Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952

Comparisons   11-03-2021
   So, which processor or chip is better? Comprehensive compare data of benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952, speed testing of GPUs Adreno 405 and Adreno 330.
   This performance comparison involves two processors: Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 is quad-core (Krait 400) and Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A53). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A thorough review of all the specifications of the processors, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of parallel benchmarking in synthetic type tests such as Vellamo, GFXBench, 3DMark, PCMark, Neocore, PassMark, GeekBench 6, 5, AnTuTu, Mozilla Kraken, Octane V2, Quadrant, WebXPRT 3, and how good the SoCs are in games Fortnite, Mortal Kombat, Sniper 3D, Real Racing 3, Minecraft Bedrock, Call of Duty: Mobile, PUBG, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra etc.
   After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you can already make an briefed decision about which chip is better to buy Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 or Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 and which chip is better for gaming: Need for Speed No Limits, Madout2, 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

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

Snapdragon 617 MSM8952

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

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

20%

Snapdragon 617 MSM8952

23%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 800 MSM8974

Snapdragon 617 MSM8952

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	Snapdragon 617 MSM8952
Total score	33143	35254
CPU	9290	9879
GPU	12594	13396
MEM	5308	5644
UX	5955	6349

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	Snapdragon 617 MSM8952
Single-Core	88	93
Multi-Core	405	430

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 800 MSM8974	Snapdragon 617 MSM8952
Frequency	2300 MHz	1500 MHz
Cores	4	8
Bit	32	64
Lithography	28 nm	28 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x2.3 GHz Krait 400	8x1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	4 W	4 W
Memory type	LPDDR3	LPDDR3
Max. Memory	6 Gb	4 Gb
Memory Frequency	800	933
Memory bandwidth	6	6
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	128 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	2 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 34% better than Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 has 4 more core than Snapdragon 617 MSM8952. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 405
GPU Frequency	450 MHz	550 MHz
GFloPS	129	59.4
# of Cores
# of Shader Units	128	48
Display	3840 x 2160 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	8.5	10.3
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	25.3	27.1
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	16.9	17.6
Call of Duty: Mobile	14.8	14.2
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	20.3	23.4
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	32.7	35.9
Real Racing 3	29.6	30.8
Sniper 3D	22	33.4
Need for Speed No Limits	30.4	31.7
Mortal Kombat X	27	20.2
CSR Racing 2	20.3	19.4

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	21 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/AVC, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X4 LTE modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X8 LTE modem
Download speed	150 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Upload speed	50 MBit/s.	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: 11
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 is better: 19
Please note that you do not need to sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of parallel comparison and hear what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both processors think, 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.

Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 specs and review.