Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC vs MediaTek Helio A20

Comparisons   11-03-2021
   Well, which processor or chip is better? Comprehensive comparison data of benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC vs MediaTek Helio A20, speed testing of GPUs PowerVR GE8300 and Adreno 330.
   This performance comparison involves two processors: Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is quad-core (Krait 400) and Helio A20 is quad-core (Cortex-A53). Both processors went through battery life test and power consumption test. A thorough review of all the specifications of the processors, so that it can be easier to read, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint benchmarking in special testing software like PCMark, AnTuTu, Octane V2, Neocore, Vellamo, 3DMark, Geekbench, WebXPRT 3, Mozilla Kraken, PassMark, Quadrant, GFXBench, and how good the CPUs are in games Real Racing 3, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Fortnite, Minecraft Bedrock, Sniper 3D, Mortal Kombat, PUBG, Call of Duty: Mobile etc.
   After reading the results of joint benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC or Helio A20 and which chip is better for gaming: Madout2, Asphalt 9, CSR Racing 2, Need for Speed No Limits.

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 801 MSM8974AC

Helio A20

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

Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC

19%

Helio A20

67%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC

Helio A20

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC	Helio A20
Total score	47809	52293
CPU	13387	14643
GPU	18163	19877
MEM	7650	8365
UX	8603	9409

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC	Helio A20
Single-Core	127	135
Multi-Core	584	609

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC	Helio A20
Frequency	2500 MHz	1800 MHz
Cores	4	4
Bit	32	64
Lithography	28 nm	12 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	4x2.5 GHz Krait 400	4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	6 W	7 W
Memory type	LPDDR3	LPDDR3, LPDDR4x
Max. Memory	4 Gb	LPDDR4(X) до 6GB, LPDDR3 до 4GB
Memory Frequency	800	2x LPDDR4(X) 1600MHz, 1x LPDDR3 933MHz
Memory bandwidth	14.9	6
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	128 KB	32 KB
L2 cache	2 MB	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 Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is 28% better than Helio A20 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	PowerVR GE8300
GPU Frequency	578 MHz	660 MHz
GFloPS	166.46	128.75
# of Cores		2
# of Shader Units	128
Display	2560 x 2048 pixels	1600 x 720 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	15.5	16.9
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	39.9	43.1
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	26.6	29.4
Call of Duty: Mobile	23.9	25.2
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	33.3	36.3
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	50.6	54.1
Real Racing 3	33.3	51.5
Sniper 3D	34.6	38.2
Need for Speed No Limits	42.6	47
Mortal Kombat X	30.6	47
CSR Racing 2	31.9	35.3

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	28 MP	16 MP
Dual Camera resolution		13 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
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 801 MSM8974AC is better: 11
The number of parameters for which MediaTek Helio A20 is better: 27
Please note that you do not need to sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full benchmark video of joint comparison and hear what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both chipsets think, and also read the test results on the links under the article.

Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC specs and review.

Helio A20 SoC - all data

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

• Helio A20 specs and review.