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Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the benchmark: Qualcomm takes the GPU crown

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The first smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be presented later this year. The system on a chip offers improvements in numerous areas such as AI performance, camera, gaming or connectivity. ComputerBase has carried out the first benchmarks for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the classic CPU and GPU disciplines.

Table of contents

  1. Benchmarks on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 QRD
  2. New 1+4+3 CPU with two 32-bit cores
    1. Single-core performance remains Apple's passion
  3. Faster GPU without ray tracing benchmark
    1. Adreno makes a big leap forward
    2. Qualcomm has the fastest smartphone GPU
    3. More performance thanks to new accelerators
  4. Conclusion< /li>

A smartphone processor is now much more than the interaction of CPU, GPU and RAM. It is not without reason that Qualcomm has been talking about a platform instead of a processor for some time. What distinguishes the current Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in detail is explained in the article on the presentation last week. Among other things, Qualcomm has further improved the AI ​​performance, revised the image processor (ISP) again and expanded it with a cognitive part in the DSP, updated the modem and introduced Wi-Fi 7 for the platform.

In the classic areas of CPU and GPU, there is a switch to the current cores from ARM and a new Adreno graphics unit developed in-house, which supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing for the first time. With this feature, Qualcomm ranks behind companies such as Imagination Technologies, Samsung, AMD and Arm.

Benchmarks on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 QRD

Benchmarks of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 represent only a fraction of the performance of the platform and focus on the CPU and GPU in this article. For the Snapdragon Tech Summit, the company provided so-called QRD, i.e. “Qualcomm Reference Designs”, for benchmarks. In terms of form factor, they are almost equivalent to smartphones suitable for everyday use, but are not for sale to end customers and are only used for internal tests and for partners.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 QRD

New 1+4+3 CPU with two 32-bit cores

The CPU of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 largely relies on the new IP from Arm, but not exclusively, since Qualcomm still wanted to keep two 32-bit-capable performance cores and did not want to completely outsource these apps to the smallest cores. In detail, the Cortex-X3 with 3.187 GHz, two Cortex-A715 with 2.8 GHz, two Cortex-A710 (32-bit capable) with 2.8 GHz and three Cortex-A510 Refresh with 2.0 GHz are used . In addition to the new cores, there are now four instead of three performance and only three instead of four efficiency cores. As a result of this compilation, Qualcomm states up to 35 percent more performance with up to 40 percent less energy consumption.

Single-core performance remains Apple's Hobbyhorse

Pure single-core performance is still not Arm's or Qualcomm's flagship discipline. In Geekbench, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with Cortex-X3 has an advantage of 18 percent over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 12 percent over the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 7 percent over the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+. The editors have not yet been able to test the new Dimensity 9200.

Apple leads the field with the A16 Bionic, which performs 26 percent better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. A15 Bionic and A14 Bionic follow, with a lead of 8 percent in the worst case. The Cortex-X3 only beats the A13 Bionic from the iPhone 11 Pro Max from 2019, which, however, had already been overtaken by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Dimensity 9000+. Larger leaps in single-core performance can only be expected from Qualcomm with the custom design based on the Nuvia takeover, which is set to celebrate its premiere next year as Oryon for notebooks.

Charts

57 Entries Geekbench 5.1 – Single-Core Total

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Single-Core Crypto

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Single-Core Integer

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Single-Core Floating Point

Unit: Points 57 Entries Geekbench 5.1 – Multi-Core Total

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Multi-Core Crypto

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Multi-Core Integer

Unit: Points 57 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Multi-Core Floating Point

Unit: Points 47 entries Geekbench 5.1 – Compute Vulkan

Unit: points 23 entries PCMark Work 3.0

unit: points 6 entries JetStream 2.1

Unit: points

Due to the structure with a total of more performance cores than Apple and the now one core more, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 pushes past all the competition in the Geekbench multi-core test, with the exception of the A16 Bionic. Depending on the selected comparison device, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is beaten by a minimum of 23 percent, while the Dimensity 9000+ is still beaten by 12 percent. With its almost spartan 2+4 design, Apple's A16 Bionic is still 6 percent ahead of Qualcomm's mighty 1+4+3 structure.

Faster GPU without ray tracing benchmark

A big addition to the Adreno GPU in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is hardware ray tracing support. While the first games have already been promised, the corresponding benchmarks are still poor, so that no statement can yet be made about the performance of ray tracing. Basemark has announced GPUScore: Relic of Life, a multi-platform ray tracing benchmark, but the Android and iOS versions are not yet available.

Adreno takes a big leap forward

Where in-house developments such as the Adreno GPU are used, Qualcomm makes bigger leaps forward than, for example, with the CPU purchased from Arm and only minimally adapted. The manufacturer gives the plus of up to 30 percent for Vulkan and up to 25 percent across all APIs, which is smaller than for the CPU, but more of it actually comes into play with the graphics unit. In addition, the previous Adreno GPU was already very strong, so the increase in performance is based on a much higher foundation.

Qualcomm has the fastest smartphone GPU

In the GFXBench, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 puts itself ahead of all competitors across the board, beats the A16 Bionic from the iPhone 14 Pro Max (test) in the Aztec Ruins 1440p test with a full plus of 23 percent and comes into this area for the first time above 60 FPS. The advantage is almost the same in 1080p with reduced details. The older OpenGL ES is no longer a priority for Qualcomm, but there are clear gains there too. In the Car Chase and Manhattan benchmarks, Qualcomm also comes in ahead of Apple, its older chips, MediaTek and Samsung with the AMD GPU.

GFXBench Offscreen

76 entries GFXBench Offscreen – Aztec Ruins 1440p (High) (Metal/Vulkan)

Unit: frames per second (FPS) 76 entries GFXBench Offscreen – Aztec Ruins 1080p (Normal) (Metal/Vulkan )

Unit: frames per second (FPS) 99 entries GFXBench Offscreen – Car Chase 1080p (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)

Unit: frames per second (FPS) 99 entries GFXBench Offscreen – Manhattan 1080p (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)

Unit: frames per second (FPS) 95 entries GFXBench Offscreen – Manhattan 1080p (OpenGL ES 3.0)

Unit: Images per second (FPS)

Qualcomm's GPU dominance continues in 3DMark, which also relies on Vulkan and OpenGL ES. A whopping 35 percent up over the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and nearly 50 percent over the original Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 delivers in the lavish Wild Life Extreme, where Apple's current GPU lands 20 percent behind Qualcomm. The Dimensity 9000+ with Arm Mali-G710 MC10 is 29 percent behind the new leader.

Dominates even with reduced resolution and fewer details in the normal Wild Life benchmark Qualcomm the field. However, the lead over Apple is only 14 percent, for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 it is 27 percent and for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 it is a whopping 37 percent.

3DMark Unlimited

23 entries 3DMark Unlimited – Wild Life Extreme (Metal/Vulkan)

Unit: Points 41 Entries 3DMark Unlimited – Wild Life (Metal/Vulkan)

Unit: Points 98 entries 3DMark Unlimited – Sling Shot Extreme (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)

Unit: Points 95 entries 3DMark Unlimited – Sling Shot (OpenGL ES 3.0)

Unit: Points

There is no comparison to Apple in the Sling Shot tests because these benchmarks no longer run on iOS. Qualcomm overtakes itself with a gap of 26 percent in OpenGL ES 3.1 and 30 percent in OpenGL ES 3.0. The current implementation of Arm's Mali GPU in the Dimensity 9000+ is also easily kept in check.

More performance also thanks to the new accelerator

While Arm always explains the technical changes in the CPU cores in detail so that the gains can be understood, Qualcomm keeps quiet about statements about the GPU. When ComputerBase asked what had changed in terms of architecture, size and clock in the Adreno GPU compared to the previous year, there was only an indication that there had been adjustments in all areas. However, the IP was newly developed for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and not an evolution of the Adreno 730 from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The manufacturer also explains gains via the GPPA (“Game Post-Processing Accelerator”), the dedicated accelerator for effects such as Bloom, Depth of Field and Motion-Blur.

Conclusion

The first conclusion about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is positive, based purely on the performance determined in classic benchmarks, especially when considering the big leap in the graphics unit area. Qualcomm always shines when in-house developments are used. The CPU therefore only gets a thumbs up as part of the optimizations on the part of Arm, but the competition from Apple is still several generations ahead. In the Android environment, all competitors cook with the same ingredients, so only slightly different results can be expected. Qualcomm will only be able to show more again with the Oryon Custom CPU.

If the promise made by the CEO comes true, that the new CPU will set the standard for performance and efficiency, Qualcomm will have a powerful SoC for smartphones in about two years. Next year, Oryon will initially be used on the compute platforms for notebooks. For smartphones, however, the project is dragging on, and with the lawsuit by Arm, a sword of Damocles is hanging over Qualcomm and the competition isn't sleeping either. What was promised as a benchmark last year has to prove itself several times against new products from the competition before the corresponding products are actually available.

ComputerBase has information on received this article from Qualcomm in advance and during a manufacturer event in Maui, Hawaii under NDA. Travel, departure and hotel expenses were borne by Qualcomm. There was no influence on the part of the manufacturer or an obligation to report. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication date.

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