This is the fastest device Ive ever had my hands on. That includes ios devices and my T2 Transformer. Even with ICS the UI isnt as fast as my note (read: smoothness...the pages and apps may transition or load faster sometimes on my transformer, but it isnt as buttery). And while the international note may have a faster SoC, the ATT note hasnt stuttered a single time nor has it dropped the frame rate below 30 fps in any game. And Ive played some demanding titles. Ive played dead space, idatank, zombie wonderland, and a whole host of other games. Plus, your getting LTE in exchange. Would i have preferred an exynos based SoC? yea. But not in exchange for LTE.
The bottom line: the note is blazing fast now, and will only get faster when ICS comes out this month. The real world performance differences are negligible, and not even worth mentioning. And battery life (which is good with the screen power management enabled) i havent had a single problem with the phone.