LG Optimus G review: Grand Slam

We put the quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro to the test

The LG Optimus G is the first device to hit the market with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, meaning it has four Krait cores clocked at 1.5 GHz each, the Adreno 320 GPU inside and the whole package is aided by 2 GB of RAM. Suffice to say that currenty it's widely regarded as king of the hill, supposedly mincing all its contemporary rivals.

We've performed a battery of benchmarks on the Optimus G and pitted it against some of the top smartphones currently available on the market.

First up was BenchmarkPi, which tests the calculative performance of the processor cores. It's all about the architecture here and the Optimus G comes on top, though not by much, compared to the 32nm cores inside the Galaxy Note II.

Benchmark Pi

Lower is better

• LG Optimus G
  285
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  305
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  330
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  344
• Meizu MX 4-core
  362

Linpack gives the multi-threaded performance of the S4 Pro CPU a run for its money. The Optimus G once again comes out on top by miles ahead of the Exynos Quad inside the Galaxy Note II.

Linpack

Higher is better

• LG Optimus G
  608
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  214.3
• Meizu MX 4-core
  189.1
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  177.1
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  160.9

GeekBench 2 is an all-round benchmark, which gave the nod to the Exynos chipsets inside the Galaxy Note II and S III. The Optimus G is a close third just above the Tegra 3-flaunting HTC One X.

Geekbench 2

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2000
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  1845
• LG Optimus G
  1723
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  1634
• Apple iPhone 5
  1601

Vellamo hits the HTML 5 and CPU points of a smartphone. The Optimus G didn't quite make the cut here finishing second to last, even behind its "outdated" predecessor, the 4X HD.

Vellamo

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2418
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  2078
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  1890
• LG Optimus G
  1522
• Meizu MX 4-core
  1468

AnTuTu is another all-round benchmark. The LG Optimus G failed to make a serious impact in the performance rankings.

AnTuTu

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  13562
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  12288
• Meizu MX 4-core
  11820
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  11633
• LG Optimus G
  11226

Quadrant is a rather self-minded benchmark, often times pushing some devices ahead of others, which are obviously better. Still the Optimus G got over 7 thousand points, putting it in first place.

Quadrant

Higher is better

• LG Optimus G
  7439
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  5952
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  5916
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  5450
• Meizu MX 4-core
  5170

Next up is an array of GPU-stressing benchmarks, in which the Optimus G got on to a flying start. GLBenchmark Egypt off-screen tests show the GPU's RAW power while ignoring the screen reolution. The Optimus G's Adreno 320 got a good 113 fps, slightly beating the Mali GPU's inside the Galaxy S III and Note II.

GLBenchmark 2.1 Egypt (720p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG Optimus G
  113
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  105
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  103
• Meizu MX 4-core
  80
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  64

GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG Optimus G
  29
• Apple iPhone 5
  27
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  17
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  13
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  9

JavaScript is handled by SunSpider and BrowserMark. The Optimus G didn't really make a strong name for itself here, although it isn't half bad either. The Apple iPhone 5 tops both benchmarks with ease, showing the effort that went into optimizing iOS 6 for browsing.

SunSpider

Lower is better

• Apple iPhone 5
  915
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  972
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  1304
• Meizu MX 4-core
  1312
• LG Optimus G
  1353
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  1468

BrowserMark

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 5
  189937
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  185034
• Samsung Galaxy S III
  158953
• Meizu MX 4-core
  158404
• HTC One X (Tegra 3)
  140270
• LG Optimus G
  118126

So did the LG Optimus G kick the door in and slapped around the top names in the smartphone world? No. But it did carve a serious claim for the S4 Pro chipset as one of the best, if not the best around. Keep in mind that these benchmark scores will surely move up a notch once Android Jelly Bean gets to settle on the Optimus G.

But the quad-core Krait-clad S4 Pro could have its work cut out for it as we're nearing the mass-release of the A15 architecture to phones and tablets around the world. It is very likely that the new A15-driven processors will run circles around the S4 Pro performance-wise. In any case, things are getting more and more interesting in smartphone land.