HTC EVO 4G's graphics capped at 30FPS?
By Ross Miller 
posted June 10th 2010 9:57PM
posted June 10th 2010 9:57PM
Reports are flying in from across the internet -- and by that we mean the xda-developers and Google Code forums -- that the EVO 4G might have something of a framerate issue. It seems that the device is "locked in" at 30 frames per second both in 2D (Canvas) and 3D (openGL) modes, while anecdotally, a phone like the Hero hits 54fps on average and has "smoother scrolling" in the menus. This apparently is visible both with the standard Sense UI installed and with the Froyo preview build, although in the latter case the Nexus One bootup video is 60fps before halving upon reaching the home screen. So, wherein lies the culprit? For Google's part, Android framework engineer "Romain Guy" responded to one thread reasserting the platform team's "target was, is and will be 60fps." We can't imagine it's related to the hardware given the EVO's impressive specs. Some fingers, ergo, are being pointed towards firmware. This wouldn't be the first time HTC's handsets have come under scrutiny for troubling graphical performance -- 2008 was not the company's finest year in that department. Whatever the reason is, we just want a quick resolve -- after all, it's just not fair when our Hero-carrying buddies are scoring better benchmarks.
30 fps cap. Sucks for benchmarks, fine for real world use.
iPhone does not have this issue,
Could this just simply be a "VSYNC Enable" registry key set? What is the actual refresh rate of the physical LCD? if the LCD itself is only 30FPS, then disabling VSYNC to get faster FPS is just going to cause image tearing while scrolling. I don't get these gamer types that have an LCD that can only do 60hz, yet insist on disabling vsync to get their FPS up over 100 or something. When i see systems configured like that all i can see is the image tearing and is annoys the hell out of me.
@d0ug lol there's my windows mindset, likely a conf file under android, not a registry setting lol
@d0ug The display is 60hz. HTC is clearly capping all 2D and 3D graphics, seemingly in an effort to save battery life. Thing is, it affects games, UI, and has a negligible impact on battery life.
@Jdoc2 thanks for the info, i wasn't sure what the display's capabilities were. Though im guessing the limitation is still a setting in a config file somewhere, id highly doubt HTC custom wrote the driver to do that. Probably using the stock android snapdragon driver
I have a hard time believing this. My Evo feels extremely smooth and fast. And when I played raging thunder, the framerate looked much higher than 30.
@zsmorr Do a benchmark. fps2d in the marketplace. It clearly shows an average of 29 fps. Also, it doesn't change with different roms.
Imagine my surprise this morning to find one more negative headline about the EVO on engadget!. Shocking.....
@madcapjim
Actually, that's not Engadget looking for bad stuff to say about it. If you read the thread at xda-developers, some members purposefully spread the word in hopes that this gets some attention from HTC/Google/Sprint quickly. Engadget is a good place to get attention!
I see a lot of android nerds....."to the rescue"!!!! You talk smack about their androids and they flame...talk something good the new iphone and indeed again...flame. Find a excuse to either protect their EVOs or talk shit about the iPhone.
HTC has crippled phones before!
How short everyone's memory is.
Does anyone remember the HTC Kaiser phones (and its many variants, like the Tilt II).
Check out HTCClassAction.org for that fiasco.
I don't notice any lag anywhere. Maybe scrolling pages and app tray could look smoother, but I'm happy with my Evo, even with 3D games.
What I take from this: My Evo's gonna get even better!! Sweet.
Didn't notice looks good to me
I talked to an HTC representative and this is what she said My name is Sara and I will be assisting you today.
I understand that you have concerns about the EVO 4G with Sprint running 30 FPS. This is actually how the phone was designed to work. This was a decision made to enhance overall performance of the device, and also to enhance battery life. This may be further enhanced in a future update, but at this time I can neither confirm nor deny this.
can Google beef it up in future firmware updates ? ... along with the 720p 24fps recording ? ... it should be 30FPS on the recording ... it is too choppy right now.
Great review! I made a review of the iPhone 4, Evo, and BlackBerry Bold 9650 Review. @joevenuto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PbKL0GYJxI
Great review! I made a review of the iPhone 4, Evo, and BlackBerry Bold 9650 Review. @joevenuto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PbKL0GYJxI