MediaTek Helio A25 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Comparisons 11-03-2021

Well, which processor or chip is better? Detailed compare data of benchmarks MediaTek Helio A25 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro, speed examination of GPUs Adreno 530 and PowerVR GE8320.

This performance comparison includes two processors: Helio A25 is octa-core (Cortex-A53) and Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro is quad-core (Kryo 280). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A careful review of all the technical characteristics, to make it easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table.

From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint benchmarking in software tests such as GeekBench 6, 5, Neocore, PCMark, GFXBench, Vellamo, Octane V2, AnTuTu 8, Mozilla Kraken, PassMark, Quadrant, 3DMark, WebXPRT 3, even the gaming performance of processors in Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, PUBG, Real Racing 3, Mortal Kombat, Minecraft Bedrock, Sniper 3D, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile etc.

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which SoCs is better to buy Helio A25 or Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro and which chip is better for gaming: Asphalt 9, Madout2, Need for Speed No Limits, CSR Racing 2.

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 A25

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

10%

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

Helio A25

67%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

54%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Helio A25

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Helio A25	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Total score	95484	149901
CPU	26741	41975
GPU	36292	56961
MEM	15269	23984
UX	17181	26987

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Helio A25	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Single-Core	247	306
Multi-Core	1112	1349

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Helio A25	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Frequency	1800 MHz	2400 MHz
Cores	8	4
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 4x1.5 GHz Cortex-A53	4x2.4 GHz Kryo 280
Power consumption (TDP)	5 W	11 W
Memory type	LPDDR3, LPDDR4x	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)
Max. Memory	4GB Gb	6 Gb
Memory Frequency	2x LPDDR4(X) 1600MHz, 1x LPDDR3 933MHz	1866
Memory bandwidth	14	29.8
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	32 KB	64 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	3 MB
L3 cache	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 821 MSM8996 Pro is 25% better than Helio A25 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Helio A25 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	PowerVR GE8320	Adreno 530
GPU Frequency	650 MHz	650 MHz
GFloPS	126.8	518.73
# of Cores	2
# of Shader Units		256
Display	1600 x 720 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		27.4
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	20.5	26.5
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	35.4	53.8
Call of Duty: Mobile	22.8	28.5
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	17.8	21.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	21.3	37.2
Real Racing 3	62	94.2
Sniper 3D	56.6	69.9
Need for Speed No Limits	63.7	64.6
Mortal Kombat X	51.3	78
CSR Racing 2	46	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	16 MP	28 MP
Dual Camera resolution	13 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)		Qualcomm Spectra
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	FullHD	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD
Codec support	H.264	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 MediaTek Helio A25 is better: 8
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro is better: 31
You need to know that you should not blindly trust the automatic comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of parallel comparison and listen to what people think who really appreciated the capabilities of both CPUs Helio A25 and Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

Helio A25 SoC - all data

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

• Helio A25 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.