MediaTek Helio A20 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917

Comparisons 11-03-2021

So, which processor or chip is better? Detailed compare data of benchmarks MediaTek Helio A20 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917, speed testing of GPUs Adreno 308 and PowerVR GE8300.

This performance comparison involves two processors: Helio A20 is quad-core (Cortex-A53) and Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 is quad-core (ARM Cortex-A53). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A thorough review of all the specifications, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.

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

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which processors is better to buy Helio A20 or Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 and which chip is better for gaming: Need for Speed No Limits, Madout2, CSR Racing 2, 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

Helio A20

Snapdragon 425 MSM8917

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

Helio A20

67%

Snapdragon 425 MSM8917

28%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Helio A20

Snapdragon 425 MSM8917

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Helio A20	Snapdragon 425 MSM8917
Total score	52293	37619
CPU	14643	10533
GPU	19877	14298
MEM	8365	6012
UX	9409	6771

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Helio A20	Snapdragon 425 MSM8917
Single-Core	135	99
Multi-Core	609	459

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Helio A20	Snapdragon 425 MSM8917
Frequency	1800 MHz	1400 MHz
Cores	4	4
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53	4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	7 W	4 W
Memory type	LPDDR3, LPDDR4x	LPDDR3
Max. Memory	LPDDR4(X) до 6GB, LPDDR3 до 4GB	2 Gb
Memory Frequency	2x LPDDR4(X) 1600MHz, 1x LPDDR3 933MHz	677
Memory bandwidth	6	6
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	32 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	2 MB
L3 cache	1 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 Helio A20 is 22% better than Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	PowerVR GE8300	Adreno 308
GPU Frequency	660 MHz	500 MHz
GFloPS	128.75	27
# of Cores	2
# of Shader Units		24
Display	1600 x 720 pixels	1280 x 800 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	16.9	11.4
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	43.1	30.3
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	29.4	19.4
Call of Duty: Mobile	25.2	16.9
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	36.3	25.7
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	54.1	38.7
Real Racing 3	51.5	34
Sniper 3D	38.2	42.7
Need for Speed No Limits	47	27.2
Mortal Kombat X	47	22.3
CSR Racing 2	35.3	21.3

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	16 MP	16 MP
Dual Camera resolution	13 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	FullHD	FullHD
Codec support	H.264	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem		Qualcomm Snapdragon X6 LTE modem
Download speed	150 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Upload speed	50 MBit/s.	50 MBit/s.
Navigation	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which MediaTek Helio A20 is better: 28
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 is better: 6
You need to know that you should not blindly trust the automatic comparison of the table. It is better to just watch the full benchmark video of joint comparison and listen to what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both SoCs think, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

Helio A20 SoC - all data

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

• Helio A20 specs and review.

Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 specs and review.