Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 vs Unisoc SC9863A

Comparisons   11-03-2021
   So, which processor or chip is better? Full comparison data of benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 vs Unisoc SC9863A, speed testing of GPUs IMG8322 and Adreno 510.
   This performance comparison involves two processors: Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 is gexa-core (ARM Cortex-A72) and SC9863A is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A55). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications of the chips, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel benchmarking in software tests like PCMark, Vellamo, Octane V2, Neocore, AnTuTu 8, Quadrant, 3DMark, GFXBench, Geekbench, Mozilla Kraken, WebXPRT 3, PassMark, even the gaming performance of processors in Sniper 3D, Real Racing 3, PUBG, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty: Mobile, Fortnite, Minecraft Bedrock, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra etc.
   After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which SoCs is better to buy Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 or SC9863A and which chip is better for gaming: Need for Speed No Limits, Madout2, Asphalt 9, 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

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

SC9863A

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

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

25%

SC9863A

31%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956

SC9863A

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956	SC9863A
Total score	86746	73522
CPU	24279	20588
GPU	32957	27947
MEM	13874	11762
UX	15623	13228

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956	SC9863A
Single-Core	224	190
Multi-Core	1010	856

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 650 MSM8956	SC9863A
Frequency	1800 MHz	1600 MHz
Cores	6	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	28 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	2x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53	4x1.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A55 4x1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A55
Power consumption (TDP)	6 W	5 W
Memory type	LPDDR4x (Dual Channel)	LPDDR3
Max. Memory	8 Gb	4 Gb
Memory Frequency	1866	933
Memory bandwidth	14	24
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	256 KB	256 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	512 KB
L3 cache	1 MB	8 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 650 MSM8956 is 11% better than SC9863A in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 has 2 more core than SC9863A. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 510	IMG8322
GPU Frequency	600 MHz	510 MHz
GFloPS	176	146.2
# of Cores		128
# of Shader Units	128
Display	2560 x 1600 pixels	2160 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)	17.8	15.9
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	31.1	26.9
Call of Duty: Mobile	19.9	17.3
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	15.4	12.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	18.2	16.2
Real Racing 3	54.4	40.4
Sniper 3D	59.1	43
Need for Speed No Limits	56	37.7
Mortal Kombat X	45.1	43
CSR Racing 2	43.5	32.3

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	21 MP	16 MP
Dual Camera resolution		16 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	FullHD
Codec support	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X8 LTE modem	LTE-4
Download speed	300 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Upload speed	100 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 is better: 30
The number of parameters for which Unisoc SC9863A is better: 7
You need to know that you should not sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full benchmark video of parallel comparison and hear what people think who really appreciated the capabilities of both processors Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 and SC9863A, as well as read the test results at the links below.

Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 650 MSM8956 specs and review.

SC9863A SoC - all data

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

• SC9863A specs and review.