Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in October 2023, and a month later, MediaTek announced the Dimensity 9300. Both are the top-of-the-line flagship smartphone chips of their respective brands.
We already have many smartphones powered by these flagship chips from big brands like Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo. They are usually found at the top of benchmarking platforms. But which one has more power, features, and efficiency? Let’s find out the answer.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: Specs
| SD 8 Gen 3 | Dimensity 9300 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release Date | October 2023 | November 2023 |
| Model Number | SM8650-AB | MT6989 |
| Process Node | 4nm TSMC | 4nm TSMC |
| CPU | 1 x Cortex-X4 @ 3.3 GHz 3 x Cortex-A720 @ 3.2 GHz 2 x Cortex-A720 @ 3 GHz 2 x Cortex-A520 @ 2.3 GHz | 1 x Cortex-X4 @ 3.25 GHz 3 x Cortex-X4 @ 2.85 GHz 4 x Cortex-A720 @ 2 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 750 Hardware-accelerated ray tracing Global illumination Snapdragon Game Super Resolution Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0 Game Post Processing Accelerator Snapdragon Shadow Denoiser | Arm Immortalis-G720 MC12 HyperEngine Adaptive Gaming Ray tracing support |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU | NPU 790 |
| Memory | Up to 24 GB LPDDR5X @ 4800 MHz | Up to 24 GB LPDDR5T @ 9600 MHz |
| Storage | UFS 4.0 | UFS 4.0 |
| Camera | 200MP single camera 108MP single camera with ZSL 64MP + 36MP dual cameras with ZSL Triple 36MP cameras with ZSL (*ZSL = Zero Shutter Lag) | 320MP single camera AI Semantic Analysis Video Engine |
| Video Recording | 8K @ 30fps HDR video 4K @ 120fps slow-motion | 8K @ 30fps, 4K @ 60fps |
| Display | 4K Ultra HD @ 60Hz, QHD+ @ 144Hz | 4K @ 120Hz, WQHD @ 180Hz |
| Video Playback | 8K @ 60fps | 8K @ 30fps |
| Modem | Snapdragon X75 5G modem Downlink: 10 Gbps Uplink: 3.5 Gbps | 5G modem Downlink: 7 Gbps |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.4 Wi-Fi 7 support NFC Galileo, Beidou, NavIC, GPS, GLONASS, QZSS | Bluetooth 5.4 Wi-Fi 7 support NFC Galileo, Beidou, NavIC, GPS, GLONASS, QZSS |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: Benchmarks
Companies have different software optimizations, creating differences in the benchmarking results. To minimize that, we have taken two smartphones from the same brand for this comparison — the Vivo X100 Pro (Dimensity 9300) and the Vivo X100 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3).
Geekbench 6
| Single Core | Dimensity 9300 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vivo X100 (D-9300) | 2214 | 7269 |
| Vivo X100 Pro (D-9300) | 2216 | 6994 |
| Vivo X100 Ultra (SD 8 Gen 3) | 2305 | 6786 |
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the Vivo X100 Ultra performs slightly better in the single-core test. However, the Dimensity 9300 inside the Vivo X100 Pro edges out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered X100 Ultra by a small margin in the multi-core test.
The Geekbench 6 CPU testing shows a close competition between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 chips. The differences in single-core and multi-core tests are so small that it can go either way with another manufacturer’s phone because of software optimizations.
Despite having four Cortex-X4 cores, MediaTek Dimensity 9300 doesn’t score big in the multi-core test compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It’s because only one Cortex-X4 is clocked above 3GHz, while the remaining three max out at 2.85GHz. Qualcomm, on the other hand, has offered higher clock speeds for all the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 cores.
AnTuTu 10
| Vivo X100 Ultra (SD 8 Gen 3) | Vivo X100 Pro (D-9300) | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 438384 | 470494 |
| GPU | 861400 | 777221 |
| Memory | 349223 | 378357 |
| UX | 342618 | 336000 |
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 have scored similar CPU points on AnTuTu 10, with the Dimensity chip leading by a small margin. However, the Snapdragon chip has a stronger GPU score.
The memory score on AuTuTu goes in favor of the Dimensity 9300 chip because of a higher frequency of 9600MHz (vs. 4800MHz in Snapdragon 8 Gen 3).
3D Mark WildLife
| Vivo X100 Ultra (SD 8 Gen 3) | Vivo X100 Pro (D-9300) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Life | 16921 | 16681 |
| Wild Life Extreme | 4859 | 4935 |
| Solar Bay | 8495 | 7991 |
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is ahead of the Dimensity 9300 in GPU testing on 3D Mark WidLife. The Vivo X100 Pro and Vivo X100 Ultra used in the testing aren’t really optimized for gaming, so the difference in results isn’t big.
However, when compared against the Red Magic 9 Pro (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), the Wild Life test shows a massive 26% advantage. But the Dimensity 9300 still beats the iPhone 13 Pro (A17 Pro) and Galaxy S23 Ultra (SD 8 Gen 2).
Although the Dimensity 9300 closely competes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in GPU tests, the latter should be preferred for gaming.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: CPU & GPU
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 features a 1+5+2 CPU layout consisting of one Cortex-X4 prime core, five Cortex-A720 performance cores, and two Cortex-A520 power-efficient cores. Comparing it with Qualcomm’s previous flagship chip, we’ve got one more performance core and one less power-efficient core.
Not just a new CPU layout, the new Snapdraon chip also brings improved CPU cores with increased clock speed.
MediaTek, on the other hand, has an aggressive approach with the Dimensity 9300 chip. It has four Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores. Interestingly, one Cortex-X4 core runs at above 3GHz (3.25GHz, to be precise) while the rest operates at 2.85GHz (max). The remaining four Cortex-A720 cores have a maximum clock speed of just 2GHz. So, the Dimensity 9300 has many performance cores, but they run at a lower clock speed.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has upgraded cores and improved clock speed, which sounds better than MediaTek’s aggressive approach with Dimensity 9300. But both chips look good on benchmarking platforms, as we have seen already.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip has an Adreno 750 GPU with features like hardware-accelerate ray tracing, global illumination, Game Super Resolution, game post processing accelerator, and Snapdragon shadow denoiser.
MediaTek has Immortalis-G720 MC12 inside the Dimenity 9300 for handling GPU tasks. Both are excellent GPUs for smartphones. However, Adreno has a better reputation for gaming performance, which is also reflected in the benchmarking results.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: Camera
Qualcomm says Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has the world’s smartest AI-powered camera. It features Spectra triple 18-bit ISPs with real-time semantic segmentation photo and video (up to 12 layers), Visual Analytics 4.0, and supports triple video capture from HDR image sensors with seamless switching between HDR modes.
The Snapdragon chip supports up to 200MP single camera, up to 108MP single camera with zero shutter lag, 64+36MP dual cameras with zero shutter lag, or 36+36+36MP triple cameras with zero shutter lag. It supports 8K HDR video recording at 30fps or 4K recording at 120fps. It also supports 720 slow-mo video recording at 960fps.
The MediaTek 9300 chip supports a higher camera resolution of 320MP, which is yet to be seen in any smartphone. It supports up to 8K video recording at 30fps or 4K at 60fps.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: Connectivity
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 features an X75 5G modem with up to 10Gbps (downlink) and 3.5Gbps (uplink). The chip supports all necessary connectivity features such as Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and positing systems (Galileo, Beidou, NavIC, GPS, GLONASS, QZSS).
The Dimensity 9300 chip also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and the same set of positing systems. It’s also equipped with MediaTek Xtra Range 2.0 technology, which improves the connection reach indoors by up to 4.5mm on a 5GHz connection. The integrated MediaTek 5G modem supports a 7Gbps downlink.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 9300: Which Is Better?
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 are compelling smartphone chips with flagship performance. Both chips have exceptional CPU performance. However, the Dimensity 9300 can be a little bit disappointing when it comes to sustaining a heavy GPU workload.
The Dimensity 9300 is still one of the best choices for a high-end smartphone. It checks most boxes. However, those focusing primarily on performance and gaming should go for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
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