Benchmarking the LG Optimus 2X and the T-Mobile G2X -- stock vs. skinned

By Jerry Hildenbrand
last updated

I'll preface this by saying I don't fall into the benchmark trap.  They're too easy to manipulate (all of them), and numbers don't mean as much to me as real-life usage.  That doesn't mean they are useless though, they can give an idea of what to expect when watching them being ran on a phone you've never used, and in a case like this where the hardware is identical, Quadrant is a very good indicator of how software affects performance.  Or doesn't affect it.

On the left is the T-Mobile G2X, and on the right is the LG Optimus 2X.  Two phones with the same specs, but very different software.  Both phones have a Tegra 2 at 1GHz, 512 MB of RAM, and possibly the best LCD displays you've ever seen.  The hardware is identical, but that's where the similarity ends.  The G2X runs stock Froyo, while the Optimus 2X runs a very skinned version of Froyo.  While using these two, I'm not seeing any performance difference, so I decided to let the benchmark be the judge.  Watch the video, and dissect the scores, after the break.

YouTube link for mobile viewing

The T-Mobile G2X is on the left, the LG Optimus 2X on the right

Jerry Hildenbrand
Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.

17 Comments
  • Benchmark is equal.. a 60 point difference is equal.
    This unfortunately is not the best way to test the device as this will push the hardware (cpu & gpu) to it's limits.. thus being equal. No the real difference will come when actually using the device and backround services are off doing there thing... how much memory the launcher takes up and what not... they will all affect how fast / slow things are to switch.
  • perform a benchmark after about a week of consistent use of each device and then perform another after a reboot. that should clear up any confusion there. on the flip side, these benchmark tests (attempt to) are accessing teh resources at the hardware level, so skins, apps, etc. should have little bearing on the final score. the hardware should test the same so long as the OS kernel is identical and services can be paused.
  • *dupe post
  • You all may want to Google "Benchmark" before throwing it around everywhere. A Quadrant SCORE is different from a benchmark.
  • NERD RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • That's real hair splitting. A quadrant score is the result of a benchmark, quadrant is a benchmark. Just like PCmark, 3Dmark. You have a benchmark, and a benchmark result. Is the difference in using one term really that big?
  • Quadrant scores don't mean jack. Use the phone on a daily basis, you will find out that the G2X is the fastest Android device to date. I went to the T-Mobile store to just try one out, I could not leave the store without buying one. I have had all the so called best phones to date, the G2X without a doubt is the best phone I have ever used.
  • I bet my EVO Shift runs everything just as well as either of these. Pretty much every app out there is designed to run on low end hardware. I don't have bragging rights as far as benchmarks are concerned but I haven't cared about that for a few years now.
  • Your Evo Shift won't run any of the games in the tegra section of the Marketplace.
  • G2X is not the real competitor here... would be nice to have the ARC, Optimus 2X, Sensation, Atrix and Galaxy S2 matched (here's a spec match http://www.ineze.com/pro?q=arc,+atrix+4g,+p990,+sensation). And here a nice methodology to measuring GPU capabilities - http://www.anandtech.com/show/4064/glbenchmark-20-released-modern-socs-b... Which phone would you pick?
  • You missed the point. This isn't designed to compare two or more phones. This test was designed to test the exact same phone with two different "skins". Stock, and LG's skin. The test you propose is an entirely different test for an entirely different purpose.
  • The real reason the scores are so similiar is because the g2x is just about as stock as the 2x. Its just skinned to look like vanilla android. LG has a lot of their own changes under the hood but because the framework is skinned to match vanilla, people assume its running vanilla 2.2.
  • I find it remarkably amusing how EVERY android-specific site is so easily fooled. The G2x is not stock android. Neither was the G2. They see a white notification bar and Launcher2 and go "stock android!" For people who, I'm assuming, get paid to do write this, they do amazingly little research to find out more about the device. Sure, I don't expect them to keep up on EVERY device, but when they hark so critically on one aspect of the phone (stock android), they really should check to backup their claims. If you don't take my word for it, listen to the much smarter than I Paul O'Brien: http://twitter.com/#!/PaulOBrien/status/63250243046739968 or even the guy responsible for bringing CM7 to the O2x, Arcee: http://twitter.com/#!/CM_arcee/status/63255644676960256 The G2 had the same discussion amongst the CM community as well (it was no more stock than the Desire Z), please just double check your facts if you're going to commit a whole article trying to guess at what makes these phones different (hint: not much).
  • You're an idiot. Stock android doesn't always necessarily mean the google phone. It just means it HAS stock android as in it's NOT SKINNED, it's pure vanilla. Stop trying to look "cool" correcting the author of this article. We all know that the only phone that will ever get all the updates from Google is the Nexus line so shut up and stop thinking you know more than the rest.
  • Where did I say anything about receiving updates from Google in my comment? My whole point is that just because something *looks* stock doesn't mean it is stock (I can use a theme to make my phone look like AOSP gingerbread when I'm on 2.1 if I wanted to). "Stock android" means it's built against the AOSP android tree with the only modifications to board configurations (for a new vendor device) with included proprietary binaries. The Nexus line is AOSP and receives it's updates from Google, yes, but stock android doesn't mean it has to be Nexus. The HTC Magic (not Magic+) was stock android. The G1 was (obviously) stock android. The Motorola Droid was stock android. Plenty of phones that weren't of the "Nexus" line have been stock (hell, even a lot of the honeycomb tablets are stock android). Stock has nothing to do with updates from Google, it means a clean build tree without any third party modifications short of drivers. Please, think about what you say before you get all angry and defensive.
  • I think you need to check your facts before calling someone an idiot. He provided sources to back his statement up, and indeed he is correct. The G2x is not stock Android, despite the fact that it may look like stock Android to the naive (i.e. you).
  • was just about to post the same thing. I have the G2x. It is not "stock Android" by any means. People are easily fooled. The only stock android phones out there are the original Droid 1, Magic, G1, Nexus One, and Nexus S. This G2x's OS is more similar to the O2x's OS than stock Android.