iPhone 3GS blows away iPhone 3G in 3D

How fast the iPhone 3GS’s 3D graphics capabilities? Based on Daniel Pasco’s some OpenGL ES speed tryout results for plasma on iPhone 3GS and an iPod touch, soon after John Casasanta, posted a few comparisons in 3D capabilities on iPhone 3G and 3GS. The conclusion is: The 3GS is close to four times faster than the 3G!

As the video shows, in our OpenGL ES checking, the 3GS is generally close to four times faster than the 3G. Results will vary depending on the application but that is remarkable to say the least.

plasma’s pretty heavy on particle animation and fairly CPU intensive. The current build only

uses features of OpenGL ES 1.1 and we’re considering taking advantage of some OpenGL ES 2.0 features for a richer experience on the iPhone 3GS.

As Daniel noted in his exposition, the graphics processing unit (GPU) in the 3GS is a PowerVR SGX, which seems to offer a very significant advantage by the PowerVR MBX Lite found in previous iPhone/iPod touch hardware. The GPU is likely where we’re gaining much of the improved performance in plasma. Increased RAM and cache sizes are plus likely accounting for some of the better performance.

iPhone 3GS vs iPhone 3G 3D graphics test from IntoMobile on Vimeo.

[via TapTapTap blog]