LG G3 vs Samsung Galaxy S5: South Korean derby

Performance

In our review of the LG G3, we were left unimpressed by the underperforming Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801 chipset. Our Korean model G3 showed lower numbers when compared to other flagships, which could have been due to unfinalized hardware.

Now we've retested with the LG-D855 model available in Europe and other regions, which should hopefully reflect a more finalized build than the one launched for the Korean market, despite having less RAM (our 16GB model comes with 2GB of RAM).

The Galaxy S5 also comes with a Snapdragon 801 processor, except that it's of the Qualcomm MSM8974AC variety. It's also clocked in at 2.5GHz with four Krait 400 cores alongside an Adreno 330 GPU, so we're expecting similar performance across both devices - except when it comes to graphics benchmarks. In this latter case, the LG G3 has way more pixels to push out than its competition, so we're expecting slightly lower numbers due to the QHD screen.

When it comes to CPU performance, the European LG G3 again underperforms like its Korean version. Using Basemark OS II we see that Samsung's lead narrows.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  3011
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2856
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  2687
• LG G Pro 2
  2585
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  2563
• HTC One (M8)
  2367

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  1151
• LG G Pro 2
  1140
• HTC One (M8)
  1126
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1082
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1080
• Oppo Find 7a
  1057
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  945

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  2580
• HTC One (M8)
  2428
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  2415
• LG G Pro 2
  2401
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2253
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  2137
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  1787

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  10256
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  10063
• Sony Xperia Z2
  10044
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  9937
• HTC One (M8)
  9860
• LG G Pro 2
  9802
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  8337

AnTuTu 4 tests the entire system - CPU and GPU, but also RAM and storage. The LG G3 managed to better its score compared to the Korean version, and falls in more closely to other current flagships.

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  37009
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  36018
• Oppo Find 7a
  33344
• Sony Xperia Z2
  33182
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  32780
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  30482
• LG G Pro 2
  29603

Graphics benchmarks was where we expected the G3 to struggle more compared to other flagships, but again it surprises by coming in very close to the competition. The only real area where it struggled was in the onscreen Manhattan test, where the high screen resolution and the high-quality rendered graphics account for what seems to be a relatively poor performance.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  27.8
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  27.6
• Sony Xperia Z2
  27.2
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  27.2
• LG G Pro 2
  22.9

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  30.1
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  28.7
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  28.1
• LG G Pro 2
  24.1
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  20.6
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  20.5

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  11.4
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1
• LG G Pro 2
  8.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z2
  12.2
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• LG G Pro 2
  9.2
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  7.4
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  7.2

Real world graphics can be measured more effectively using the benchmark feature of Epic Citadel. Here, the device is forced to run in native 1440p resolution with Ultra graphics quality, where despite scoring below other flagships, it's still able to achieve a respectable score of 43.2 fps.

Epic Citadel (Ultra)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  59
• Oppo Find 7a
  57.7
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  53.7
• Sony Xperia Z2
  52.6
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  43.2
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  42.9

Both browsers offer a mobile version of Google's Chrome browser, as well as their own takes on the stock Android browser. We saw some markedly better results from the EU version of the G3 here, giving the Galaxy S5 a bit more of a run for its money.

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  1474
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1398
• LG G Pro 2
  1346
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  1254
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1224
• HTC One (M8)
  1069

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  6043
• LG G Pro 2
  6578
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  6987
• Sony Xperia Z2
  7041
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  7610
• HTC One (M8)
  10296

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5. While the numbers are close, the G3 falls below other flagships in all our tests, even after getting a more finalized European version. Either the QHD screen really takes a toll in all aspects of performance, or LG are having a hard time with this particular iteration of Snapdragon 801.

Also, it's worth noting that the LG G3 has some serious overheating issues, and that the quoted benchmark numbers dropped significantly after just a few minutes of active benchmarking.