Intel Atom x5-Z8500 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

Comparisons 11-03-2021

So, which processor or chip is better? Comprehensive data of benchmarks and speed tests Intel Atom x5-Z8500 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956, comparison of GPUs Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail) and Adreno 510.

This performance comparison includes two processors: Atom x5-Z8500 is quad-core (SoFIA) and Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 is gexa-core (ARM Cortex-A72). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A thorough analysis of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.

From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint benchmarking in special test applications like PCMark, Geekbench, Octane V2, PassMark, Mozilla Kraken, AnTuTu 8, 3DMark, Quadrant, Neocore, WebXPRT 3, GFXBench, Vellamo, and how good the chipsets are in games Real Racing 3, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Fortnite, PUBG, Sniper 3D, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty: Mobile, Minecraft Bedrock etc.

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which CPU is better to buy Atom x5-Z8500 or Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 and which chip is better for gaming: CSR Racing 2, Madout2, Need for Speed No Limits, Asphalt 9.

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

Atom x5-Z8500

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

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

Atom x5-Z8500

54%

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

25%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Atom x5-Z8500

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Atom x5-Z8500	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956
Total score	71836	86746
CPU	20114	24279
GPU	27295	32957
MEM	11495	13874
UX	12928	15623

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Atom x5-Z8500	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956
Single-Core	185	224
Multi-Core	836	1010

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Atom x5-Z8500	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956
Frequency	1440 MHz	1800 MHz
Cores	4	6
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x1.44-2.24 GHz SoFIA	2x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	5 W	6 W
Memory type	LPDDR3	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)
Max. Memory	8 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	1600	1866
Memory bandwidth	24	14
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	256 KB	256 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	1 MB
L3 cache	8 MB	1 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 650 MSM8956 is 19% better than Atom x5-Z8500 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Atom x5-Z8500 has 2 more core than Snapdragon 650 MSM8956. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail)	Adreno 510
GPU Frequency	600 MHz	600 MHz
GFloPS	115.2	176
# of Cores	16
# of Shader Units		128
Display	1920 x 1080 pixels	2560 x 1600 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
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	16.8	17.8
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	26.4	31.1
Call of Duty: Mobile	18.1	19.9
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	13.5	15.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	17.9	18.2
Real Racing 3	33	54.4
Sniper 3D	58.1	59.1
Need for Speed No Limits	31.7	56
Mortal Kombat X	30.4	45.1
CSR Racing 2	37	43.5

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	13 MP	21 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	FullHD	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD
Codec support	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem		Qualcomm Snapdragon X8 LTE modem
Download speed	21 MBit/s.	300 MBit/s.
Upload speed	6 MBit/s.	100 MBit/s.
Navigation		GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Atom x5-Z8500 is better: 7
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 is better: 28
You need to know that you should not blindly trust the software comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of parallel comparison and hear what people think who really appreciated the capabilities of both processors Atom x5-Z8500 and Snapdragon 650 MSM8956, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

Atom x5-Z8500 SoC - all data

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

• Atom x5-Z8500 specs and review.

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 specs and review.