Throttling and other Abnormalities
Due to the relatively strong heating, we examined if the performance is influenced by throttling. Right after the start this is not yet the case: As an experiment we conducted the 3D benchmarks at 7 °C in a refrigerator but were not able to ascertain any improvements.
When the device is used to the full for longer periods of time - depending on ambient temperature and application this takes only a few minutes - the power value start to decrease continuously. After almost 10 runs of the current 3DMark the initial score of 7,948 points dropped to 3,527 points, which is equivalent to a reduction of more than 50%. Admittedly the test conditions were with an ambient temperature of 25 °C not ideal, but a tablet has to be designed for these conditions as well. Subjectively speaking, we perceived the performance loss during games considerably less dramatic. This could be owed to the fact that a throttled Tegra 4 is still an extremely fast SoC.
However, the stability problems, which we encountered during our test with various applications, are unacceptable. The screen not only froze multiple times during 3D benchmarks, but also while browsing. The only possibility to reactivate the system was by rebooting it. We are in touch with Toshiba to sort out the cause of this behavior.
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