Dual-core vs Quad-core....which is better?

[gino_76ph]

Hi there!
* This thread is a sort of extension of my previous one.

I am looking to replace my old HTC Sensation this coming new year with all the sales. And i'm looking to replace it with another SIM-free/tariff-free Android 4/4.1 phone. Now, i know it might sound stupid to ask but are dual-core phones as good as quad-core ones?

Reason why i asked is because of sometimes the dual-core might have a faster CPU/processor and a newer GPU like the Snapdragon S4 or the Tegra 3 "Krait". (i could be wrong here)

The dual-core phones i am currently eyeing are HTC Desire X, HTC One S, the Huawei Ascend P1 and the slightly old Galaxy Note. The only quad-core on my list (and within my budget) is the LG Optimus 4X HD.

I had HTC phones in the past and i quite like them. Never had a Huawei phone tho specs seems very good. Had a Samsung phone before but it was those smaller mid-range ones and its a sort of hit-and-miss in terms of sound quality and camera (where i will be mostly looking out for a phone for) and had an old LG Viewty phone way back and i heard their battery life and camera are such issues ever since.

I'm aware of such websites to compare them and the reviews etc. but i just wanted based on your experiences or what have you been hearing or what you know about CPU & GPU speeds & performance which ones would you go for?

Please advice.

[Bluecube]

It's a phone. IMHO all these fancy doo dahs, quad core, super duper graphics, blah blah are unnecessary on a phone and most, if not all, of the "advantages" are down to marketing hype. I've been using a single core based Android phone (a Sony Xperia Arc S) the past year and I've never had any problems with slow down even on games.

Getting to the point, choose a phone that you like and does the job that you want it to do. If you base your decision on fastest/ fanciest CPU/ graphics then I doubt you'll be too impressed!

[csgohan4]

It's a phone. IMHO all these fancy doo dahs, quad core, super duper graphics, blah blah are unnecessary on a phone and most, if not all, of the "advantages" are down to marketing hype. I've been using a single core based Android phone (a Sony Xperia Arc S) the past year and I've never had any problems with slow down even on games.

Getting to the point, choose a phone that you like and does the job that you want it to do. If you base your decision on fastest/ fanciest CPU/ graphics then I doubt you'll be too impressed!

Agree with this one, just because everyone says this phone or that phone is good doesn't mean it's good aka Isheep. Get a phone that suits you. The best phone for me is not neccessarily the best phone for you

[GeorgeStorm]

Agree with the above.

Depends what you want to do with the phone, there's no point getting the most powerful phone out (at all in my opinion) if you're not going to get any benefit over a mid range model.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

RAM is the most important metric,as this is what will eventually be the main limitation with new OS updates,etc. So a reasonably clocked single core or lower clocked dual core, with at least 1GB of RAM, would be a good idea IMHO for Android.

[pp05]

Hi there!
* This thread is a sort of extension of my previous one.

I am looking to replace my old HTC Sensation this coming new year with all the sales. And i'm looking to replace it with another SIM-free/tariff-free Android 4/4.1 phone. Now, i know it might sound stupid to ask but are dual-core phones as good as quad-core ones?

Reason why i asked is because of sometimes the dual-core might have a faster CPU/processor and a newer GPU like the Snapdragon S4 or the Tegra 3 "Krait". (i could be wrong here)

The dual-core phones i am currently eyeing are HTC Desire X, HTC One S, the Huawei Ascend P1 and the slightly old Galaxy Note. The only quad-core on my list (and within my budget) is the LG Optimus 4X HD.

I had HTC phones in the past and i quite like them. Never had a Huawei phone tho specs seems very good. Had a Samsung phone before but it was those smaller mid-range ones and its a sort of hit-and-miss in terms of sound quality and camera (where i will be mostly looking out for a phone for) and had an old LG Viewty phone way back and i heard their battery life and camera are such issues ever since.

I'm aware of such websites to compare them and the reviews etc. but i just wanted based on your experiences or what have you been hearing or what you know about CPU & GPU speeds & performance which ones would you go for?

Please advice.

Cat is right. The limitation isn't speed, it is ram.

Dual core android phones are more than good enough for day to day use. Just a case of asking yourself which feature did you really start to make use of that wasn't handled well on the last handset. This can help you narrow it.

If it's camera, then look for a phone that has a decent camera. S2/S3 have same camera.

[csgohan4]

it's all become a gimmick now with specs and one being better cus they have higher specs. But have you considered will it actually affect your real time usage and will it screw up your battery life with a large processor and a screen you could use as a mirror

[gino_76ph]

I agree with the RAM thing. My HTC Sensation has a 768MB RAM and it still is smooth-ish. But that is why i have created this thread because come January with the sales and the run-up to Christmas most phones will have a dual-core 1Ghz CPU and a 1GB of RAM. And that is what i am looking for.

I disagree its a gimmick. There is a reason why the phone is dual-core or quad-core. It is called progression. Or to some Evolution. It means technology is getting better and (slowly) keeping up with the times.

I want a phone that is well-balanced. A good shooter, a decent gaming machine and a good music player. So far of all the Android phones i had (HTC, Sony Ericsson/Sony & Samsung) HTC comes in first as it meets my music needs (Dolby sound-capable and very good audio output) followed by Samsung (again meeting my music player needs with their EQ and surround sound options) and lastly Sony. My Sensation has a fair-enough camera and i know so does Samsung.

I have a Twitter and Instagram so i want a phone with decent, all-around, current-gen optics. I initially wanted an HTC One S but because of having a non-placeable battery it kinda put me off. I am keeping an eye on the Huawei Ascend P1 (with specs almost similar to the Sensation but with improved RAM and added camera features) and the Optimus 4X HD (which is quad-core) but i dunno if they are that good. My other option would be the Desire X but i wanted a screen of at least 4.3" diagonal in size.

In a day i roughly spend 30% checking emails/Twitter/Instagram/News, 40% listening to music (especially when travelling to & from work), and 30% is a mixture of gaming and all others. A current-gen strong GPU would also be nice though.

[Bluecube]

I disagree entirely with your statement regarding CPUs. Current technology is beyond what anyone except specialists require. You say that you need a phone mainly to listen to music and check emails, something that's been possible on a phone for the past decade.

[gino_76ph]

Bluecube..i know it has been possible to check emails and listen to music in the past decade but what i was trying to look at is that technology has been better since the last 10 years and it made our life easier albeit the tide of choices out there.

But getting back to my thread which is a good phone for me?

[Bunjiweb]

Realistically the only advantage from quad-core currently is the Tegra 3 optimised games. Other than that, Dual-Core can handle almost anything. My Moto Atrix is a Dual-core 1ghz and it still handled everything I throw at. Nova 3 and Mass Effect games look amazing on it...

Out of the phones you list I would look at the One S for a 'normal' size phone, and if you are happy with a much larger handset then the Galaxy Note is very good.

Ben

[gino_76ph]

I know there are a lot of choices out there escpecially now with the run-up to to the holiday season. I would still go for something with a 4.3" screen, a 1Ghz of CPU/processor power (at least!), a 1GB of RAM (at least!), a very good/more than average battery life and a camera which is as good as say an iPhone 4S/5 or the Galaxy S3 i.e. stereo recording, image stabilisation, burst mode, panorama mode, full 1080p recording, BSI sensor / has very good low-light capability, et al.

With a £300-ish budget for now my alternatives are the HTC One S, HTC Desire X, Huawei Ascend P1, LG Optimus 4X and the Acer Cloudmobile (if available).

[dmzda]

What you should be looking at is which devices have been/are going to be updated to Jellybean. Many manufacturers really slack on these updates.

[gino_76ph]

I have ruled out Motorola as they have a reputation for very late/very often updates. Also with LG as they tend to have very poor reviews on their phones' battery life and not-so-good picture quality. I am sticking with HTC and Samsung for now as they seem to lead the Android Army and at the forefront of things when it comes to their phone features and updates; I feel Huawei, ZTE and Acer are slowly climbing up the ranks with their upcoming phones.

[MadduckUK]

http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/...apq8064-inside

Get one of these imported

[gino_76ph]

Would prefer not to import as i had a bad experience with one bought from Ebay previously.