The Galaxy Note 3, like the Galaxy S4, comes in two variants – one powered by a quad-core Snapdragon processor and the other by Samsung's in-house octa-core Exynos. However, compared to the S4, the Galaxy Note 3 runs much faster versions of each processor (Snapdragon 800 vs. Snapdragon 600, and Exynos 5420 vs. Exynos 5410), but which of those is the better performer?
The folks over Gadget Portal took the time to compare both variants on video, and, at least in benchmark scores, the Snapdragon variant was just a few points ahead of the Exynos variant. Also, Gadget Portal notes that the Exynos variant consumes a larger amount of RAM in idle – around 1.6-1.8 GB, compared to 1.1-1.2 GB taken by the Snapdragon model. However, in actual usage, they note that both devices are “almost same in UI smoothness & speed,” though we'll naturally have to get more detailed comparisons to make a final verdict.
In the end, it doesn't exactly matter which model you buy – both will perform great and handle anything you throw at them, though those wanting to put on a stock Android ROM would want to go for the Snapdragon variant, as Qualcomm is better with releasing the necessary sources to make custom ROMs work. The Exynos variant also loses out on the 4k video recording feature, but let's face it, 4k video is not something that's going to be important for at least the next 3-5 years.
Take a look at the comparison video below.
