Google did not divulge a ton of details surrounding its Pixel 10’s Tensor G5, but we later came to know that the chipset lacked hardware-accelerated ray tracing, indicating that the company’s newest flagships would not be the immediate choice if one of the activities carried on these devices would be gaming. Looking at the latest Fortnite gameplay, our hunch was right all along, as the online title suffers from severe performance drops and stutters that completely dismantle the experience. However, before we start pointing fingers at the Tensor G5, there are other factors to consider, which we have discussed below.
While thermal throttling is one reason for the Tensor G5’s horrendous performance when running Fortnite, the lack of driver updates could be another
A 44-second gameplay footage of Fortnite running on the Pixel 10 Pro XL was posted by TechDroider, and any intentions of daily driving this flagship for the purpose of running such titles would now be thrown out of the window because the clip below shows just how bad the smartphone performs. In less than a minute, there were a multitude of stutters, with some of them lasting for several milliseconds. These drops might not appear like much to the average user, but in a competitive environment, these can become the difference between victory and defeat, not to mention degrading the entire experience if you are a casual gamer.
What is even more surprising about the Tensor G5’s gaming performance is that the chipset is seemingly fabricated on TSMC’s newer third-generation 3nm process, meaning that it should deliver better efficiency to combat these taxing gaming sessions. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is also equipped with a vapor chamber, but from the look of things, even this addition was insufficient to offset the subpar gaming performance. Now, before we start blaming the Tensor G5, let us talk about something else that can determine what drives gaming performance; stable driver updates.
Like every other smartphone silicon, the Tensor G5 is paired with a graphics processor that requires routine updates to perform optimally. Even in a previous Geekbench 6 Vulkan benchmark, Google’s newest chipset’s GPU performed significantly worse than the Tensor G4, hinting that a software update was necessary to provide a clearer picture. Unfortunately, Google has not provided any time frame on when those driver updates will be issued, so assuming that Fortnite’s terrible performance is due to this, avoid any Pixel 10 purchase if you intend to use it for gaming.
News Source: TechDroider
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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