MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797) vs HiSilicon Kirin 659

Comparisons 11-03-2021

Well, which processor or chip is better? Detailed data of speed tests and benchmarks MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797) vs HiSilicon Kirin 659, comparison of GPUs Mali-T830 MP2 and Mali-T880 MP4.

This performance comparison involves two processors: Helio X20 (MT6797) is deca-core (ARM Cortex-A72) and Kirin 659 is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A53). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A step-by-step analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be 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 test applications like Vellamo, PCMark, Mozilla Kraken, Octane V2, 3DMark, PassMark, Quadrant, WebXPRT 3, Neocore, AnTuTu, GFXBench, GeekBench 6, 5, even the gaming performance of chipsets in Minecraft Bedrock, PUBG, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty: Mobile, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Fortnite, Sniper 3D, Real Racing 3 etc.

After looking at the data of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy Helio X20 (MT6797) or Kirin 659 and which chip is better for gaming: Madout2, Need for Speed No Limits, 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 X20 (MT6797)

Kirin 659

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

Helio X20 (MT6797)

42%

Kirin 659

52%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Helio X20 (MT6797)

Kirin 659

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Kirin 659
Total score	83288	75358
CPU	23311	21107
GPU	31649	28630
MEM	13320	12052
UX	14981	13572

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Kirin 659
Single-Core	215	195
Multi-Core	970	877

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Kirin 659
Frequency	2100 MHz	2360 MHz
Cores	10	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	20 nm	16 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	2x2.1 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.85 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53	4x2.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 4x2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	5 W	5 W
Memory type	LPDDR3 (Dual Channel)	LPDDR3x
Max. Memory	4 Gb	6 Gb
Memory Frequency	800	933
Memory bandwidth	12.8	28
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache		64 KB
L2 cache		4 MB
L3 cache		4 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 Kirin 659 is 11% better than Helio X20 (MT6797) in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Helio X20 (MT6797) has -2 more core than Kirin 659. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Mali-T880 MP4	Mali-T830 MP2
GPU Frequency	780 MHz	900 MHz
GFloPS	106	61.2
# of Cores	4	2
# of Shader Units
Display	2560 x 1600 pixels	1920 x 1080 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)	16.4	17.1
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	29.1	28.6
Call of Duty: Mobile	17.7	19.5
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	13.1	14.6
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	16.7	18.2
Real Racing 3	36.4	50.1
Sniper 3D	46.6	62.9
Need for Speed No Limits	52.4	40
Mortal Kombat X	37.8	41.5
CSR Racing 2	40.7	34.3

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	32 MP	16 MP
Dual Camera resolution		8 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	4K, 2K, FullHD	FullHD
Codec support	H.264, H.265	H.264

Networks and Navigation

Modem
Download speed	150 MBit/s.	300 MBit/s.
Upload speed	50 MBit/s.	150 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 X20 (MT6797) is better: 17
The number of parameters for which HiSilicon Kirin 659 is better: 20
Please note that you do not need to blindly trust the software comparison of the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of joint comparison and listen to what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both SoCs think, as well as read the test results at the links below.

Helio X20 (MT6797) SoC - all data

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

• Helio X20 (MT6797) specs and review.

Kirin 659 SoC - all data

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

• Kirin 659 specs and review.