quad-core Tegra 4.0 1.9 GHz versus dual-core Intel Z2560 1.6GHz Dual Core

[Raswan]

Trying to decide between the Asus tf701t (399.00) and the Asus Memo Pad FHD 10 (259.00) for my wife. When it comes down to it, the cpu is going to be the deciding factor for me. This is going to last her 2-3 years, so I'd rather pay the extra $140 if that dual core is going to turn into a stuttering bottleneck mess. On the other hand, if the dual core can handle it, I'd rather save money. Yes, I realize in benches the tegra 4 crushes the intel. But does anyone have real-world experience with the z2560?

She won't be gaming at all. FB, email, web, video, etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[Rdmkr]

My experience with the 2.0 Ghz dual core version of the Intel Atom chip in a Lenovo K900 has been very negative. The performance was both disappointing by default and rendered highly inconsistent by the lack of x86 support among android apps. I would guess the 1.6 Ghz version is so bad as to be acutely grating during regular non-intensive use. The 2.0 Ghz version already was. I would avoid it.

 

[Mopetar]

Honestly, unless you want a 10" tablet, I think you'd be better off with a Nexus 7. Otherwise the Tegra 4 is a better bet, but at the price you have to pay for it, there are better options.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I'm not a fan of x86 processors unless it's running a Windows tablet. Clovertrail runs hot and is definitely much warmer feeling than any ARM based tablet I've used. Clovertrail+ may provide satisfactory performance (maybe), but the Tegra 4 is definitely going to provide noticeably faster performance.

Also there is the screens. The MemoPad is the budget brand for ASUS and it's going with a budget screen, reviewers mention the colors look faded. While they say the TF701 has one of the best looking screens they've seen on a tablet. The TF701 has a mostly aluminum build, 32GB base storage, and larger battery.

 

[Bateluer]

While they say the TF701 has one of the best looking screens they've seen on a tablet. The TF701 has a mostly aluminum build, 32GB base storage, and larger battery.

The 701 looks good on paper, but the OP may went to read up on the NAND performance. Fast CPU, nice screen, etc, all mean nothing if Asus cheaped out on the NAND speeds again. (TF101, TF201, TF300, and TF700.)

 

[dagamer34]

There isn't a single non-iPad tablet from 2-3 years ago worth using. Buy her a Nexus 7 (2013) and call it a day. There is no point in buying a "cheap" product if it's mostly useless due to it being too slow or it no longer gets updates.

 

[podspi]

Yeah, I honestly wouldn't go with either of those. Have you considered one of the 8" Windows tabs that are popping up? Cheap and will have much better performance.

Or, as everyone else is saying, the N7. Although I think I'd go for a Windows tab before the N7, the N7 is undoubtedly one of the best tablets on the market right now.

 

[khha4113]

The 701 looks good on paper, but the OP may went to read up on the NAND performance. Fast CPU, nice screen, etc, all mean nothing if Asus cheaped out on the NAND speeds again. (TF101, TF201, TF300, and TF700.)

I have TF701, and so far I'm very satisfied with it. It's fast, responsive and battery life is great. You're right about NAND speed on previous Asus pads since I also have TF101, and after a while it became sluggish. I hope it'd not happen again!

 

[s44]

Have you considered one of the 8" Windows tabs that are popping up? Cheap and will have much better performance.

This is the worst possible recommendation for the use case. And no, they're not faster than T4.

I think you should buy the FHD. It's fine for non-gaming use, and TRIM (4.3) + low-spec Android optimizations (4.4) should keep it ticking decently until you spend the money you saved on a new, even better device.

 

[Ravynmagi]

The 701 looks good on paper, but the OP may went to read up on the NAND performance. Fast CPU, nice screen, etc, all mean nothing if Asus cheaped out on the NAND speeds again. (TF101, TF201, TF300, and TF700.)

So far I haven't seen any complaints in the XDA forums about NAND or IO performance issues this time.

ASUS always has one big screw up with each new tablet model and this time it appears they saved it for the keyboard dock.

 

[s44]

ASUS always has one big screw up with each new tablet model and this time it appears they saved it for the keyboard dock.

Actually, it looks like they fixed that with the Nov. hardware revision. But the last-gen weight and lack of real multiwindow are, IMO, killers.

I wonder what price the wifi TabPRO 10" will hit.

 

[Raswan]

There isn't a single non-iPad tablet from 2-3 years ago worth using. Buy her a Nexus 7 (2013) and call it a day. There is no point in buying a "cheap" product if it's mostly useless due to it being too slow or it no longer gets updates.

Don't want a 7-inch tablet. And compare the 701 to any iPad, including the most recent iteration, and it holds up spec-wise.

 

[Raswan]

Yeah, I honestly wouldn't go with either of those. Have you considered one of the 8" Windows tabs that are popping up? Cheap and will have much better performance.

Or, as everyone else is saying, the N7. Although I think I'd go for a Windows tab before the N7, the N7 is undoubtedly one of the best tablets on the market right now.

No argument here at all. If I wanted a 7-inch, the Nexus 7 would be a no-brainer. I thought about a Windows tablet, but 8 inches is, again, too small, and even if the build quality is fantastic I don't want to buy into that ecosystem when everything else we've got going on (phones, my tablet, etc.) is android.

 

[Raswan]

This is the worst possible recommendation for the use case. And no, they're not faster than T4.

I think you should buy the FHD. It's fine for non-gaming use, and TRIM (4.3) + low-spec Android optimizations (4.4) should keep it ticking decently until you spend the money you saved on a new, even better device.

Thanks for the vote. I'll take it under consideration.

 

[Raswan]

Actually, it looks like they fixed that with the Nov. hardware revision. But the last-gen weight and lack of real multiwindow are, IMO, killers.

I wonder what price the wifi TabPRO 10" will hit.

Yeah, I saw this when I first started looking for a decent 10-inch in October and realized they had run into one big clusterfuck with that dock. But it looks like it's all starting to get worked out. Asus has been in there from the beginning, and in my opinion has always done quality work.

 

[Raswan]

The 701 looks good on paper, but the OP may went to read up on the NAND performance. Fast CPU, nice screen, etc, all mean nothing if Asus cheaped out on the NAND speeds again. (TF101, TF201, TF300, and TF700.)

Don't know enough about memory speeds to know if this is going to be an issue, but if you think they are putting stuff in there that is going to cripple performance, I'm happy to read up on it. To be honest, I can't find anything that lists RAM speeds for that model, but I would have thought we'd hear if they were putting super slow stuff in with the Tegra 4. And RAM is dirt cheap anyway--why would they skimp?

 

[Raswan]

I have TF701, and so far I'm very satisfied with it. It's fast, responsive and battery life is great. You're right about NAND speed on previous Asus pads since I also have TF101, and after a while it became sluggish. I hope it'd not happen again!

Thanks for the feedback! I'm leaning towards the 701. And I can appreciate your experience with slow-down. The nice thing is she doesn't buy a shitload worth of apps or anything, so if I were to flash it back to factory settings we'd lose maybe 20$ worth of stuff. And am I correct in assuming that that would fix this issue you are mentionign?

 

[podspi]

This is the worst possible recommendation for the use case. And no, they're not faster than T4.

I think you should buy the FHD. It's fine for non-gaming use, and TRIM (4.3) + low-spec Android optimizations (4.4) should keep it ticking decently until you spend the money you saved on a new, even better device.

That's true, sorry OP. Windows running on QC Baytrail just isn't flexible and powerful enough for Facebook, e-mail, and watching videos.

And God help you if you try to watch something flash-based, it'll actually work D:

 

[bearxor]

That's true, sorry OP. Windows running on QC Baytrail just isn't flexible and powerful enough for Facebook, e-mail, and watching videos.

And God help you if you try to watch something flash-based, it'll actually work D:

Oh my god. Can you imagine the horror when someone goes to a website that has Flash and it actually works? I think they'd throw down the tab in disgust.

In before someone comes along with "Well, I can sideload Flash on my super-rooted Galaxy Tab 2 running an AOSP-based ROM with only the best Touchwiz additions hacked in!!!!"

 

[poofyhairguy]

In before someone comes along with "Well, I can sideload Flash on my super-rooted Galaxy Tab 2 running an AOSP-based ROM with only the best Touchwiz additions hacked in!!!!"

Actually that would be a Touchwiz ROM themed to look like AOSP. But close enough.

 

[s44]

Windows running on QC Baytrail just isn't flexible and powerful enough

Missing the point, of course. "Flexibility and power" is in fact the problem. So is giving up screen quality for a desktop experience the OP absolutely doesn't want.

 

[Raswan]

Missing the point, of course. "Flexibility and power" is in fact the problem. So is giving up screen quality for a desktop experience the OP absolutely doesn't want.

Yeah, this. If I were getting a keyboard dock to replace her venerable laptop for productivity, the MemoPad (and android in general, probably) wouldn't even be on the radar.

On an interesting side note, as I've been slowly collecting a stack of cash for this gift over the last six months (myself and from her friends and family for xmas, etc.) I've just had the lovely experience of going into walgreens and buying a four hundred dollar gift card and paying cash for it. Be a nice way to launder money, if I was ever ambitious enough to do it.

Come to think of it, I should just get paid in Amazon scrip from now on. Not like they aren't already getting the lion's share of my income...

 

[bearxor]

Actually that would be a Touchwiz ROM themed to look like AOSP. But close enough.

When I was first writing that, I made it sound really ridiculous. I was using Galaxy S10 with Android 8 Parfait, blah, blah, blah and just kept revising it over and over until it finally didn't sound sarcastic at all.

 

[s44]

Btw, Groupon has the refurb Note 10.1 (2014) for $390 (+$30 if you want 32gb). Shipping free, but you pay tax. This is the best Android tablet you can buy... at least until the 12" version appears.
link

 

[Bateluer]

Don't know enough about memory speeds to know if this is going to be an issue, but if you think they are putting stuff in there that is going to cripple performance, I'm happy to read up on it. To be honest, I can't find anything that lists RAM speeds for that model, but I would have thought we'd hear if they were putting super slow stuff in with the Tegra 4. And RAM is dirt cheap anyway--why would they skimp?

Not memory/RAM, the NAND. Internal, nonvolatile storage. Its usually not a spec anyone publishes, none of the manufacturers do. Its up to reviewers to test it.

From the original N7 2012 review.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6073/the-google-nexus-7-review/6


I'd also avoid any Windows tablets. The OS is atrociously bad, the app store is virtually non-existent.

I was pointed away from Clovertrail tablets when I asked about them a week or so back as well. Ended up going for the LG GPad, but I don't expect it to last 2-3 years. The technology and software in these devices is evolving too fast to realistically expect it to be a viable device 3 years from now. But, you'd still be looking at the flagship products from different vendors right now, regardless. Note 10.1 2014, TF701T, possibly the upcoming TabPro/NotePro Samsungs, etc.