanced between different areas of the language and different types of code. It's not all math, all string processing, or all timing simple loops. In addition to having tests in many categories, the individual tests were balanced to take similar amounts of time on currently shipping versions of popular browsers.
One of the challenges of benchmarking is knowing how much noise you have in your measurements. This benchmark runs each test multiple times and determines an error range (technically, a 95% confidence interval). In addition, in comparison mode it tells you if you have enough data to determine if the difference is statistically significant.
Our testing with SunSpider was done exclusively on the latest version of the Chrome browser on Android, and Safari on iOS.
Ouch, the SunSpider results are a bit of a letdown for the Dell Venue 8 7000, coming in last with a time of more than a full second. The Apple iPad Air 2 is actually nearly 4x faster in this test. After a talk with Intel about these scores it was pointed out that part of the issue with this test is that the ability for a CPU to boost in Android is governed (slowed) and thus the Intel cores are actually interfered with by the touch of the screen to start the test. I’ll go more into the browsing experience of the Venue 8 7000 in our experiences page later.
Update: I had a couple of people question our result with the Venue 8 7000 and sure enough, a reboot and re-run of the SunSpider benchmark resulted in three scores that averaged out to 625.6ms, much better than the 1175.9ms we had listed here before. With the new score, the Dell Venue 8 7000 is quite a bit faster than the Nexus 9 (which I verified scores on with this update as well) and is only 11% slower than the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet.
Vellamo 3.1 is designed to be an accurate, easy-to-use suite of system-level benchmarks for devices based on Android 4.0 forward. In Vellamo we want to enable performance enthusiasts to really understand their system, and how it compares to other systems, and our mission has just begun.
Vellamo began as a mobile web benchmarking tool that today has expanded to include three primary Chapters. The Browser Chapter evaluates mobile web browser performance, the Multicore Chapter measures the synergy of multiple CPU cores, and the Metal Chapter measures the single core CPU subsystem performance of mobile processors.
This test is Android-only, so the Apple iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6 results will be ignored.
Another browser test that shows poor performance results for the Venue 8 7000, this time by a wide margin compared to both of the NVIDIA Tegra K1 powered devices.
The multi-core test is a bit closer for Intel’s Atom Z3580, falling behind the SHIELD Tablet by around 18%.
Single core results in the Metal test of Vellamo again paint the Atom Z3580 into a fairly small performance box.
WebXPRT 2013 uses scenarios created to mirror the tasks you do every day to compare the performance of almost any Web-enabled device. It contains four HTML5- and JavaScript-based workloads: Photo Effects, Face Detect, Stocks Dashboard, and Offline Notes.
For some reason WebXPRT refused to complete on our SHIELD Tablet running Lollipop so we are left with a total of four results in our data above. The overall performance of the Dell Venue appears to be quite good with a score of 586, just behind the Apple iPad Air 2 with the A8X. However, in both the Photo Effects and Face Detection results, the Atom Z3580 is quite a bit slower than both of the Apple devices. In fact, the Apple A7 is pulling in scores slightly higher than that of the Air 2 with the A8X. In both the stocks dashboard and offline notes the Dell tablet comes in second behind the Denver-based Tegra K1 processor.
TabletMark® v3 is the first application based, cross platform benchmark for touch enabled devices. With support for Android, iOS, and Windows, TabletMark gives users an automated, objective and easy-to-use tool to evaluate system performance across a wide range of activities, and across tablet operating systems. TabletMark measures user experience for cross-platform light productivity, media and performance qualified battery life. Real-world tablet usages include Web, Email, Photo, Video Sharing and Video Playback – and a day-in-a-life battery rundown scenario which includes user idle time.
The tool runs a series of activities associated with the scenarios in an automated manner and provides results at the end of the run. No user interaction is needed during the system test.
Our results in the new TabletMark v3 for the Dell Venue 8 7000 fall right between the iPad Mini Retina and the SHIELD Tablet.
In web and email scenarios that are only lightly CPU intense, the Atom Z3580 is able to hold its own in the field coming in ahead of the two iPads but behind both of the Tegra K1 platforms.
Photo and video editing, more multi-threaded and compute intense, the Atom struggles yet again, coming in as the lowest performing SoC.
Brought to you by the independent industry association, EEMBC (www.eembc.org) – developing industry-standard benchmarks since 1997.
- Allows device vendors to assess performance, drive competitive analysis, and accomplish stability testing
- Empowers end-users to validate and compare capabilities of their phones or tablets
- Compare your benchmark results with other uploaded results at our website - www.eembc.org/andebenchpro.php
- Automated statistical analysis for minimum, median, and maximum values
Focuses on the key metrics that reflect the most common usage models of Android devices
- Hardware tests exercise CPU, GPU, memory, and storage
- Platform tests target common application services including GUI rendering, XML parsing, image operations, cryptography
The overall score for the Dell Venue 8 7000 is 44% slower than the Tegra K1 based SHIELD Tablet though CoreMark has them separated by only 4-5% where direct CPU compute performance is measured. Memory performance seems low as well for a system with a similar LPDDR3 memory interface.
I don’t know about perfected,
I don’t know about perfected, MKBHD gave it a lukewarm review.
That’s why we are allowed to
That's why we are allowed to have more than one review of a product. 🙂
Look ’em right in the eye,
Look ’em right in the eye, say “Flagship? 16GB?” and make them eat the damn thing.
I’ll take a look when if and when they ship a 32GB model, but they should never have shipped a 16GB model.
I don’t really disagree, but
I don't really disagree, but all flagship tablets at least come in a 16GB variety.
Yeah, I know. It’s just so
Yeah, I know. It’s just so annoying. Fabulous screen, fast CPU, plenty of RAM, decent battery life, everything is good…
And then the same 16GB of storage as we had in 2012.
Kind of agree there. Does the
Kind of agree there. Does the SD card slot not alleviate this?
To a degree.
The problem is,
To a degree.
The problem is, Android 4.4’s support for removable storage is… Not great. I have an Xperia Z Ultra with 16GB internal and a 128GB Sandisk micro SD card.
The SD card is brilliant. I have a ton of music on there, all the recent episodes from podcasts I follow (including yours, of course!), and a nice collection of audiobooks.
But my apps have to live on the internal storage. So do all my Kindle books.
I’ve been very selective about which apps I install, but I’m down to about 3GB of space on the internal storage. I have 50GB free on the SD card, but I can’t use it for that.
Android 5.0 might be better with SD cards, but I only have it on my Nexus 7 so far, so I can’t test that.
Given that we’re talking about a $400 device, and the price difference between 16GB and 32GB of decent quality Flash storage is $10 retail – and that it would more than double available space because at least 4GB is used by the OS and restore volumes – this ongoing insistence on providing inadequate storage even on flagship devices is really starting to piss me off.
Good point. I’ve lived that
Good point. I’ve lived that too. And considering that they can put 512GB on a micro SDs and M2s, there is little reason why they can’t build that much into these.
Also, considering that this is a recent “flagship” release I’m assuming that the MicroSDs supported are UHS-IIs. I think SDIO may cover the whole lot.
its a pretty steap price for
its a pretty steap price for a tab without lte, only 16 gb onboard storage and a unpractical design. i use my tab only in landscape mode and the single bezel on this tab looks unhandy.
the only plus on this tab is the screen.
but lets talk about the most disappointing part of this tablet. it comes with an outdated version (4.4) of android.
the bottom line for me is:
-expensive
-outdatet software
-lack of featuers
-no ergonomic way to use it
for the same price, you can get a nvidia shield with lte, 32 gb storage, more gpu power, up to date android 5.0.1, a bezel on all sides to get a grip, faster charging times, yes the dell loads rly slow! only the screen on the shield is not so fancy.
so, no.
wont buy. 400 for only a nice screen is too much dell.
you can get for around 230 an
you can get for around 230 an memo pad from asus http://www.asus.com/Tablets/ASUS_MeMO_Pad_7_ME572CL/specifications/ also has lte and most of the stuff you need, well not such a fancy screen, also an outdatet android, probably a bit slower in performance and so on.
also the Lenovo Tab S8-50L LTE http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/tablets/lenovo/s-series/s8/#tab-features way less expensive and comes with an lte modul for about 230.
so, a fancy screen costs 170 bucks?
i cant rly understand the excitement.
In many cases, a tablet and
In many cases, a tablet and phone is more about the experience and build quality than specs. Still, I am trying to get these tablets in currently! Thanks for the heads up!
Great review Ryan, and yet
Great review Ryan, and yet another example of why I always check PCPER before buying a piece of tech. Was there any indication that we might expect an LTE variant? With LTE, 32GB and a 256GB SD, this could contend with laptops!
LTE hasn’t been mentioned at
LTE hasn't been mentioned at all yet.
Also wondering what class of
Also wondering what class of MicroSD is supported.
Oh, sorry!
SD, SDHC, SDXC,
Oh, sorry!
SD, SDHC, SDXC, supporting up to 512GB
Good review Ryan . thanks
Say
Good review Ryan . thanks
Say what you will re price and deficiencies and lollipop delay.
I am using this tablet and the screen is as good or better than the rest
No regret
Paul
I swear that when they
I swear that when they unveiled this device at IDF last fall, it was using Cherry Trail, not Bay Trail… hmm…
Nope, it was always Atom
Nope, it was always Atom Z3500 – http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2014/09/09/michael-dell-previewed-world-thinnest-tablet-at-intel-developer-forum
16GB of
16GB of storage?
whatyearisthis.jpg
😀
Almost all tablets start
😀
Almost all tablets start 16GB honestly though. I would agree Dell needs more options.
Shame you didn’t take the 8″
Shame you didn’t take the 8″ galaxy tab s along in this compassion. Half curious if it uses the same panel.
Totally agree there.
Totally agree there. Hopefully Samsung will be willing to send us one to compare!
Do you know who supplies the
Do you know who supplies the OLED screen? Was it Samsung? The Samsung Tab S are also OLED and have been reviewed as having the best display out of the tablets currently available. The other internals are a bit more dated however.
I believe another review
I believe another review mentioned it’s probably the identical screen as what is found in the Samsung.
I believe another review
I believe another review mentioned it’s probably the identical screen as what is found in the Samsung.
This review was almost enough
This review was almost enough to get me to purchase this since I’m looking for a new small tablet for my wife after her Memo Pad 7 gave out (just stopped charging), but the Amazon reviews for this are horrible. Great review though … thanks!
Amazon doesn’t sell this
Amazon doesn't sell this tablet, so I don't know what reviews you were looking at…
Purchased this last night
Purchased this last night based on your review.
I’ve had probably a dozen different tablets over the years starting with the first Tegra 2 tablet that I could find (Viewsonic G-Tab) which had the most horrible screen on any device I’ve ever seen.
This one, by contrast, has the best screen I’ve seen on any device. The 3D cameras are uncalibrated out of the box and aren’t all that accurate for the 3D functions, but the software assures me it will get better as I take more photos. It’s not the fastest tablet I’ve used I don’t think, especially in the GPU department, but it’s more than adequate. The build quality is as good as any other I’ve had and better than most. Only the ASUS 10″ tabs come close in comparison to ones I’ve owned.
What it does well, it does VERY well. What it doesn’t, it does well enough to make me believe it’ll keep the top spot on my tablet list for a while.
Going from android 4.4.4 to
Going from android 4.4.4 to android 5 is a huge upgrade performance wise.I own a nexus 4 and it shouldn’t go up so much in performance usually but google has been fine tuning a lot on. The performance side
I felt this thing at Best
I felt this thing at Best Buy, and it is absolutely fantastic to hold. Very thin and it feels like a piece of metal.
My only disappointment is KitKat rather than Lollipop, but I understand the optimizations that must happen. After using Lollipop on my phone now since it was released, KitKat feels like something of an eyesore.
Great review Ryan!
32G came out this week. I am
32G came out this week. I am looking forward to mine arriving 🙂
Having used the 32G version
Having used the 32G version now for several weeks I can say I really really am liking this tablet. Gorgeous screen..it took a couple days to get used to the button location on the left side, but I am fine with them now. Very responsive. I would like to see lollipop soon, but it’s easily my favorite tablet.
Anyone know if the Venue 8
Anyone know if the Venue 8 7840 is fitted with Gorilla Glass? Or anything similar to prevent scratches and breaks?
The tablet scene seems a bit
The tablet scene seems a bit quiet lately outside launches of some larger ‘Pro’ models. I guess tablet sales are a bit soft globally. My 2011 iPad 2 was gimping too badly so I just bought this Dell Venue 8 7000 32GB. Great price discounts are had on it now that it is a year old and it now comes with Lollipop 5.02 that immediately upgrades to 5.1. I would expect an Android 6.0 Marshmallow upgrade over the next 3 months.
Having owned a tablet for years I’m somewhat past the experimentation thing with a gazzillion apps and games and quest for the ultimate specs. I now am more a user of the core types of apps someone uses with a tablet. As a result, my main goals in a tablet are great screen display/readability, snappy and fluid transitions, smooth browsing/reading, smooth video streaming, excellent build quality, excellent battery life, excellent physical usability and overall visual coherence.
This tablet really nails it on most dimensions I’m looking for. As someone else mentioned, where it misses dead center, its definitely good enough. The revue above does a good job of capturing the nuances. I’m sure over time Google will make the Android OS more complex, forcing hardware end-of-life… but for me, Lollipop + Venue 8 addresses all my needs in a tablet already. Marshmallow, if/when it arrives to the V8, will only further improve the SD card functionality in this device. I’m hopeful Dell WON’T keep forcing OS upgrades to this device, making it gimpy, like Apple did to my iPad 2.