Phone vs pc hardware

[Rataplan]

Hello,

Can someone explain to me how it is possible that smartphone´s run certain games with 3d graphics while a pc needs a brick of a graphics card?

For example: Undecember can be played on pc as well as on a phone. The pc version requires a GTX960 to run. That card is 10 times larger as a phone. How is that possible?

 

[DXCHASE]

Im not an expert here and im sure someone might give a better answer but basically, cellphones have gpus that can render games on those small screens which are only 5-7 inches big. They wouldnt be able to do anything on an actual monitor or tv regardless of the game.

 

[Zloth]

Well, according to specs, these phone displays have VERY high resolution. 2556x1179 for the iPhone 15, for instance. That pixel density is what made it possible for VR to come back. (Why phones have that much resolution, I have no idea. Do they have a microfiche app where you stick your phone under a cheap microscope to read old newspapers!?)

The GTX 960 is pretty good sized, but it's also about 10 years old. I dare say it's possible to put a chip on the CPU itself that has that much power. The 960 also wouldn't have all that much memory, so I'm guessing that the textures on these games are not big.

 

[Pifanjr]

Im not an expert here and im sure someone might give a better answer but basically, cellphones have gpus that can render games on those small screens which are only 5-7 inches big. They wouldnt be able to do anything on an actual monitor or tv regardless of the game.

I did a bit of research and it seems the newest phones are already close to 2K screen resolution, so they wouldn't do all that bad on older/smaller monitors. 2K is still 2.4 times less pixels than 4K though, so it'll probably struggle if you try to use it on a more modern/bigger screen.

Even if you do use it for a screen that uses about the same resolution as your phone, you'll probably notice that it still looks a lot worse than if you use a PC with a decent graphics card.
I occasionally play Fortnite on my phone and I have to turn all the settings (almost) to the minimum to get a decent framerate, while my PC can fairly easily play it on medium settings and I think my PC is older than my phone.

 

[Frag Maniac]

The pc version requires a GTX960 to run. That card is 10 times larger as a phone. How is that possible?

Well, for one we know that hardware requirements don't usually align from one platform to another. This is the case even with PC and console, but I assume all the more so with PC and phone.

Also, despite cell phones having ridiculously high res for their size, that doesn't necessarily mean the games for them that have better graphics PLAY at that res. Quite frankly, the main reason phones have high res is to adapt the content to larger screens, especially since modern TVs are larger and more compatible with PCs and other devices.

And not to be ignored, frame rate, frame rate, frame rate! Anyone who's owned a console knows that a demanding game will usually be able to play at considerably higher FPS on a desktop vs a console. The latest gen consoles are no exception here.

Lastly, the bulk of the size of desktop GPUs, especially since custom designed coolers have been used on them, is the cooler itself. Those whom game on laptops and phones know full well they are NOT going to be getting anywhere near as good cooling, And this is also why laptop processors are often downclocked from their desktop variants.

So in short, you need to look at the big picture, even on a small device! One easy way to compare might be to run the game on your TV if you can get the phone to use it as a hotspot. On a larger screen it would be easier to see any of the shortcomings. What I mean by this is even on consoles, 1080p, or whatever you're running the game at, often doesn't look as sharp on console as on a desktop. This is because texture detail and LOD are often dumbed down for performance on consoles, and if not, the FPS, res, or both are adjusted on the fly to compensate.

 

[neogunhero]

I’ve only ever owned iPhones so the hardware is bit more similar across different models of the same year than Android phones are since there are so many Android manufacturers. iPhones generally are good for mobile gaming, and as much as people hate on Apple, you have to give them props especially in the past few years since they have been developing their own ARM chips. Their last iPhone has a pretty beefy GPU, capable of playing Resident Evil Village and RE4 Remake with ray tracing. Based off a few videos of gameplay I’ve watched, the frame rate stays at a solid 60, though I’m not sure if there are any graphical downgrades compared to PC/console versions. Since Apple is making their own silicone again, they have the advantage of designing it to their specifications to max out performance. It’s surprising how good mobile gaming is these days.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Digital Foundry did a comparison of RE4 and some other stuff with Iphone 15 Pro

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFsy4mb3T1w


Its really impressive what they can do with such a small power envelope, but I wont throw away my PC for a while yet.

 

[Brian Boru]

Apple is making their own silicone again, they have the advantage of designing it to their specifications to max out performance

Let's hope that works out better than last time, when they eventually had to dump their own stuff and adopt PC hardware for performance. It's good for us to have another serious player in the hardware space, but without the spur of competition for their own stuff, can they get beyond medium-term life cycle this time?

last iPhone has a pretty beefy GPU, capable of playing Resident Evil Village and RE4 Remake with ray tracing … frame rate stays at a solid 60

What screens does that happen on? If they can support decent size monitors, that's very impressive.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Digital Foundry did a comparison of RE4 and some other stuff with Iphone 15 Pro

Once again, DF puts things in perspective nicely. Good vid.

 

[Brian Boru]

DF puts things in perspective

Sounds like 30fps is generally achievable, albeit with some image degradation—not bad for a phone.

I only watched video's conclusion—did they say how long the battery will hold up when playing big games?

Secondly, was all that only on the phone's screen, or was it on something bigger?

 

[Frag Maniac]

Sounds like 30fps is generally achievable, albeit with some image degradation—not bad for a phone.

I only watched video's conclusion—did they say how long the battery will hold up when playing big games?

Secondly, was all that only on the phone's screen, or was it on something bigger?

It was all just on the phone screen. I don't recall him saying anything about battery life, they may not have tested that.

What I saw was pretty much what I expected. It can't keep up with even a PS4 on FPS or image quality. In fact the lesser image quality was emphasized as it's main problem. There were a LOT of scenes where it looked unacceptably blurry to me. And if it's that bad just on the phone screen, imagine what it would look like on the display size one typically uses with their PS4.

The takeaway relative to the thread question is, no, an iPhone's graphics hardware, even on the latest model, cannot compare to a GTX 960. Not in an apples to apples comparison anyway.

 

[Hystou]

Mobile phones have graphics cards, which are usually integrated into the CPU processor.
The reason why some mobile phones can play 3D games is because they have built-in advanced GPU (3D graphics processor)

 

[DXCHASE]

Lastly, the bulk of the size of desktop GPUs, especially since custom designed coolers have been used on them, is the cooler itself. Those whom game on laptops and phones know full well they are NOT going to be getting anywhere near as good cooling, And this is also why laptop processors are often downclocked from their desktop variants.

Actually this will always be the reason for its size. Youre right because when you take the cooler off, the actual GPU chip itself is smaller or same size of a cellphone screen (of todays sizes for the most part) but try getting those chips to run well if there is virtually 0 cooling like that of a cell phone.

 

[neogunhero]

What screens for s that happen on? If they can support decent size monitors, that's very impressive.

According to Apple’s website, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 6.7inch display with 2796x1290 resolution at 460ppi. I’m not sure how ppi works or scales, so I assume a smaller screen would result in higher ppi compared to full sized computer monitors.

The takeaway relative to the thread question is, no, an iPhone's graphics hardware, even on the latest model, cannot compare to a GTX 960. Not in an apples to apples comparison anyway.

Even with all the downsides, I think it’s still quite impressive. No one is going to rush to throw out their consoles and PC to play games on a phone, but it’s a glimpse into a future where the kids are all playing Overwatch 4 in their school cafeteria on their iPhone 22 Pro Max XS’s and I’m all for that.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Even with all the downsides, I think it’s still quite impressive. No one is going to rush to throw out their consoles and PC to play games on a phone, but it’s a glimpse into a future where the kids are all playing Overwatch 4 in their school cafeteria on their iPhone 22 Pro Max XS’s and I’m all for that.

In other words, cell phone tech has come a long way. For sure, that's expected, especially when you look at the ridiculous prices Apple charges for them. It's why no one in their right mind gets the latest gen iPhone without hooking up with a contract deal. Even then, you're committing to a long term phone service that isn't what most would call cheap, and there are usually big penalties for ending the contract sooner than the length of the plan is designed for.