Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 vs MediaTek MT8321

Comparisons   11-03-2021
   So, which chip or processor is better? Detailed data of speed tests and benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 vs MediaTek MT8321, compare of GPUs Mali-400 and Adreno 330.
   This performance comparison includes two processors: Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 is quad-core (Krait 400) and MT8321 is quad-core (ARM Cortex-A7). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A careful review of all the specifications of the processors, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint benchmarking in software tests like Mozilla Kraken, 3DMark, WebXPRT 3, Neocore, PCMark, GeekBench 6, 5, Vellamo, GFXBench, Quadrant, PassMark, Octane V2, AnTuTu 8, even the gaming performance of SoCs in Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG, Real Racing 3, Fortnite, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Sniper 3D, Minecraft Bedrock, Mortal Kombat etc.
   After reading the results these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to figure out which CPU is better to buy Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 or MT8321 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 800 MSM8974

MT8321

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

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

20%

MT8321

28%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

MT8321

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	MT8321
Total score	33143	21905
CPU	9290	6127
GPU	12594	8316
MEM	5308	3495
UX	5955	3950

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	MT8321
Single-Core	88	58
Multi-Core	405	267

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	MT8321
Frequency	2300 MHz	1300 MHz
Cores	4	4
Bit	32	32
Lithography	28 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x2.3 GHz Krait 400	4x1.3 GHz ARM Cortex-A7
Power consumption (TDP)	4 W	7 W
Memory type	LPDDR3	LPDDR3
Max. Memory	6 Gb	1 Gb
Memory Frequency	800	667
Memory bandwidth	6	4
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	128 KB	32 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	1 MB
L3 cache	1 MB	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 800 MSM8974 is 43% better than MT8321 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 330	Mali-400
GPU Frequency	450 MHz	400 MHz
GFloPS	129	3.6
# of Cores		1
# of Shader Units	128
Display	3840 x 2160 pixels	1280 x 800 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	8.5	5.7
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	25.3	16.4
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	16.9	11.3
Call of Duty: Mobile	14.8	10.6
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	20.3	13.6
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	32.7	21.7
Real Racing 3	29.6	22.6
Sniper 3D	22	14.7
Need for Speed No Limits	30.4	20.3
Mortal Kombat X	27	18.1
CSR Racing 2	20.3	14.7

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	28 MP	8 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Qualcomm Spectra
Video Encoding FPS	30	30
Video Encoding resolution	4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	FullHD
Codec support	H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC	H.264

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X4 LTE modem
Upload speed	50 MBit/s.
Navigation	GPS, Glonass, Beidou	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 is better: 33
The number of parameters for which MediaTek MT8321 is better: 2
You need to know that you should not blindly trust the software comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of parallel comparison and hear what people think who really appreciated the capabilities of both processors Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 and MT8321, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 specs and review.

MT8321 SoC - all data

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

• MT8321 specs and review.