Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000: Which one is Better?

Qualcomm has separated the Snapdragon brand from Qualcomm and added some changes in their naming schemes. And as a result of that, Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 has been named the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. On the other hand, MediaTek has already revealed its flagship MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor. Both the chipsets scored more than 1 million points in the Antutu benchmark and set a new benchmark in the chipset world. In this post, we have compared both Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G chipset.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Dimensity 9000

CPU

Both the chipsets are manufactured on a 4nm process node. Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 packs a single Cortex-X2 core at 3.0GHz, three Cortex A710 cores at 2.50GHz, and four Cortex A510 cores at 1.80GHz. On the other hand, Dimensity 9000 features a single primary core based on ARM Cortex-X2 core at 3.05GHz along with three Cortex-A710 mid-performance cores at 2.85GHz and four Cortex-A510 efficient cores at 1.80GHz. Both SoCs will offer better performance and improved power efficiency.

However, we see that Dimensity 9000’s mid-performance core has a higher clocked speed (+350MHz) than 8 Gen 1’s mid-performance core. So, it looks like, in the CPU department, Dimensity 9000 chips can compete against Qualcomm’s best offering.

GPU

In terms of GPU, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 features next-gen Adreno GPU (730?), but the clock speed is unknown. It has Elite Gaming, Frame Motion Engine, 10-bit HDR gaming, volumetric rendering, etc features to enhance gaming performance.

On the other hand, Dimensity 9000 packs a Mali-G710MP10 GPU with a clock speed of 850MHz. Its GPU is packed with a new ray-tracing SDK that can enhance graphic visuals during gaming.

So, both SoCs are capable of delivering better GPU performance. However, thermal performance will decide the winner.

Benchmark

Talking about the Benchmarks, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 scores above 1 Million. It scores 1007396 in the Antutu benchmark. However, none of the smartphones has been launched with the chipset yet, and the real-world performance has not been tested yet. The score may vary from device to device.

Talking about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, it scores 1035020 in the Antutu benchmark. The scores are slightly better compared with the MediaTek Dimensity 9000. But again, the real-world performance of the chipset is yet to be revealed. The smartphones with both the chipsets are expected to be launched in Q1 2022.

In the AI Benchmark test, Dimensity 9000 scored 692.5K points. On the other hand, tipster Digital Chat Station said that Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will score around 560K. So, in the AI Benchmark platform, Mediatek’s flagship SoC Dimensity 9000 is the winner.

Specification Comparison Table

SoC	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Dimensity 9000
CPU	1x 3.0GHz (Cortex-X2) 3x 2.50GHz (Cortex A710) 4x 1.80GHz (Cortex A510)	1x 3.05GHz (Cortex-X2) 3x 2.85GHz (Cortex A710) 4x 1.80GHz (Cortex A510)
GPU	Next-gen Adreno GPU with Snapdragon Elite Gaming	Arm Mali-G710 MC10 with Ray Tracing
Process	4nm Samsung	4nm TSMC
ISP	18-Bit ISP with Snapdragon Sight	18-Bit HDR ISP
Camera Capability	3.2 Gigapixels per second, 240 12MP photos in one second	9 Gigapixels per second, 320MP camera support
Video Capability	8K HDR	4K HDR
AI	7th-gen AI Engine with 3rd Gen Sensing Hub	5th-gen AI processing unit (APU)
Modem	5G Modem-RF with up to 10 Gbps Peak Download	5G Modem with up to 7 Gbps Peak Download

Conclusion

The chipsets like Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ 5G chipset were more than enough for 90% of the users. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and MediaTek Dimensity 9000 just feel like overkill chipsets. It’s worth mentioning that both the chipsets’ primary core is based on Cortex X2, and the Cortex X1 on Snapdragon 888 already had some major heating issues. So, we are curious to check the heating control of the following chipsets.