Evolve: a new Android gaming benchmark and GPU analyzer

A new gaming benchmark called Evolve has been introduced to evaluate mobile graphics processors on Android devices in unprecedented detail. Unlike synthetic benchmarks like Geekbench or 3DMark that deliver a single overall score, Evolve provides useful insights across five distinct metrics.

• Evolve tests mobile GPUs across five detailed performance metrics.
• It evaluates ray tracing, rasterization, compute tasks, and driver efficiency.
• The app is free with a pro version available for exporting charts and raw testing data.

Features of the New Benchmark

The application evaluates hardware-accelerated ray tracing workloads using Vulkan Raytracing and DXR APIs, measuring lighting, shadows, and reflections. An Acceleration Structure score assesses how quickly the GPU builds necessary data structures. Additionally, it features a rasterization score for 3D graphics and animations, alongside a driver score measuring CPU utilization efficiency.

Comparing Flagship Mobile Chipsets

Recent generations of Qualcomm and MediaTek chipsets were tested, including the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Dimensity 9500, Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Dimensity 9400. Qualcomm's architecture dominated the charts, with the Adreno 840 showing a 27% performance advantage in ray tracing over the Mali G1, a 40% lead in rasterization, and a 46% advantage in GPU compute.

Workload Breakdown and Power Efficiency

Another major capability of Evolve is showing how much GPU time is utilized per frame for each specific workload. For instance, the Adreno 840 spent 27.7% of its time on ray tracing and 45.7% on GPU compute. Furthermore, the app includes an energy score measuring power usage via Android's Power Stats HAL, although this feature depends on manufacturer support.