TeknologikL

When comparing smartphones-let's say a Samsung Galaxy SIII and the iPhone 5-most people probably Google "Galaxy SIII vs. iPhone 5". In most, if not all reviews the processor speeds are compared directly. Usually, the one with the most cores and highest clock speed wins the review for speed, or best processor. As a result, people think they're buying a faster device. This is simply not true.

We've all seen the ads for the latest laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets. It's as if they all follow the same template for specs: Processor speed, RAM, hard drive space, etc. It's what the general consumer has been trained to look for when comparing specs. We all want to get the best value from our purchases, so comparison is encouraged, but these specs are becoming less adequate as they hardly ever portray an accurate comparison between devices.

The performance of a processor depends on much more than the frequency alone, or by how many cores. Other factors such as pipeline stages, number of functional units, and cache design within a processor can hugely impact the speed. This video shows how an 867 MHz G4 processor is faster than a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4. It's an oldie, but it does a fantastic job explaining why you simply cannot go by processor speed alone. The age of the video should really show how ridiculous it is that the majority of advertisers and consumers still go by these numbers.

In fact, the specs and performance for a lot of these SOCs can vary by device depending on which carrier it's on, as noted in the chart to the left. A Javascript benchmark is not an end-all,

'wrap it up Samsung', official test. But it goes to show just how drastic the difference in speed can be for certain functions between phones with very different clock speeds. I would say browsing is an important function, nonetheless.

Are people still clutching to PC habits form the '90s?