(04-21-2015, 04:38 AM)agrabren Wrote: Keep in mind that when trying to compare different SoC performance, you're also asking a company which focuses on CPU performance (ARM/Qualcomm/Samsung/Intel) to deliver powerful graphics drivers. The CPU itself has a minimal "driver" stack in the kernel to make it operate correctly. Applications like Dolphin use native instructions on these processors which are handled directly by the CPU. There is no driver layer involved in most of the operations (with the exception of kernel protected operations). But graphics is a completely different beast. Applications don't "compile" native GPU code. They make calls through a driver layer. The driver then processes the request, making the appropriate calls to the GPU using the native instructions of the GPU. For a GPU, drivers can be equally as important as the GPU itself. So NVIDIA does have a leg-up in this area due to being a graphics card business. And you can see the difference in problems between the SoCs. Tegra is seldom used in phones due to power and heat (this is an assumption on my part, re-using the reason listed above. I have no actual knowledge of specific power/thermal requirements or specs on any of the Tegra processors). On a larger device, this is less important because this can be overcome with larger batteries and better heat dissipation. While NVIDIA isn't as good at low thermals and low power consumption in a smaller package, it has more powerful graphics and a more refined graphics driver (including full OGL).
This is actually a pretty reasonable breakdown of generally how things work. One hing I would like to say, the Tegra power/heat thing is definitely an adapting issue. For those with shield's/nexus 9's you know that while the tablet can run super hot, it can also demonstrate remarkable efficiency. The SHIELD in particular has some amazing video playback stamina, something that older Tegra chips suffered through. It's adundantly clear that in normal light use, the K1 has the efficiency to match its competitors. However where the problems start is on the higher end of the scale. Tegra chips have amazing speed, but the top end generates a rather large amount of heat, and allowing this top end is what gives the chip trouble operating in phones (this is true for basically any Tegra chip). The power end is a different weird thing. The K1 actually has a max power draw that is higher than what some phones can even supply. Tablets sidestep this problem, but in a phone this top end becomes power limited. For those that like TDP, it's generally the same story. Low end is comperable, top end is excessive and requires throttling. Which can brings me to the final point: how could oems deal with it?. Simple, they'd end up throttling and capping the top end to prevent the processor from exceeding limits. And you would end up with a snapdragon 810 like situation where the processor is constantly being restricted and forced to underperform in order to operate within specific limits. Now it's not exactly the same, being that the 810 can barely idle without heating up, but the general idea is there. While the K1 can be made to operate within a phone, it requires more work and compromises than oems like making. So they go with other options that are more immediately usable. As a result, the vast majority of phones are equipped with snapdragon processors, and are under equipped for emulation. Samsung is one of the few large scale alternatives, but unfortunately they use a GPU maker that suffer from similar problems. dolphin on android's progress is actually being controlled by the limitations of these GPU makers, and until we see more Tegra devices, or more effort from Qualcomm and Mali, dolphin will stagnate in the performance department.