Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 8400 Ultra

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a flagship smartphone chipset announced in October 2023. It features a robust CPU with a maximum frequency of 3.3GHz and a powerful GPU that delivers smooth gaming performance.

The Dimensity 8400 Ultra isn’t without its advantages. It’s the first upper mid-range chipset to feature all big CPU cores for a performance boost. The GPU also performs well. Announced in December 2024, it boasts eight big CPU cores with up to 3.25GHz frequency. But how does this chip stack up against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3? We’ll examine benchmark results and key differences to find out.

[Note: The following benchmark tests were conducted on the OnePlus 12 (powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) and Poco X7 Pro (powered by Dimensity 8400 Ultra).]

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 8400 Ultra: AnTuTu, Geekbench Scores

AnTuTu Score

AnTuTu is a widely used benchmarking tool that measures a device’s overall performance, evaluating processing power, graphics rendering, multitasking efficiency, and system responsiveness.

The OnePlus 12, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, scored around 1.75 million on AnTuTu, while the Dimensity 8400 Ultra-powered Poco X7 Pro achieved 1.58 million points on the AnTuTu (v10) benchmark. That’s an 11% uplift for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

If you look at the breakdown below, the CPU score are almost equal. The key difference lies in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s GPU, which delivers a 33% better score. The memory performance is also slightly faster on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, whereas the UX score favors the Dimensity chip.

SD 8 Gen 3D-8400 Ultra
AnTuTu score1,753,3261,582,194
CPU370,873369,247
GPU750,494564,682
Memory350,215327,943
UX281,744320,322

Geekbench Score

Geekbench measures CPU performance, providing single-core and multi-core scores. The single-core score reflects performance when a single CPU core is active, while the multi-core score measures overall processing power.

According to Geekbench, both chipsets have similar multi-core performance. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 outperforms the Dimensity 8400 Ultra in single-core performance by 35%.

SD 8 Gen 3D-8400 Ultra
Single core2,1301,579
Multi core6,1756,238

Why does the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 lead in benchmarks? And beyond performance, what key differences should you know? Let’s break it down.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 8400 Ultra: Key Differences

CPU

While both chipsets have eight CPU cores, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a slightly higher peak frequency. Here’s how the CPU clusters look like:

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3:

  • 1 prime core (Cortex-X4 @ 3.3GHz)
  • 5 performance cores (3 x Cortex-A720 @ 3.15GHz, 2 x Cortex-A720 @ 2.96GHz)
  • 2 efficiency cores (2 x Cortex-A520 @ 2.27GHz)

Dimensity 8400 Ultra:

  • 8 performance cores (1 x Cortex-A725 @ 3.25GHz, 3 x Cortex-A725 @ 3GHz, 4 x Cortex-A725 @ 2.1GHz)

The 8 Gen 3 has a balanced mix of high-performance and efficiency cores, providing a good balance between performance and power efficiency. The Dimensity 8400 Ultra, despite featuring all big cores, achieves up to 44% reduction in peak power use over its predecessor.

The Snapdragon chip also has a 12MB L3 cache, while the Dimensity chip has a smaller 6MB L3 cache, resulting in an additional performance boost.

Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has a slightly better CPU configuration, though the Dimensity 8400 Ultra isn’t far behind, as seen in the AnTuTu scores.

GPU

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 features the Adreno 750 GPU, designed for high-end gaming. It supports real-time hardware ray tracing with global illuminationfor more accurate and realistic lighting effects, detailed shadows and reflections, and more realistic gameplay. It also offers Unreal Engine 5 support for advanced character rendering.

The Dimensity 8400 Ultra has the Mali-G720 MP7 GPU, which is less powerful than the Adreno 750 but still performs well. It can run games smoothly, though the lack of advanced gaming features makes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 the better choice for immersive gameplay.

Camera

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 supports up to 200MP single camera, lower than 300MP on the Dimensity 8400 Ultra. However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 supports 8K video recording, whereas the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is limited to 4K.

Additionally, the Snapdragon chip features real-time semantic segmentation for enhanced image details and AI-powered auto-focus, auto-exposure, and auto-white balance. Its ISP is more advanced than that of the Dimensity 8400 Ultra.

Connectivity

Both chipsets feature 5G modems, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 supports a 10Gbps peak download speed, compared to 5.17Gbps on the Dimensity chip. The Snapdragon chip has a 3.5Gbps peak upload speed, while MediaTek has not specified this detail.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also supports Wi-Fi 7, whereas the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is limited to Wi-Fi 6E. While the Snapdragon chip offers superior connectivity features, the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is still a good choice for most users.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Dimensity 8400 Ultra: Conclusion

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the clear winner. It boasts superior CPU, GPU, and connectivity features. The Dimensity 8400 Ultra, however, remains a strong option for mid-range devices. According to benchmarks, its CPU performance is nearly on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but the latter has a significant lead in GPU performance.

If you seek top-tier performance, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the best choice. However, for those looking for a more affordable yet capable alternative, the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is a great option.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones:

Dimensity 8400 Ultra phones:

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