MediaTek MT8788 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Comparisons 12-09-2022

Comprehensive compare data of MediaTek MT8788 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro, examination of graphics chips (GPU). A thorough review of all the specifications of the chips, so that it can be easier to understand, is presented in the form of the table. From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in software tests like Quadrant, Geekbench, Vellamo, Neocore, 3DMark, GFXBench, PCMark, AnTuTu, PassMark, even the gaming performance of chips in PUBG, Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA, Madout2, Asphalt 9, Minecraft etc.
After reading the results of joint tests and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which processors is better to buy MT8788 or Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro.

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

MT8788

15%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

10%

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

MT8788

68%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

54%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

MT8788

14%

Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro

Antutu v10, 9

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

	MT8788	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Total score	211831	149901
CPU	59312	41975
GPU	80502	56961
MEM	33886	23984
UX	38127	26987

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	MT8788	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Single-Core	391	306
Multi-Core	1291	1349

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	MT8788	Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro
Frequency	2000 MHz	2400 MHz
Cores	8	4
Bit	64	64
Lithography	12 nm	14 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 4x1.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A53	4x2.4 GHz Kryo 280
Power consumption (TDP)	5 W	11 W
Memory type	LPDDR3 (Single Channel)	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)
Max. Memory	4 Gb	6 Gb
Memory Frequency	800	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 16% better than MT8788 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that MT8788 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	Mali-G72 MP3	Adreno 530
GPU Frequency	700 MHz	650 MHz
GFloPS	161	518.73
# of Cores	3
# of Shader Units		256
Display	2400 x 1080 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	25.5	27.4
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	28.4	26.5
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	50.8	53.8
Call of Duty: Mobile	31.9	28.5
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	25.5	21.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	37.9	37.2
Real Racing 3	63.8	94.2
Sniper 3D	81.2	69.9
Need for Speed No Limits	60.8	64.6
Mortal Kombat X	73.9	78
CSR Racing 2	60.7	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	25 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	300 MBit/s.	600 MBit/s.
Upload speed	100 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 MT8788 is better: 20
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 Pro is better: 20
You need to understand that you should not blindly trust the software comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full video of joint testing and hear what people say who really appreciated the capabilities of both CPUs, as well as read the test results at the links below.

MT8788 SoC - all data

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

• MT8788 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.