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Galaxy Note 3 benchmarks leak ahead of release next week

Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 looked to be the company's most powerful phone yet when it was launched at IFA, and leaked benchmarks seem to confirm it.

Nick Hide Managing copy editor
Nick manages CNET's advice copy desk from Springfield, Virginia. He's worked at CNET since 2005.
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Nick Hide
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Look on my benchmarks, ye mighty, and despair! Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 looked to be the company's most powerful phone yet when it was launched at IFA, and leaked benchmarks seem to confirm it.

A Note 3 with the model name SM-N9002 -- a dual-SIM version of the massive-screened mobile -- was spotted on Chinese site MyDrivers showing the impressive result of 31,276 on an AnTuTu test, Phone Arena reports.

That's significantly higher than any current phone, according to AnTuTu's website, which lists the Chinese blower Xiami 2 as the most powerful around, at a mere 20,977. The highest ranking phone available in the UK is the Asus Padfone 2, on 20,190, perhaps unsurprisingly when it has to run a tablet too.

The Note 3's blistering performance may be to do with its blockbusting 3GB of RAM, the most we've seen in a mobile. Its engine is the muscular Snapdragon 800 chip, which is the powerhouse driving the impressive Sony Xperia Z1.

Sony's new flagship Android phone is the most formidable performer we've seen -- challenging some laptops on cross-platform benchmarks -- and it's not unreasonable to think the Note 3 will exceed it, especially with that extra 1GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Note 3 is out next week, 25 September, on a range of staggeringly expensive contracts or for around £600 SIM-free.

Whether benchmarks amount to a hill of beans is up to you -- if you're interested in having the most potent pocket rocket, you'll want some means of comparing the contenders. In practice there's very little on the Google Play Store that will make any of these quad-core athletes break a sweat.

It's worth mentioning, too, that Samsung recently had some explaining to do with the Galaxy S4's benchmark scores, when it came to light that its chips were overclocking themselves when they detected specific tests, including AnTuTu. In its defence, Samsung claimed overclocking happens for a variety of native features, such as full-screen browsing and the camera, so the benchmark was an accurate portrayal of real-world performance.

Are you guided by benchmarks? Or do other elements of reviews carry more weight when you're choosing your next gadget? Are you pumped for the Note 3? Note your comments down there, or head to our rigorously tested Facebook page.