Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG review: Talk-worthy

Performance

Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG is powered by the Intel Atom Z3530 chipset, which translates into a quad-core 1.3GHz 64-bit processor, PowerVR G6430 GPU and 1GB of RAM. We've seen this particular GPU in iPhone 5s, iPad mini 2 and mini 3 and it is indeed quite capable. Here is hoping the 1GB RAM would be enough to handle the common tasks and pressure.

Let's check the Intel processor performance first. We ran the Geekbench 3 test and the Fonepad 7 FE375CXG finished last. This was to be expected though as its processor is clocked at 1.3GHz - lower than the 1.86GHz MeMO Pad 7 models, or the 2+ GHz Xperia Tablet Z3 Compact and Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9. The Apple's dual-core Cyclone is an exception here, but we already knew it does outstandingly in every way.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  3276
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  2781
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  2748
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  2495
• Apple iPad mini 3
  2486
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  2414
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  1745
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  1522

We continue the benchmarks with the latest AnTuTu 5, which also tests graphics and memory. The Fonepad FE375CXG scored the same as the Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C, which runs on a faster processor and similar resolution. The newer MeMO Pad 7 ME572C does better because it offers not only faster CPU, but double the RAM.

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  42505
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  41856
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  33735
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  33446

The BaseMark OS II test gauges not only the CPU, GPU and memory performance, but web and system as well. The Fonepad 7 fell to the bottom of our chart.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  1192
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  1141
• Apple iPad mini 3
  1099
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  1094
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  948
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  868
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  768
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  542

The CPU single and multi-core breakdowns from the BaseMark OS II brought us to similar conclusions as the GeekBench 3 test - the Fonepad 7's processor is the least performing unless it is compared to a single Cortex-A7 core, which is weaker.

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  2251
• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  1999
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  1911
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  1666
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  1528
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  1453
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  1082

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  10413
• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  8547
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  6662
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  5899
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  5691
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  5149
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  4225

The PowerVR G6430 GPU is probably what makes the Fonepad 7 worth buying - we've seen it doing great on the iPhone 5s, iPad mini 2 and mini 3, and we are sure it will run blazing fast on a sub-1080p resolution.

Indeed the onscreen performance turned out great with the Asus Fonepad 7 being very close to the Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9. Sure, the Nvidia Kepler GPU is way better, but it runs on a Retina resolution, which takes its tool. In the end of the day - a modern 3D game would run equally smooth on both devices.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  39.6
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  35
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  29
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  28.1
• Apple iPad mini 3
  23
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  22.9
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  13.6
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  10.8

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  19.8
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  18
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  11.7
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  11
• Apple iPad mini 3
  8.9
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  4.3
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  2.9

Doing the offscreen benchmarks, which run at 1080p resolution, shows the PowerVR G6430 is still quite capable of handling on its own.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  53.1
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  31
• Apple iPad mini 3
  28.2
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  27.7
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  26
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  20.5
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  12
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  5.8

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  27.3
• Apple iPad mini 3
  13.1
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  12
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  12
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  9.6
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  5.6
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  2

Finally, we tested the web browsing performance of the Fonepad 7. It does OK on both the JavaScript Kraken and the compound BrowserMark 2.1 and will do for occasional web surfing, but the performance is somewhat behind the curve.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  4647
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  4927
• Apple iPad mini 3
  5382
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  6000
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  6091
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  6500
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  7637
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  20366

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (Exynos)
  1681
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  1467
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME176C
  1250
• Asus MeMO Pad 7 ME572C
  1198
• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  952
• Asus Fonepad 7 FE375CXG
  890
• Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
  822

Asus Fonepad FE375CXG isn't acing benchmarks nor is providing a flagship performance. But it wasn't meant to be that kind of device. It handles well the Android OS, will do OK with some power-hungry productivity tasks and will surprise you when running a heavy-duty 3D games. For a device priced at about €180 or less, we are definitely fine with all of these.