MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro

Comparisons   11-03-2021
   So, which chip or processor is better? Detailed data of speed tests and benchmarks MediaTek Helio X20 (MT6797) vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro, compare of GPUs Mali-T880 MP4 and Adreno 510.
   This performance comparison involves two processors: Helio X20 (MT6797) is deca-core (ARM Cortex-A72) and Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A72). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A thorough review 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 benchmarking in synthetic type tests such as Neocore, PCMark, PassMark, Quadrant, Octane V2, AnTuTu 8, WebXPRT 3, Mozilla Kraken, 3DMark, Geekbench, GFXBench, Vellamo, and how good the chips are in games Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Sniper 3D, Fortnite, Real Racing 3, PUBG, Mortal Kombat, Minecraft Bedrock, Call of Duty: Mobile etc.
   After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which SoCs is better to buy Helio X20 (MT6797) or Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro 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)

Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro

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

Helio X20 (MT6797)

42%

Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro

27%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Helio X20 (MT6797)

Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro
Total score	83288	88401
CPU	23311	24746
GPU	31649	33597
MEM	13320	14142
UX	14981	15904

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro
Single-Core	215	228
Multi-Core	970	1029

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Helio X20 (MT6797)	Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro
Frequency	2100 MHz	1950 MHz
Cores	10	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	20 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	2x2.1 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.85 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53	4x1.95 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	5 W	6 W
Memory type	LPDDR3 (Dual Channel)	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)
Max. Memory	4 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	800	1866
Memory bandwidth	12.8	14
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache		256 KB
L2 cache		1 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 Helio X20 (MT6797) is 7% better than Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Helio X20 (MT6797) has -2 more core than Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Mali-T880 MP4	Adreno 510
GPU Frequency	780 MHz	600 MHz
GFloPS	106	176
# of Cores	4
# of Shader Units		128
Display	2560 x 1600 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)	16.4	18.9
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	29.1	31.4
Call of Duty: Mobile	17.7	20.6
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	13.1	15.8
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	16.7	19.4
Real Racing 3	36.4	39.3
Sniper 3D	46.6	69.1
Need for Speed No Limits	52.4	37.7
Mortal Kombat X	37.8	50.2
CSR Racing 2	40.7	34.5

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

Networks and Navigation

Modem		Qualcomm Snapdragon X9 LTE 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: 10
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro is better: 26
You need to understand that you should not blindly trust the automatic comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full benchmark video of joint comparison and listen to what people say who really appreciated the capabilities of both chipsets Helio X20 (MT6797) and Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

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.

Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 653 MSM8976 Pro specs and review.