Just this week and we already have three new powerful processors that will appear inside some of the smartphones launching this year. They are the Snapdragon 870 5G processor from Qualcomm and the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 from MediaTek.
For this edition of Chip Battle, we are pitting the Snapdragon 870 5G against MediaTek’s Dimensity 1200 processor. Both chipsets are expected to be the SoC for phones that fall under the flagship killer category, so it makes sense to see how they compare against each other. The table below shows a spec-by-spec comparison:
| Processor | Snapdragon 870 5G | Dimensity 1200 |
|---|---|---|
| Node size | 7nm | 6nm |
| CPU | 1 x ARM Cortex-A77 at 3.2GHz 3 x ARM Cortex-A77 at 2.42GHz 4 x ARM Cortex-A55 at 1.8GHz | 1 x ARM Cortex-A78 at 3.0 GHz 3 x ARM Cortex-A78 at 2.6GHz 4 x ARM Cortex-A55 at 2.0GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 650 | ARM Mali-G77 MC9 (9 cores, Boosted) |
| ISP | Spectra 480 Supports up to 200MP Supports 4K video capture Supports 8K video capture | MediaTek Imagiq Camera (five-core) HDR-ISP Supports up to 200MP Supports 4K HDR video capture |
| AI Engine | Hexagon 698 (15 TOPS) | MediaTek APU 3.0 (six cores) |
| Max On-Device Display and Refresh Rate | QHD+ at 144Hz 4K at 60Hz | QHD+ at 90Hz FHD+ (2520 x 1080) at 168Hz |
| Modem | Snapdragon X55 Supports mmWave and sub-6GHz spectrums Multi-SIM features: Global 5G multi-SIM 5G Uplink Speed: Up to 3 Gbps 5G Downlink Speed: Up to 7.5 Gbps | Helio M70 Supports sub-6GHz Multi-SIM features: True Dual 5G SIM (5G SA + 5G SA) 5G Uplink Speed: Up to 2.5 Gbps 5G Downlink Speed: Up to 4.7 Gbps |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 GPS, GLONASS, NavIC, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 with LC3 encoding Dual Frequency GPS, GLONASS, NavIC, Galileo, Beidou, QZSS |
| Gaming | Snapdragon Elite Gaming Qualcomm Game Color Plus v2.0 Qualcomm Game Smoother True HDR game rendering 10-bit color depth 2020 color gamut Updateable GPU drivers | HyperEngine 3.0 Networking Engine 3.0 Rapid Response Engine 3.0 PQ Engine 3.0 (Ray Tracing in Mobile Games and AR) Resource Management Engine 3.0 |
Node Size
The Snapdragon 870 5G is a 7nm chipset just like its siblings – the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 865 Plus. MediaTek, on the other hand, has switched to the smaller 6nm process.
A smaller node is known to bring an increase in performance and power efficiency, and as you can see the Dimensity 1200 is the chipset with the smaller node size, so it wins this round.
CPU
The two chipsets have eight cores each and they use the same 1+3+4 arrangement but where they differ is in the cores themselves.
The Snapdragon 870 is practically an overclocked Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset, so you get the same cores but at a higher clock speed. It has a prime Cortex-A77 core that has the highest clock speed of a mobile CPU core at 3.2GHz. Its performance cores are also the same Cortex-A77 clocked at 2.42GHz while the efficiency cores are Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
The Dimensity 1200 has the more powerful Cortex-A78 cores as its prime core and performance cores. ARM says that the Cortex-A78 boasts a 20% increase in performance over the Cortex-A77. There are four Cortex-A78 cores inside the Dimensity 1200 which gives it a significant advantage over the Snapdragon 870 which has the older Cortex-A77 cores.
On top of that is the fact thatsave for the prime core, all of the cores of the Dimensity 1200 chipset including the A55 efficiency cores are clocked higher than those of the Snapdragon 870 5G.
At the moment, there are no benchmark results to back up the claim but the Dimensity 1200 should have the upper hand as it has the more powerful CPU cores and also has a smaller node size.
GPU
The Adreno 650 is the GPU inside the Snapdragon 870 5G, the same one inside the Snapdragon 865 duo. Qualcomm didn’t say that it has increased the clock speed for the Snapdragon 870 5G, so we will assume the GPU performance is unchanged from that of the Snapdragon 865 Plus.
The Dimensity 1200 has a Mali-G77 MC9 (9 cores) GPU. This is not ARM’s most powerful GPU, the Mali-G78, which is found inside the Kirin 9000, Exynos 2100, and Exynos 1080 chipsets. MediaTek says that the GPU has gotten a performance increase of 13% compared to that of the Dimensty 1000+.
The Adreno 650 is a powerful GPU and benchmark results have shown that the Snapdragon 865 has a better GPU score than the Dimensity 1000+ which has a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU too. However, since MediaTek claims that the GPU in the Dimensity 1200 boasts a 13% increase in performance over that of the Dimensity 1000+, then the GPU performance gap between the Snapdragon 870 5G and Dimensity 1200 should be smaller or even erased. We will have to wait for benchmark results and real device reviews to know which processor is better.
To know how the standard Mali-G77 MC9 performs, you should check out our review of the iQOO Z1 which has a Dimensity 1000+ processor.
One area where the Adreno 650 has the upper hand is in having support for updateable GPU drivers. MediaTek is yet to offer that feature for its own chipsets.
The Snapdragon 875 also supports QHD+ displays at a refresh rate of 144Hz and 4K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate. The Dimensity 1200 supports QHD+ displays at a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz which goes all the way up to 168Hz for 1080p screens.
EDITOR’S PICK: Qualcomm’s CPUs are about to get even more powerful as it plans to acquire NUVIA
ISP
The Spectra 480 ISP inside the Snapdragon 870 5G is known to be pretty impressive based on reviews and comparisons of phones powered by the Snapdragon 865/865 Plus. It has support for 200MP cameras, 8K video recording, and HEIF video capture.
MediaTek’s Imaqiq Camera HDR-ISP also has few tricks up its sleeve. The five-core ISP brings support for 200MP photos, staggered 4K HDR video recording that boasts a 40% greater dynamic range and real-time 3-exposure fusion. MediaTek also says that it has support for bokeh video, multi-person AI-segmentation, and AI-Panorama Night Shot. Night Shots are also now 20% faster. Unfortunately, there is still no support for 8K video recording
AI
The Hexagon 698 boasts 15 TOPS but MediaTek doesn’t say the value of its own APU 3.0 AI engine. However, AI Benchmark ranks the APU 3.0 AI engine inside the Dimensity 1000+ over the Hexagon 698 inside the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. Since these are the same AI Engines inside the Dimensity 1200 and Snapdragon 870 respectively, we will give this round to MediaTek.
Connectivity
The Snapdragon X55 has support for mmWave and sub 6GHz spectrums as well as SA and NSA networks. The modem also brings 5G multi-SIM support but according to Qualcomm’s explanation, it doesn’t seem to mean you can use 5G on both SIM slots at the same time.
Qualcomm’s modem also boasts faster downlink and uplink speeds. There is also Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and support for various positioning systems including GPS, NavIC, Beidou, and GLONASS.
The Helio M70 modem inside the Dimensity 1200 supports only sub-6GHz with 5G-CA (carrier aggregation) across TDD/FDD. It also supports true dual 5G SIM (5G SA + 5G SA), has a special Elevator Mode and 5G HSR mode that ensures a reliable 5G experience across networks. As shown in the table, the downlink and uplink speeds are slower than that of the Snapdragon 870.
The Dimensity 1200 also has support for Dual-band for GNSS, GPS, Beidou, Galileo, and QZSS. It also has support for NavIC. There is Wi-Fi 6 but no Wi-Fi 6E and its Bluetooth 5.2 has support for LC3 encoding.
Gaming
Gaming is another important area where these two chipsets show their strengths.
Qualcomm’s chipset has Snapdragon Elite Gaming which brings features such as Game Color Plus v2.0 and Game Smoother. It also has True HDR game rendering, 10-bit color depth, and desktop forward rendering.
MediaTek’s HyperEngine 3.0 Gaming Technology enhances connectivity, responsiveness, image quality, and power efficiency with features like 5G call and data concurrency, multi-touch boost, ultra-low latency true wireless stereo audio, high FPS power saving, and super hotspot power saving. However, the game-changing feature it has is support for Ray Tracing in mobile games and AR.
Conclusion
The Snapdragon 870 5G builds upon the success of the Snapdragon 865 Plus with an even more powerful CPU. Its GPU, though unchanged, will handle any game you throw at it. The Snapdragon X55 modem also offers blazing uplink and downlink speeds and its ISP is one of the best in its class.
The Dimensity 1200 is also a beast with its four Cortex-A78 cores, one of which has the highest clock speed in a processor. MediaTek says it has upped the GPU performance, and it has also added some very useful features to the ISP such as a faster night shot mode. Its modem brings true dual 5G SIM support and its game engine brings ray tracing to mobile games.
We expect any phone powered by either of these two chipsets to offer incredible performance at a much affordable price tag than more premium smartphones. If you want a flagship killer phone that doesn’t put a hole in your pocket, you should look for phones powered by these chipsets.
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