The Samsung Galaxy S4: A Benchmark Scandal

In this video, Ranjit discusses the benchmarks for the Samsung Galaxy S4, which are impressive at first glance. However, further investigation reveals that something is not quite right. According to Anand Tech, a reputable site, the GPU on the phone runs at 480 MHz for all games, but when special applications like benchmarks are run, it overclocks to 533 MHz. This is done by detecting the presence of these software applications and artificially increasing the clock frequency.

This practice is considered shady because benchmarks should predict how a CPU and phone perform in day-to-day conditions, not just under specific testing scenarios. By writing code into the firmware that detects when benchmarks are being run and then overclocks the processor and GPU, Samsung is essentially manipulating the results to get higher scores. This is not new, as it was seen in the past with powerful graphic cards, where manufacturers would tweak them for better performance.

The implications of this practice are significant. It means that the benchmark scores of the Galaxy S4 may not reflect its actual performance in real-world usage. Ranjit believes that benchmarks should be taken with a grain of salt and that reviews and end-user experience should be trusted more than the results of a test designed to manipulate scores.

Ranjit is disappointed by Samsung's actions, as it undermines the trust that consumers have in the company. By using this tactic, Samsung is selling large quantities of phones while breaking the trust of its customers. It is a sad development, especially when one considers the long history of manufacturers tweaking their products for better performance under specific testing scenarios.

One thing is clear: Ranjit wants to highlight the importance of not trusting benchmark scores too much. Instead, he advises consumers to look at reviews and the end-user experience of a product before making a purchase decision. This approach will give them a more accurate picture of what they can expect from a device like the Galaxy S4.

For those interested in learning more about this scandal, Ranjit has linked a report by Anand Tech in the show notes, which provides further information on the matter.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi there this is Ranjit and in this video I want to talk about Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung has done something and if you notice the benchmarks for the Samsung Galaxy S4 are topnotch it gets the best benchmarks scores but it looks like everything is not Rosie and Anand Tech which is a very reputable site did some digging around and they found some very interesting facts the thing is that the GPU on this is supposed to run at 533 MHz but it runs only at around 480 MHz for for all the games but when you run some special applications like benchmarks the clock frequency increases to 533 MHz for example M22 quadrant GL Benchmark LM pack and Benchmark P when these are run and the phone detects that these softwares are running it actually overclocks the GPU at 533 MHz thus and also the CPU and some of these applications get rammed up thus you get very high scores in benchmarks and in reality you won't see such high performance needless to say I would say this is a shady practice because Benchmark should predict the way the CPU uh the the phone runs in day-to-day conditions and now Samsung has is actually written code in the firmware which detects when these uh benchmarks are being run and they artificially ramp up the processor and GPU thus giving you higher benchmark scores and this is a very shady practice we have seen this in earlier uh about 10 10 years ago in the what do you say when we had powerful graphic cards and these manufacturers used to tweak them for higher scores and now we are seeing the same thing with these mobile phones and it's sad to see that and I'm really sad to see that Samsung is doing something like this this brings me to another point that you should not trust too much on benchmarks but for uh for example Trust on the reviews and the end user experience I always talk about the end user experience if uh that should be more important again it is interesting to see if other manufacturers are doing something Sher practices like this I'll link the report of anant tech in the show notes so you can check out that for more info again I have to say I'm it's shame on you Samsung for doing something like this you sell tons and tons of phones again and by doing silly and cheap tactics like this you're breaking the trust again thanks for watching this video and I hope to see you in my next videohi there this is Ranjit and in this video I want to talk about Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung has done something and if you notice the benchmarks for the Samsung Galaxy S4 are topnotch it gets the best benchmarks scores but it looks like everything is not Rosie and Anand Tech which is a very reputable site did some digging around and they found some very interesting facts the thing is that the GPU on this is supposed to run at 533 MHz but it runs only at around 480 MHz for for all the games but when you run some special applications like benchmarks the clock frequency increases to 533 MHz for example M22 quadrant GL Benchmark LM pack and Benchmark P when these are run and the phone detects that these softwares are running it actually overclocks the GPU at 533 MHz thus and also the CPU and some of these applications get rammed up thus you get very high scores in benchmarks and in reality you won't see such high performance needless to say I would say this is a shady practice because Benchmark should predict the way the CPU uh the the phone runs in day-to-day conditions and now Samsung has is actually written code in the firmware which detects when these uh benchmarks are being run and they artificially ramp up the processor and GPU thus giving you higher benchmark scores and this is a very shady practice we have seen this in earlier uh about 10 10 years ago in the what do you say when we had powerful graphic cards and these manufacturers used to tweak them for higher scores and now we are seeing the same thing with these mobile phones and it's sad to see that and I'm really sad to see that Samsung is doing something like this this brings me to another point that you should not trust too much on benchmarks but for uh for example Trust on the reviews and the end user experience I always talk about the end user experience if uh that should be more important again it is interesting to see if other manufacturers are doing something Sher practices like this I'll link the report of anant tech in the show notes so you can check out that for more info again I have to say I'm it's shame on you Samsung for doing something like this you sell tons and tons of phones again and by doing silly and cheap tactics like this you're breaking the trust again thanks for watching this video and I hope to see you in my next video\n"