Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 vs HiSilicon Kirin 970

Comparisons   28-02-2023
   Full comparison data of Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 vs HiSilicon Kirin 970, testing of graphics chips (GPU). A thorough review of all the technical characteristics of the SoCs, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table. From the video comparison, you can get the results of joint testing in synthetic type tests like 3DMark, GFXBench, PassMark, Geekbench, PCMark, AnTuTu, Neocore, Quadrant, Vellamo, even the gaming performance of CPUs in GTA, Asphalt 9, Minecraft, Fortnite, PUBG, Call of Duty, Madout2 etc.
   After reading the results these tests and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which SoCs is better to buy Snapdragon 850 or Kirin 970.

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 850

20%

Kirin 970

11%

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

Snapdragon 850

65%

Kirin 970

64%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 850

19%

Kirin 970

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 850	Kirin 970
Total score	282308	160216
CPU	79039	44870
GPU	107274	60875
MEM	45171	25631
UX	50815	28844

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 850	Kirin 970
Single-Core	638	328
Multi-Core	2236	1379

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 850	Kirin 970
Frequency	2960 MHz	2400 MHz
Cores	8	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	10 nm	10 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	8x2.96 GHz Kryo 385	4x2.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A72 4x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Power consumption (TDP)	10 W	9 W
Memory type	LPDDR4x (Quad Channel)	LPDDR4x
Max. Memory	16 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	1866	1600
Memory bandwidth	34.1	29
Neural Processor (NPU)	No	No
L1 cache	384 KB	512 KB
L2 cache	768 KB	2 MB
L3 cache	2 MB
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv8.1-A	ARMv8-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Snapdragon 850 is 18% better than Kirin 970 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 630	Mali-G72 MP12
GPU Frequency	650 MHz	850 MHz
GFloPS	712	346
# of Cores		12
# of Shader Units	512
Display	2560 x 1600 pixels	2560 x 1600 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	26.7	20.9
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	45.6	24.4
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	44.8	53.4
Call of Duty: Mobile	38.2	27.9
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	35.4	21.1
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	59.4	30.3
Real Racing 3	56.4	106.8
Sniper 3D	98.2	85.4
Need for Speed No Limits	62.2	64.1
Mortal Kombat X	71.4	77.4
CSR Racing 2	49.3	64.1

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	32 MP	20 MP
Dual Camera resolution	16 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Qualcomm Spectra 280
Video Encoding FPS	60	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 X20 LTE modem	18
Download speed	1200 MBit/s.	1200 MBit/s.
Upload speed	150 MBit/s.	150 MBit/s.
Navigation	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, QZSS, SBAS	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	No	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 is better: 27
The number of parameters for which HiSilicon Kirin 970 is better: 9
Please note that you do not need to blindly trust the software comparison on the table. It is better to just watch the full video of joint testing and hear what those who really appreciated the capabilities of both processors think, as well as read the test results at the links below.

Snapdragon 850 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 850 specs and review.

Kirin 970 SoC - all data

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

• Kirin 970 specs and review.