Allwinner A523 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Comparisons 13-06-2023

Comprehensive comparison data of Allwinner A523 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro, testing of graphics chips (GPU). A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table. From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel examination in software tests like PCMark, Vellamo, Quadrant, Neocore, GFXBench, 3DMark, Geekbench, PassMark, AnTuTu, and how good the SoCs are in games Call of Duty, Asphalt 9, Minecraft, GTA, Madout2, Fortnite, PUBG etc.
After reading the results of parallel tests and videos, you already be able to know which processors is better to buy A523 or Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
CPU Benchmark
Based on Antutu and Geekbench score

A523

12%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

10%

Battery life test
Power Consumption efficiency (how quickly the processor reduces the battery charge)

A523

53%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

54%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

A523

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Antutu v10, 9

Antutu benchmark separately tests the performance of the CPU, GPU, and memory speed

	A523	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Total score	167563	149901
CPU	46909	41975
GPU	63678	56961
MEM	26807	23984
UX	30170	26987

GeekBench 6, 5.2

This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	A523	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Single-Core	796	306
Multi-Core	3186	1349

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	A523	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Frequency	1800 MHz	2400 MHz
Cores	8	4
Bit	64	64
Lithography	22 nm	14 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	8x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55	4x2.4 GHz Kryo 280
Power consumption (TDP)	6 W	11 W
Memory type	LPDDR3, LPDDR4	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)
Max. Memory	DDR3/DDR3L/DDR4/LPDDR3/LPDDR4, 32-bit 4Gb	6 Gb
Memory Frequency	2x LPDDR4 up to 2400MHz, 1x LPDDR3 up to 933MHz	1866
Memory bandwidth	6	29.8
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	1 MB	64 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	3 MB
L3 cache	16 MB
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv8-A	ARMv8-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro is 25% better than A523 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that A523 has -4 more core than Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Mali-G57 MC1 2EE	Adreno 530
GPU Frequency	750 MHz	650 MHz
GFloPS	540	518.73
# of Cores	3
# of Shader Units		256
Display	2560 x 1600 pixels	3840 x 2160 pixels

The frequency of the GPU does not always directly indicate its performance. To fully evaluate all the capabilities of a graphics chip, you should take into account the number of Shader Units and Cores, as well as how many GFlops it has.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite Mobile	21.4	27.4
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	26.5	26.5
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	56.9	53.8
Call of Duty: Mobile	29.5	28.5
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	23.8	21.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	32.7	37.2
Real Racing 3	98.9	94.2
Sniper 3D	73.8	69.9
Need for Speed No Limits	79.9	64.6
Mortal Kombat X	73.7	78
CSR Racing 2	79.3	59.2

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the gadget and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Antutu v10, 9 and GeekBench 6, 5.2 becnmarks.

Cameras

Camera resolution	64 MP	28 MP
Dual Camera resolution	16 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)		Qualcomm Spectra
Video Encoding FPS	60	30
Video Encoding resolution	4K, 2K, FullHD	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD
Codec support	H.264, H.265/HEVC	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem		Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 LTE modem
Download speed	150 MBit/s.	600 MBit/s.
Upload speed	50 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Navigation	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Allwinner A523 is better: 26
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro is better: 14
Please note that you do not need to sightlessly trust the software comparison of the table. You can watch video from beginning to end of joint comparison and hear what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both SoCs think, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

A523 SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• Antutu v10
• 3DMark
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile

• A523 specs and review.

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro SoC - all data

• Devices lists
• Benchmarks
• PUBG mobile
• Fortnite Mobile
• GeekBench 6, 5 mobile
• 3DMark
• Antutu v10

• Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro specs and review.