HTC Desire Gaming..

[codral]

Hey guys,

I just spent a few days deciding on and buying a new phone.. Ended up getting a HTC Desire. It fit all the criteria but it was a toss up between it and the Galaxy S, the HTC Desire winning overall across the board for me, although marginally.

Anyway now that i have paid for it i've found out that the Galaxy S is far superior when it comes to gaming (which i didn't really mind until i found out you can get a psx emulator for droids now)

The Desire is pretty much a Nexus One, spec wise (yeah?) and i noticed that when they released a 2.2 update for the Nexus One it increased the speed by 450%, and it can almost keep up with the Galaxy S in games.. I know there is a 2.2 update out for the desire but there doesn't seem to be many web reports of increases in gaming capability..

Is the Nexus One different then? Will they release new graphic drivers or something of the sort for the HTC?

Because i think if i try really hard i can cancel my payment, won't go through for 3 days..

Cheers!

 

[codral]

Been doing a bit more research into this and it seems that on upgrading to the 2.2 OS the Desire should get the same performance bump that the Nexus one. And confirmed that they are identical except that the Desire has a little more ram. So once i get that upgrade it should have about 3/4 of the performance the Galaxy S has and i'll be happy ;p

Also confirmed that it runs FFVII and FFVIII fine which is what i wanted

 

[Baldilocks]

There aren't really any games that can take advantage of any of this technology yet anyway. By the time there is, we will have 1.5-2.0 Ghz multi-core processor based phones.

 

[Shocky]

Been doing a bit more research into this and it seems that on upgrading to the 2.2 OS the Desire should get the same performance bump that the Nexus one. And confirmed that they are identical except that the Desire has a little more ram. So once i get that upgrade it should have about 3/4 of the performance the Galaxy S has and i'll be happy ;p

Also confirmed that it runs FFVII and FFVIII fine which is what i wanted

2.2 will only increase CPU performance, not GPU performance so how you came to the this conclusion is just confusing, I think somebodys given you some bad advice here. Galaxy S is getting 2.2 later this month anyway, not that it needs it.

Also, FFVII is not fine with psx4droid, underwater section controls are borked so you will never complete the game using this alone.

FFVIII has serious audio issues and world map lags, not played through it due to these reasons yet so don't know if there are any game stopping bugs.

There aren't really any games that can take advantage of any of this technology yet anyway. By the time there is, we will have 1.5-2.0 Ghz multi-core processor based phones.

The benefits are already being seen in current games from gameloft and EA.

Desire users are experiencing slow down/lag, Galaxy S and Droid X users are not.

 

[IceMan2006]

I've been playing Gameloft's Hawx and Need for Speed, which work amazingly well on HTC Desire. No issues with slowdown or lag type issues.

 

[codral]

2.2 will only increase CPU performance, not GPU performance so how you came to the this conclusion is just confusing, I think somebodys given you some bad advice here. Galaxy S is getting 2.2 later this month anyway, not that it needs it.

Also, FFVII is not fine with psx4droid, underwater section controls are borked so you will never complete the game using this alone.

FFVIII has serious audio issues and world map lags, not played through it due to these reasons yet so don't know if there are any game stopping bugs.



The benefits are already being seen in current games from gameloft and EA.

Desire users are experiencing slow down/lag, Galaxy S and Droid X users are not.

Ah that's a real shame, my payment has been done now, i'd just heard alot about the nexus one so didn't think it would be out performed by as much

but oh well, i probably won't really play games on it, i'm one of those annoying people who get off on how well their electrical appliances do things, e.g. play games like crysis... and the desire is winner by far when it comes to ui and speed, which i guess is the processors strong point

The increase in gaming i was referring to was from a Quake 2 test that they ran on a bunch of phones, and yeh the 2.2 upgrade almost double the marks the nexus one got in the quake test

 

[Shocky]

but oh well, i probably won't really play games on it, i'm one of those annoying people who get off on how well their electrical appliances do things, e.g. play games like crysis... and the desire is winner by far when it comes to ui and speed, which i guess is the processors strong point

Well the UI comes down to personal preference, I don't mind the sense interface but I do think it's hugely overrated. The UI in this case has little to do with speed of the menus or how fast an application starts, that's down to the file system, speed of the flash memory and CPU.

There are a number lag fixes which change the file system on the Galaxy S so it's lightning fast, once this is applied the Desire just can't touch it even with 2.2

Hopefully Samsung will include this fix in 2.2, but even if they don't it's easy enough to fix anyway.

 

[SupremeBeaver]

Im pretty much in the same boat as you codral. I've been thinking of whether to get the Desire or the Galaxy S. Im pretty big on gaming so i leaned with the Galaxy S, but some issues like the GPS are stopping me.

But HTC will be announcing the Desire HD this Wednesday so i'll wait and see if they bump up the GPU spec like they did with the T-Mobile G2 (Desire Z). If they upgrade the GPU to the Adreno 205 then i'll be all over that phone like flies on poop.

 

[Baldilocks]

I'm not much of a gamer, so the simple games I play really aren't really affected.

I'll gladly take the slower GPU of the HTC over the poor RF and GPS Performance and update schedule of Samsung, not to mention the lack of AT&T 3G GSM Motorola phones.

 

[Dan Fury]

If you like games, there shouldn't be any question which is the better phone for you, the Galaxy S beats the Desire in it's sleep, because the desire has bad multitouch, which is the most used control mechanism. It also has three times the graphical capabilities and eight times the space to install the games. There is not a single advantage for the Desire gaming wise.

 

[codral]

Ah, i've done a heap of reading tonight and it seems that the update schedules and samsungs lack of support (even the 2.2 OS knock backs and some of samsungs other models taking a hell of a long time to get updates) are a big problem on the galaxy... the desire is also consistently smoother with a better looking UI, and the galaxy has had problems with the gps and often has lag problems, which updates don't necessarily fix not to mention reception issues... galaxy is superior in hardware across the board really, but it's let down by software and for the things i need it for the desire is the better choice... Not to mention that desire is a hell of alot sexier.. So yeh looks like most of the hardware differences won't be noticeable unless you're gaming and the desire is a nice safe choice.

I haven't read anything about the multitouch being a problem and have seen it do quite nicely on a bunch of games but i'll take your word for it

 

[Baldilocks]

There were multi-touch problems on the original Nexus One, but I haven't heard of any on the Desire.

 

[SupremeBeaver]

There were multi-touch problems on the original Nexus One, but I haven't heard of any on the Desire.

the Desire has the same touch panel as the Nexus One. Unless you're a big gamer, you wouldnt notice the problem though.

 

[Shocky]

Ah, i've done a heap of reading tonight and it seems that the update schedules and samsungs lack of support (even the 2.2 OS knock backs and some of samsungs other models taking a hell of a long time to get updates)

It's beng released this month, Samsung have officially stated it will be released end of September you can already download beta versions of 2.2 which work, and the latest version of 2.2 for Galaxy S is even available with Kies with a reg edit.

 

[codral]

Yeh, i have heard that if you don't mind hacking and rooting your Galaxy S a bit it can become quite functional and the support isn't a really big problem but i won't be messing around with my phone for a long time... Took me almost 2 years before i started buggering around with my n95..

Have read that Samsung have in the past had alot of problems with new updates and whereas 2.2 is on the horizon for Galaxy S there's already 3.0 version beta's around which could be on desire by the end of the year...Desire is just better out of the box.. If i was into hacking and messing around i'd get a Galaxy and get a better phone.. Mind you they feel pretty crap too, held one last night, scared i was gonna break it

 

[codral]

The main problem really with asking questions on forums is that people generally have one or the other and not both.. So i've been reading reviews and pretty much everyone agree's the Galaxy S is better on paper and will be better once it gets 2.2 (and until the Desire gets another update) but the Desire is a better phone in practice.. It's proven too, in the nexus one

 

[Shocky]

The main problem really with asking questions on forums is that people generally have one or the other and not both.. So i've been reading reviews and pretty much everyone agree's the Galaxy S is better on paper and will be better once it gets 2.2 (and until the Desire gets another update) but the Desire is a better phone in practice.. It's proven too, in the nexus one

I know people like to defend their purchases but some of the stuff you guys come out with really does crack me up.

Review sites that rate Desire better than a Galaxy S are clueless, Galaxy S is in another league and time will show this.

Bottom line, if gaming is of any interest to you then you bought the wrong phone.

 

[Baldilocks]

Sure they are in two different classes. HTC = Regular updates and excellent quality. Samsung = Good luck!!

 

[Shocky]

Sure they are in two different classes. HTC = Regular updates and excellent quality. Samsung = Good luck!!

Given how many 2.2 beta firmwares are available already is clear they are getting close to an official release.
How about you let the September deadline pass first before making judgement.

Besides, no amount of software updates will ever allow the Desire to match the Galaxy S in games, or as a multimedia device.

 

[Baldilocks]

Having been around the cell phone game a LONG time, I am well aware of Samsung's practices. While it may receive an upgrade to 2.2, I doubt there will be any other 'bug' fixes. Samsung is more intent on numbers than in quality.

Most people don't really care about gaming on a phone. I care about a consistent UI and ease of use and a commitment from the manufacturer. HTC delivers. Samsung never has.

 

[Shocky]

Having been around the cell phone game a LONG time, I am well aware of Samsung's practices. While it may receive an upgrade to 2.2, I doubt there will be any other 'bug' fixes. Samsung is more intent on numbers than in quality.

Most people don't really care about gaming on a phone. I care about a consistent UI and ease of use and a commitment from the manufacturer. HTC delivers. Samsung never has.

Really, no bug fixes? you will be eating your words very soon.

 

[Baldilocks]

Most companies would push out bug fixes a lot sooner. It's been almost 4 months since the Galaxy S release without ANY software updates. Inexcusable.

 

[Shocky]

Most companies would push out bug fixes a lot sooner. It's been almost 4 months since the Galaxy S release without ANY software updates. Inexcusable.

Plenty of firmwares available, even the GPS seems to be working quite well in JM8 and it's more responsive, these are all internal builds which show they are very much working on the problems so I know fixes are coming.

But as I said, lets see what the 2.2 release brings later this month and we will continue this discussion.

 

[codral]

Ok so i've cancelled my phone order.. But i will not be getting a Galaxy S either.. Neither of them seems to really be far enough ahead of my n95 to justify a purchase... By new standards the Desire seems a bit outdated, hardware wise although everything else is appealing about it...and the Galaxy S looks and feels cheap, runs laggy and doesn't have enough upgrades but is as i said definitely better, hardware wise just doesn't have the whole package...

I'll wait for another phone to come out... IMO when i bought my n95 it was ahead of it's time and it still is in a way, the camera is better than or equal too most new phones (desire and galaxy included), it isn't laggy and hasn't been buggy, the speaker still sounds great, it has a barcode and PDF reader, GPS works well, has wifi and good net capabilities and software updates are always easy to get.

 

[Baldilocks]

Uhh, either one is light years ahead of the N95. LOL.