why doesn't my S4 with 8 cores "feel" faster than my Note 2 with only 4 cores?

[Kiersten_Kress]

I've had my Verizon Galaxy S4 for only a few days. My other phone
is the Verizon Galaxy Note 2, which I'm keeping. The S4 will be used
more or less as a spare phone.

I've tried running the same apps and 1080p videos and other stuff
on both phones simultaneously. Something is bothering me slightly.
Why doesn't my S4 with 8 cores "feel" faster than my Note 2 with
only 4 cores?

 

[fatboy97]

I've had my Verizon Galaxy S4 for only a few days. My other phone
is the Verizon Galaxy Note 2, which I'm keeping. The S4 will be used
more or less as a spare phone.

I've tried running the same apps and 1080p videos and other stuff
on both phones simultaneously. Something is bothering me slightly.
Why doesn't my S4 with 8 cores "feel" faster than my Note 2 with
only 4 cores?

Verizon's S4 is a Quad Core device, NOT an 8 core device!!!

 

[vferrari]

Beat me to it - what fatboy said. The international version has the octocore processor.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Kiersten_Kress]

Verizon's S4 is a Quad Core device, NOT an 8 core device!!!

oh... I feel so stupid... all the S4 reviews that I've read were for int'l versions.... glad that i still have a few days left to return the phone back to Verizon!

 

[greg1007]

oh... I feel so stupid... all the S4 reviews that I've read were for int'l versions.... glad that i still have a few days left to return the phone back to Verizon!

Don't be so quick on that return. Touch wiz is slow on the initial release, but international already has an update that improved the lag, and it should be at Verizon soon enough. Rooting and installing a custom rom is also a great option to make it run like the beautiful beast it is
Oh, and the octacore is just 2 quad cores, with only 1 running at a time. Neither processor has as much power as the US version, but using that weaker one saves battery. Jerry's post today shows what happens when you have all 8 cores going
Sent from my SGH-T999

 

[MikeLip]

I think a better question is why the N2 *does* outperform the S4 in everyday use? It lacks the lag of the S4, although if you pay attention when it's chewing data the S4 is faster. For a simple instance do an install of the same package on both phones and time it. The S4 will kick the N2s **** at that. But at the same time the smoothness you expect from such a kick-**** computer is missing, while the older brother does things without stutter. I don't get it either.

 

[greg1007]

I think a better question is why the N2 *does* outperform the S4 in everyday use? It lacks the lag of the S4, although if you pay attention when it's chewing data the S4 is faster. For a simple instance do an install of the same package on both phones and time it. The S4 will kick the N2s **** at that. But at the same time the smoothness you expect from such a kick-**** computer is missing, while the older brother does things without stutter. I don't get it either.

It's straight bad code. Touchwiz is only more complex than it used to be (I for one prefer cyanogenmod since tw was never simple) and features like hovering and gestures muck it up. It might be that as you bring your finger to the screen it thinks you're not gonna touch and that causes the pause, but that can't be all of it. Just wait for the reported update, and hope it's enough. In the mean time, make sure the animation scales are set to .5 if they aren't already to help a little

Sent from my SGH-T999

 

[MikeLip]

It's straight bad code. Touchwiz is only more complex than it used to be (I for one prefer cyanogenmod since tw was never simple) and features like hovering and gestures muck it up. It might be that as you bring your finger to the screen it thinks you're not gonna touch and that causes the pause, but that can't be all of it. Just wait for the reported update, and hope it's enough. In the mean time, make sure the animation scales are set to .5 if they aren't already to help a little

Sent from my SGH-T999

I think tonights experiment will be to unlock and ROM my S4. First time trying that. Got a recommendation for a good clean ROM? I was looking at the review of the Google Play edition of the S4 and I like it.

 

[Bizzle69]

I think tonights experiment will be to unlock and ROM my S4. First time trying that. Got a recommendation for a good clean ROM? I was looking at the review of the Google Play edition of the S4 and I like it.

If you like TW, go with CleanRom... awesome, debloated and running great here

 

[Premium1]

I've had my Verizon Galaxy S4 for only a few days. My other phone
is the Verizon Galaxy Note 2, which I'm keeping. The S4 will be used
more or less as a spare phone.

I've tried running the same apps and 1080p videos and other stuff
on both phones simultaneously. Something is bothering me slightly.
Why doesn't my S4 with 8 cores "feel" faster than my Note 2 with
only 4 cores?

Like others have said the s4 uses the quad core processor. Not to mention the exynos in the note 2 is no slouch even today. Plus with all of these high end processors now, you aren't going to notice much/any difference in performance between devices especially ones that run the same skin. I think this is more of a good thing and shows the note 2 is still a great device if you can get over the size of it.

 

[fatboy97]

oh... I feel so stupid... all the S4 reviews that I've read were for int'l versions.... glad that i still have a few days left to return the phone back to Verizon!

Why return a top of the line device... is it just because you think the 8 core is better... most reviews don't think the 8 core is any better, plus there is the LTE which most international users that have the 8 core don't have (usually considered the main reason Verizon and all US version did not get the 8 core)... so once again, why return the S4???

 

[greg1007]

I think tonights experiment will be to unlock and ROM my S4. First time trying that. Got a recommendation for a good clean ROM? I was looking at the review of the Google Play edition of the S4 and I like it.

Sorry I have been away from data for a while. I'm not an s4 user, I'm just familiar with Touchwiz and the galaxy s line with my s3. I've done much research into the s4. My best guess would be look in the galaxy s4 original development section of xda developers. Make sure you're looking at the right carrier version. Look for the thread with the most comments, since a popular rom is most likely stable enough for your purposes for now. I like pacman rom, and I'm pretty sure it's on the S4 as well. Pm me if you have any more questions.

Sent from my SGH-T999

 

[snookasnoo]

If you like TW, go with CleanRom... awesome, debloated and running great here

Yup.

The Android OS and almost all apps have little idea what to do with 4 cores let alone 8. You can easily see this using a profiler.

 

[HNNNNNGHHH]

Verizon's S4 is a Quad Core device, NOT an 8 core device!!!

I have the international Galaxy S4 and the number of cores it has compared to the (slightly) downgraded US versions don't really make a difference. Most apps don't even need to use 4 cores so I really don't see why Samsung is adding 8 friggin' cores to their latest flagship. It's like there's some obscure smartphone "arms race" going on right no-

..oh nevermind. There is one occurring as we speak.

 

[fatboy97]

I have the international Galaxy S4 and the number of cores it has compared to the (slightly) downgraded US versions don't really make a difference. Most apps don't even need to use 4 cores so I really don't see why Samsung is adding 8 friggin' cores to their latest flagship. It's like there's some obscure smartphone "arms race" going on right no-

..oh nevermind. There is one occurring as we speak.

No reason to quote me... it does NOT look like this has anything to do with what I said. I just said Verizon uses a quad core, not the 8 core the OP thought was in their device.