Samsung Galaxy S5 Active review: Combat ready

Synthetic benchmarks

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset (MSM8974AC). Some clarification is due since not all 801 chipsets are created equal. The MSM8974 is the base Snapdragon 800 chipset, while MSM8974AB overclocks the GPU and gets the Snapdragon 801 badge.

The MSM8974AC goes a step further and clocks the CPU higher too. Also worth pointing out, on the KitKat software, Samsung has removed the benchmark detection and overclocking, so if the Galaxy S5 doesn't trounce the Galaxy Note 3 it's because it's showing real performance.

GeekBench 3 and AnTuTu 4 are benchmarks which put to the test the hardware combo inside the smartphone. GeekBench 3 is more CPU-intensive, whereas AnTuTu 4 is a compound benchmark - testing CPU, GPU, memory performance, etc. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active performed on par with its regular sibling.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  3011
• Galaxy S5 Active
  3010
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2856
• LG G3
  2687
• LG G Pro 2
  2585
• LG Nexus 5
  2453
• HTC One (M8)
  2367
• LG G2
  2243
• Motorola Moto X
  2123
• HTC One mini 2
  1526
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  1359

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  37009
• Galaxy S5 Active
  36162
• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  36018
• LG G2
  35444
• Oppo Find 7a
  33344
• Sony Xperia Z2
  33182
• LG G3
  30482
• LG G Pro 2
  29603
• LG Nexus 5
  25097
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  19896
• Motorola Moto X
  19031
• HTC One mini 2
  17883

Basemark OS II is another all-round benchmark. It gives an overall score along with single-core, multi-core, and math performance, among others. We focus on the overall and CPU scores. Once again, the newcomer showcased similar performance as the SM-G900.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• LG G3
  1151
• LG G Pro 2
  1140
• LG G3 (anti-cheat)
  1132
• HTC One (M8)
  1126
• Galaxy S5 Active
  1107
• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  1082
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1080
• Oppo Find 7a
  1057
• HTC One mini 2
  517
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  434

Next up we have GFXBench's 2.7 T-Rex and 3.0 Manhattan. In 1080p offscreen mode the GPU is tasked with performing graphical computations in 1920 x 1080px resolution. The Galaxy S5 Active did a stellar job in both T-Rex tests, though its results were slightly lower than those of the regular version.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  27.8
• LG G3
  27.6
• Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
  27.5
• Sony Xperia Z2
  27.2
• LG Nexus 5
  23
• LG G Pro 2
  22.9
• LG G2
  22
• Motorola Moto X
  16
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  5.8
• HTC One mini 2
  5.8

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
• Galaxy S5 Active
  27.7
• LG G Pro 2
  24.1
• LG Nexus 5
  24
• LG G2
  23.1
• LG G3
  20.6
• HTC One mini 2
  11
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  10.9

The more demanding Manhattan benchmark saw the newcomer post similar scores as the SM-G900.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G3
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.8
• Galaxy S5 Active
  11.7
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1
• LG G Pro 2
  8.7
• HTC One mini 2
  1.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z2
  12.2
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  11.7
• Galaxy S5 Active
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• LG G Pro 2
  9.2
• LG G3
  7.4
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  4.1
• HTC One mini 2
  3.8

BrowserMark 2.1 looks at HTML 5 performance, while Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 is JavaScript-centric. The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active posted a flagship-worthy result on both occasions.

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  1398
• LG G Pro 2
  1346
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• Galaxy S5 Active
  1319
• LG Nexus 5
  1286
• LG G3
  1254
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1224
• HTC One (M8)
  1069
• HTC One mini 2
  945

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Galaxy S5 (S801)
  6043
• Galaxy S5 Active
  6341
• LG G Pro 2
  6578
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• Sony Xperia Z2
  7041
• LG Nexus 5
  7148
• LG G3
  7610
• HTC One (M8)
  10296
• HTC One mini 2
  15684

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active performed in accordance with the high expectations towards it. The smartphone is one of the most powerful Android devices available today and has the benchmark scores to show for it.