[Note 7 Questions & Answers] phame:
So here is my story...

I bought the Note 7 in Hong Kong (SMN-9300). Normally in HK all previous note / galaxy releases have always come with the Exynos chipset. So to my surprise when i picked up my brand new Note 7 on September 2nd, It had the SD 820. After reading hundreds of posts on here and other forums and seeing lots of users claim the Exynos was better I went and bought a Singapore Version SMN-930F which comes with an Exynos CPU. After 2 days of using both I can honestly say there is LITTLE to no difference in real life everyday use.

I had let my obsession get the best of me and shelled out the money to buy a second Note 7 just because everyone was saying "Get the exynos" "Its soooo much better". This is total B.S. Im holding both devices right now and I can promise you there is NO huge noticeable difference. Ive heard reports of lags on both the Exynos and Snapdragon version. But both devices which i have run smooth and fine. The battery life is almost identical, perhaps slightly better on the Exynos. But its hardly noticeable at all. I find that the SD has MUCH better GPU performance and does not run nearly as hot as the Exynos.

After obsessively benchmarking both, I've come to the conclusion that they are almost identical in most cases. The SD version always destroys the Exynos on the Antutu (Which is mostly to test GPU / Graphics). While the Exynos crushes the SD on geek Bench (More CPU geared). As for other tests like Basemark OSII, Vellamo PCMark etc they both score almost identically. To be honest I really don't think these benchmark results mean much and are not very relevant to the everyday user. Because despite the bench mark results, I find that the Exynos handles games / graphic intensive tasks just as well as the SnapDragon 820. And the SD runs as fast, and is just as responsive as the Exynos.

The moral of the story is don't over think things like i did! Save your $500 bucks and stick with the SD version. After using both devices for a few days i can tell you from HONEST experience there is no noticeable difference between the 2. They are both totally capable of runnings apps, web browsing, watching movies, playing games and things that most users need. If there was a HUGE difference between the 2 I would tell you go ahead and spend the $500. But in all honesty you will be disappointed when you shell out the $500 bucks and get the Exynos and notice there is little to no noticeable difference.

In you initial post, you stated that your SD version is laggy, and thats why you want to exchange to the Exynos version. But take a look at some of the SM-930F (Exynos) posts on XDA and you will see users facing the same problems with the Exynos version. From lagged typing / keyboards, Boot Loops, Screen issues to over all lagged performance. Yet as mentioned I have two Note 7's (SD & Exynos) and have not had any of the above mentioned problems on either. I suspect the problem could be related to the early produced models, Battery issues, or software issues. Have you tried to factory reset your note? Make sure it has the latest software update and try it then?

Also keep in mind both devices are still reasonably new. And with the whole exploding battery fiasco, Samsung probably has not had much time to focus on software updates. Im sure after the Battery / recall issues are resolved and the device has been on the market for a few months both versions will get several updates which will make them even better.

Hope this helps!