If you think that you are addicted to mobile games, you aren't alone. There are many consumers like you who like to game on the go from time to time for stress-busting or passing their time. If you are thinking to buy a better phone which can provide you a satisfying gaming performance, you should know the important things which improves gaming performance.
Well, there is no doubt that the CPU and GPU matter the most when it comes to gaming. I have tried to showcase the ideal SoC (processors) and GPUs for every popular screen resolution in a table below. Apart from that, for a satisfying gaming experience, other things like loudspeaker performance, screen quality, internal storage, RAM, thermal efficiency and battery life also play an important role.
| Screen Size [Pixels] | Ideal SoC [Processor] | Ideal GPU |
| 800 x 480, 854 x 480 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus, MediaTek MT6589, MediaTek MT6589T, Apple A5, Samsung Exynos 42xx | Adreno 225, Adreno 305, PowerVR SGX544 MP2, PowerVR SGX543 MP2 |
| 1280 x 720, 1280 x 768, 1280 x 800 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Nvidia Tegra 4i, Atom Z25x0, Apple A5X, Apple A6, Samsung Exynos 44xx | Adreno 305, Adreno 320, Geforce ULP x 60, PowerVR SGX544 MP2, PowerVR SGX543 MP3, PowerVR SGX543 MP4 |
| 1920 x 1080 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, Nvidia Tegra 4, MediaTek MT6795, Intel Atom Atom Z35x0, Apple A6X, Apple A7, Samsung Exynos 52xx, Samsung Exynos 542x | Adreno 320, Adreno 330, Geforce ULP x 72, PowerVR G6200, PowerVR G6430, PowerVR SGX554 MP4, ARM Mali-T6x4 MP4, ARM Mali-T628 MP6 |
| 2560 x 1440 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Nvidia Tegra K1, Samsung Exynos 543x | Adreno 420, Adreno 430, Kepler Cores x 192, ARM Mali-T760 MPx |
Well, here is a list of phones that are available in India in August 2014 that I think are ideal for gaming under their respective price points.
1. Best Gaming Phones Under Rs 10,000
- Asus Zenfone 4 (Price Rs 5,999) - This is the cheapest devices in the Asus Zenfone range of smartphone. It comes with a 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD display. The gaming is taken care by an Intel Atom 2520 processor, PowerVR SGX544 MP2 and 1GB of RAM. Enough games can be installed in 8GB of internal storage which can be further expanded using a microSD card slot.
- Nokia Lumia 525 (Price Rs 8,899) - This is the cheapest Windows Phone device in India with Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM. There's 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot. A 4-inch screen, attractive design and 1430 mAh battery is enough for good gaming experience.
- Asus Zenfone 5 (Price Rs 9,999) - The Asus Zenfone 5 comes with a large 5-inch screen with 720p HD resolution. It is powered by an Intel Atom Z2560 processor, PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU and 2GB of RAM. It comes with 8GB of internal storage space and a microSD card slot. There is also a 2110 mAH battery which can accommodate full day battery life with an hour of gaming.
2. Best Gaming Phones Under Rs 20,000
- Motorola Moto G (Price Rs 11,999) - It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Thanks to its sensitive touchscreen, great loudspeaker and long battery life, the Moto G is one of the best smartphone under its price range for gaming.
- Xiaomi Mi 3 (Price Rs 13,999) - The Mi 3 is the lowest priced smartphone powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage space. There is a 5 inch IPS LCD screen and a 3050 mAH battery, making it a great gaming smartphone on the cheap.
- HTC Desire 616 (Price Rs 16,599) - This is the first octal-core smartphone from HTC making it a decent device for gaming. It is powered by a MediaTek MT6592 processor, Mali-450 MP4 GPU, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage space.
- Alcatel Onetouch Idol X+ (Price Rs 16,999) - The Alcatel Onetouch Idol X+ is one of the best specced Android smartphone under Rs 20,000 price range. It is powered by a 2GHz octal-core MediaTek MT6592 processor, Mali-450MP4 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot.
3. Best Gaming Phones Under Rs 30,000
- HTC Desire 816 (Price Rs 23,000) - The HTC Desire 816 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, Adreno 305 GPU, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage space and a microSD card slot. Also, there's a large 5.5 inch SLCD2 screen and BoomSound front-facing stereo speakers, making the Desire 816 a great mid-range smartphone for gaming.
- Motorola Moto X (Price Rs 23,999) - Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage space, the Moto X is a very good smartphone for gaming. Apart from that, it comes with a bright and colourful Super AMOLED screen, long battery life and constant software updates.
- LG Nexus 5 (Price Rs 26,299) - The LG Nexus 5 is a good gaming device, thanks to its 5-inch IPS LCD screen, 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a 2200 mAH battery.
4. Best Gaming Phones Above Rs 30,000
- HTC One E8 (Price Rs 35,999) - A slightly stripped down version of HTC One M8 still packs in a 5-inch full HD SLCD3 screen, BoomSound 2 front-facing loudspeakers, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, making it as good gaming device.
- Sony Xperia Z2 (Price Rs 44,000) - A large 5.2-inch IPS LCD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage makes the Xperia Z2 a good gaming smartphone.
- HTC One M8 (Price Rs 44,999) -Thanks to its great 5-inch SLCD3 screen, BoomSound 2 front-facing stereo loudspeakers, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, the HTC One M8 provides one of the best gaming experience.
- Apple iPhone 5S 32GB (Price Rs 53,000) - There's no smartphone platform for gaming than the iOS. The Apple iPhone 5S 32GB gives you enough space for more than a couple of heavy gaming titles. It is powered by a 1.3GHz Apple A7 processor, brand new PowerVR G6430 GPU and 1GB of RAM.
