Benchmarking Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML with Intel Atom Z3580 SoC and 4GB of RAM

We got our hands on a retail unit of the range-topping version of Asus ZenFone 2 with 4GB of RAM, so we decided to put it through our set of benchmark tests. The smartphone packs a beefier chipset, which aims to compete with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 family.

Asus ZenFone 2 with 4GB of RAM packs an Intel Atom Z3580 SoC with 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU, coupled with PowerVR G6430 GPU. For comparison, Asus ZenFone 2 with 2GB of RAM features Intel Atom Z3560 with 1.8GHz quad-core CPU.

Price-wise, the 4GB ZenFone 2 sits closely to the hordes of Qualcomm Snapdragon 615-equipped mid-rangers. However, the device’s chipset performance puts it in the same league as many flagship devices. Therefore, we’ve lined up an eclectic mix of smartphones for our benchmark comparison.

Geekbench 3 is a benchmark that focuses on raw CPU performance. On this instance, the 4GB ZenFone 2 did considerably better than its 2GB, relative, but still couldn’t quite match the oomph of its high-end octa-core rivals.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  5215
• Meizu m1 note
  3988
• HTC One M9
  3761
• LG G Flex2
  3604
• LG G4
  3509
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  3386
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  2923
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  2922
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2860
• OnePlus One
  2663
• Oppo R7
  2620
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  2451
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  2423
• LG G3
  2370
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2336
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  1468

Antutu 5 adds RAM and storage speed into the mix and is an indication of the overall performance of the device. We found the 4GB ZenFone 2 rubbing shoulders with many of today’s heavy hitters in the Android real. Similarly priced mid-range rivals on the other hand, didn’t even come close to its result.

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  69396
• HTC One M9
  51427
• LG G4
  49295
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  48489
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  48361
• LG G Flex2
  47680
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  45530
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  42301
• LG G3
  42038
• Sony Xperia Z3
  40393
• Meizu m1 note
  39224
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  34491
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  29907
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  21562

The trend continues with the Basemark OS II benchmark. Once again the high-end Asus ZenFone 2 posted a stellar score. As expected, its single and multi-core results came out considerably better than those displayed by the 2GB version.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  1769
• LG G Flex2
  1601
• HTC One M9
  1526
• LG G3
  1327
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  1267
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  1202
• OnePlus One
  1196
• Sony Xperia Z3
  1109
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  1094
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  922
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  843
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  814
• Meizu m1 note
  715
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  600

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  3497
• LG G Flex2
  2528
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  2426
• HTC One M9
  2401
• LG G3
  2267
• OnePlus One
  2213
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2114
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  1891
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  1853
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  1819
• Meizu m1 note
  1754
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  1651
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  1514
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  1462

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  16986
• Meizu m1 note
  12848
• OnePlus One
  10234
• HTC One M9
  10128
• LG G3
  9975
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  9827
• LG G Flex2
  9758
• Sony Xperia Z3
  8792
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  7749
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  7399
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  7002
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  6467
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  6172
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  5600

GFXBench puts the device’s GPU to the test. The PowerVR G6430 of the ZenFone 2 beat the scores of last year’s Adreno 330, but could’t quite match the output of the Adreno 430 found in today’s Snapdragon 810-equipped devices.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  59
• HTC One M9
  49
• LG G Flex2
  49
• LG G4
  34.5
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  30
• OnePlus One
  28.3
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  28
• Sony Xperia Z3
  27.7
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  27
• LG G3
  26
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  26
• Meizu m1 note
  15
• Oppo R7
  15
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  14.2
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  14
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  5.3

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One M9
  50
• LG G Flex2
  48
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  38
• OnePlus One
  30
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  30
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  30
• Sony Xperia Z3
  29.3
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  27
• LG G4
  24.7
• LG G3
  20
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  17
• Meizu m1 note
  16
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  15.1
• Oppo R7
  14.8
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  14
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  9.6

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  24
• HTC One M9
  23
• LG G Flex2
  22
• LG G4
  14.9
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  13
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  13
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  13
• OnePlus One
  12.1
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  12
• LG G3
  11
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  6.2
• Meizu m1 note
  5.8
• Oppo R7
  5.7
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  1.8

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One M9
  24
• LG G Flex2
  22
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  14
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  13
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  13
• OnePlus One
  12.9
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12.7
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  12
• LG G4
  9.4
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  7.8
• LG G3
  7.7
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  6.2
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  6
• Oppo R7
  5.9
• Meizu m1 note
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  3.9

Basemark X paints a similar picture. Once again the 4GB ZenFone 2 came up with a respectable score that’s worthy of a high-end smartphone.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  27169
• HTC One M9
  19848
• LG G Flex2
  19360
• LG G4
  15090
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  13414
• OnePlus One
  13129
• Sony Xperia Z3
  12637
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  12565
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  12257
• LG G3
  10580
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  9111
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  4953
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  4875
• Meizu m1 note
  4617
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  1915

Web browser performance turned out quite good as well. The range-topping ZenFone 2 handily beat its cheaper relative, as well as a number of considerably more expensive rivals.

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• LG G4
  4085
• Samsung Galaxy S6
  4154
• LG G Flex2
  4621
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  5057
• HTC One M9
  5500
• Sony Xperia Z3
  6355
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  6360
• OnePlus One
  7008
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  7023
• LG G3
  7632
• Meizu MX4 Pro
  10193
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  11439
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  13462
• Meizu m1 note
  15055
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  18124

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S6
  2718
• LG G Flex2
  2086
• LG G4
  1990
• Asus ZenFone 2 (4GB of RAM)
  1853
• HTC One M9
  1681
• Sony Xperia Z3
  1533
• Asus Zenfone 2 (2GB of RAM)
  1486
• HTC One (M8) Lollipop
  1460
• LG G3
  1453
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  1396
• Samsung Galaxy E7
  1344
• Alcatel Idol 3 (5.5)
  1343
• OnePlus One
  1339
• Meizu m1 note
  536

Overall, the Asus ZenFone 2 delivered mostly impressive performance across the board, leaving many flagship devices behind it on more than one occasion. Considering its $300 price tag unlocked in the United States, we reckon that you will be hard-pressed to find more hardware oomph for the money.

Check out our full review of the Asus ZenFone 2 to find out everything else about the smartphone.