The ASUS ROG Phone II Review: Mobile Gaming First, Phone Second
by Dr. Ian Cutress on September 30, 2019 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Asus
- Qualcomm
- Smartphones
- ROG
- RGB
- Snapdragon 855 Plus
- ROG Phone II
GPU Performance
As always with the GPU testing we do here, how a device ends up in the results is pretty much equally impacted by the SoC microarchitecture and GPU itself as it is by other factors such as software thermal throttling configurations as well as the hardware design of the phone – whether it can properly dissipate the heat from the SoC to the body of the phone.
We’re testing the ROG Phone II both in the default mode as well as the X Mode to determine any differences.
In the Physics test of 3DMark we see a difference in the reported peak performance of the RP2 depending on whether X Mode is on or off. Oddly enough, this has zero impact on the sustained performance scores as they end up nigh identical, pointing out that the X Mode doesn’t look to have any large impact on the thermal throttling of the phone, at least on the side of the CPU.
In the graphics tests, the ROG Phone II is dominating and is clearly posting the highest performance among any smartphone out there when it comes to its sustained performance. The device is able to distinguish itself from the rest thanks to the increased GPU frequency of the Snapdragon 855+ SoC.
Furthermore, the phone doesn’t look like it throttles much at all on the GPU side of things, and the behaviour is similar to that of the OPPO Reno 10x and the OnePlus 7 Pro. Of course, this also comes at a cost of extremely high device temperatures again – the phone’s internal temperature sensor in ASUS’s own monitoring tools showcased temps of in excess of 55°C, and the phone would burn through one’s finger if held at the hottest spots.
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plewis00 - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
I don’t know what games you play but the ones I do can’t cope with multiple connections - if they detect a network or IP change they usually treat that as a disconnection. So you’d need the game companies to get onboard too. I suspect the IP change thing is to do with your session being intercepted and that’s why it disconnects you.brucethemoose - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
Asus could theoretically host a VPN (or contract someone else) to keep your visible IP the same across all connections.That would also be MUCH less work than mucking around with Android's network handoff code.
Lochtror - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 - link
good idea, i think just any vpn usage would have this effect, so i will try that. but still needs some setting or software on the phone that switches the connection faster than what i experienced so far.Lochtror - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 - link
interesting. thanks. its mushroom wars 2 and hearthstone for me. hearthstone is forgiving regarding connection issues. can even reconnect for a while. turn based game.mw2, real time, more disconnects.
Wardrive86 - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
I buy a smartphone with gaming specifically in mind. There now you know one person who does that 😏AdhesiveTeflon - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
I don't get it, is somebody planning to load up battlefield V on this thing and play it?PeachNCream - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 - link
I think we're heading in that direction and these early entries into adding external case plastics and lighting that might appeal to the target audience are indications that some PC manufacturers are seeing the need to enter the phone reseller and/or production market in order to establish corporate identities ahead of other potential competitors. When it comes to playing games, the end objective is amusement and as we move forward, the underlying device that provides said amusement is certainly subject to change. Look at how we have transitioned with other elements of entertainment and information consumption for examples. Families used to gather around a single, large radio console to listen to evening programming together. They eventually shifted to doing the same thing with television consoles. Television became more commonplace and more personal so more of them started popping up in individualized spaces as cost of ownership declined so they ended up in bedrooms in addition to centralized areas. Computers went the same way, from single PC per household to personalized devices and now that same data processing is moving from larger to smaller, even more portable systems via phones that will naturally supply a certain amount of entertainment value via video games. It's just the way of things that change is constantly afoot.johansyren - Tuesday, November 10, 2020 - link
I've been using this phone for a week now and as a daily driver, it is great. In terms of photography, it is not that great but when using it with GCAM, it improves your shots. It is a gaming phone so the camera is good overall. As for the games, almost all games can run on ultra high settings and still run in a smooth manner. Don't worry about the temps going high 'cause if you bought the strix edition one, it comes with aero cooler v2 and aero case. I found a good article about this phone https://casinovalley.ca/best-picks/best-gambling-p...Tams80 - Wednesday, October 2, 2019 - link
Not Battlefield V or it's like, but numerous people have made careers out of mobile gaming (and not just game developers).Lord of the Bored - Monday, September 30, 2019 - link
"Game Genie"How nostalgic.