Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 vs Intel Core i5-8265U

Processor comparisons 28-02-2023

   If you can't decide which processor to buy, you can make a decision after reading the detailed tests Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 vs Intel Core i5-8265U and decide which is better for games or simple use for programming, video editing, streaming, rendering, machine learning. Here is all information from various benchmarks or real video editing and streaming tests. A step-by-step analysis of all the specifications, to make it easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special testing software like DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blender, Furmark, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, PassMark, RealBench, Handbrake, Prime95, AIDA64, MATLAB, PCMark 10, Dolphin Emulator, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), 7zip, Blender, SuperPi, WPrime, VeraCrypt, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Gears 5, 3DMark, UserBenchmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Apex Legends
Last Man Standing
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Red Dead Redemption 2
Overwatch
DOOM: Eternal
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Rainbow Six Siege
Valorant
Halo Infinite
Watch Dogs Legion
Grand Theft Auto V
Cyberpunk 2077
Death Stranding
Borderlands 3
Valheim
Fallout 76
Fortnite

After reading the results of all benchmarks and videos, you can already make an informed decision about which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i5-8265U or Qualcomm Snapdragon 850.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Snapdragon 850

51%

Core i5-8265U

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Snapdragon 850

51%

Core i5-8265U

51%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will play games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. And if it seems to you that the selected CPU has a low game result, just look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of less popular games in which processors were compared: Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, Metro Exodus, NBA 2K20, Control, Hitman 3, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Ghostrunner, League of Legends (LOL), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Monster Hunter World, DOTA 2A, Battlefield V, Horizon Zero Dawn, Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	90.2	91.4
Valorant	102.5	103.8
Cyberpunk 2077	57.4	58.1
Apex Legends	96.3	97.6
Call of Duty Warzone	76.8	77.9
Overwatch	83.0	84.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	70.7	71.6
DOOM Eternal	51.2	51.9
Warzone	79.9	81.0
Assassin's Creed	86.1	87.2
Valheim	85.0	86.2

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 computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparing not only were the equipped with different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: FullHD, 2K or 4K. Therefore, the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Snapdragon 850

200%

Core i5-8265U

201%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i5-8265U is more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 850 as it consumes less power: 8W vs. 15W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. It is necessary to calculate so that the TDP data specified in the cooler specification is greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for video rendering or video editing, machine learning, programming, streaming, then the main parameter for you is its performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all cores and threads that it has to the maximum to reach maximum performance. You will learn this data from the benchmark tables below. Before using the data from these tests, be sure to find out whether the software that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Since there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the advantages of multi-core mode are unused.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Qualcomm Snapdragon 850	Intel Core i5-8265U
Cinbench 15 Single-core	84	171
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	209	549
Cinbench 20 Single-core	170	401
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	350	1135
Cinbench 23 Single-core	485	606
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	1347	1674

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Qualcomm Snapdragon 850	Intel Core i5-8265U
Single-Core	596	2175
Multi-Core	3792	6181

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Qualcomm Snapdragon 850	Intel Core i5-8265U
Single-Core	482	907
Multi-Core	2115	3312

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the processor release date and overclocking capability will be the most helpful. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS in new games. Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer. The economy are obvious!

	Qualcomm Snapdragon 850	Intel Core i5-8265U
Announcement date	February 12, 2021	April 01, 2018
Type	Laptop	Laptop
Socket	Unk	FCBGA1528
Core name	Kryo 385	Whiskey Lake
Architecture	hybrid (big.LITTLE)	x86
Generation	2	8
Turbo Frequency		3.9 MHz
Frequency	2.4 MHz	1.6 MHz
Cores	8	4
Threads	8	8
Bus rate		4 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	10 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	4200 millions	1900 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	8 W	15 W
Memory type	LPDDR4x	DDR4-2400, LPDDR3-2133
Max. Memory	16 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency	4266
Memory bandwidth		37.5 GB/s
L1 cache	1MB
L2 cache	4MB
L3 cache		6 MB
Overclocking	No	No
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Snapdragon 850 is 33% better than Core i5-8265U in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Snapdragon 850 has 4 more core than Core i5-8265U. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 is better: 9
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i5-8265U is better: 27
All the number in the table above do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch the testing video and read the opinion of real owners of Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 and Intel Core i5-8265U before making a selection which CPU to buy for gaming and which not.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 - all data

• Cinebench r15 score
• Cinebench r20 score
• Cinebench r23 score
• GeekBench 6, 5.2 score

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 specs and review.

• Intel Core i5-8265U specs and review.