Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 vs HiSilicon Kirin 980

Comparisons 11-03-2021

So, which processor or chip is better? Full compare data of benchmarks Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 vs HiSilicon Kirin 980, speed examination of GPUs Mali-G76 MP18 and Adreno 660.

This performance comparison involves two processors: Snapdragon 888 is octa-core (Cortex-X1 3x2.42) and Kirin 980 is octa-core (ARM Cortex-A76). Both processors went throughpower consumption test and battery life test. A careful analysis of all the technical characteristics, so that it can be easier to read, is presented in the form of the table.

From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel benchmarking in software tests like PassMark, Mozilla Kraken, 3DMark, Quadrant, PCMark, Neocore, WebXPRT 3, Octane V2, Vellamo, GFXBench, AnTuTu, Geekbench, even the gaming performance of CPUs in Sniper 3D, PUBG, Mortal Kombat, Fortnite, Garena Free Fire - The Cobra, Real Racing 3, Call of Duty: Mobile, Minecraft Bedrock etc.

After looking at the data these benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which SoCs is better to buy Snapdragon 888 or Kirin 980 and which chip is better for gaming: Need for Speed No Limits, CSR Racing 2, Madout2, 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 888

62%

Kirin 980

25%

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

Snapdragon 888

79%

Kirin 980

71%

Gaming performance
Which CPU is better for gaming

Snapdragon 888

59%

Kirin 980

22%

Antutu v10, 9

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

	Snapdragon 888	Kirin 980
Total score	863876	354810
CPU	241883	99354
GPU	328267	134833
MEM	138216	56759
UX	155506	63863

GeekBench 6, 5.2

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

	Snapdragon 888	Kirin 980
Single-Core	1169	765
Multi-Core	3687	2602

Comparison of specifications

CPU and Memory

	Snapdragon 888	Kirin 980
Frequency	2840 MHz	2600 MHz
Cores	8	8
Bit	64	64
Lithography	5 nm	7 nm
Transistors count
Core configuration	1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55	2x2.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 2x2.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 4x1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A55
Power consumption (TDP)	10 W	6 W
Memory type	LPDDR5 (Quad Channel)	LPDDR4x
Max. Memory	16 Gb	8 Gb
Memory Frequency	2750	1600
Memory bandwidth	44	31.78
Neural Processor (NPU)	Yes	Yes
L1 cache	512 KB	512 KB
L2 cache	1 MB	512 KB
L3 cache	4 MB	4 MB
Instruction set architecture (ISA)	ARMv8.2-A	ARMv8-A

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Snapdragon 888 is 8% better than Kirin 980 in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption.

GPU and Media

GPU	Adreno 660	Mali-G76 MP18
GPU Frequency	700 MHz	950 MHz
GFloPS	1486	581.14
# of Cores		18
# of Shader Units	512
Display	3840 x 2160 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	27.5	27.3
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG Mobile)	84.8	54.2
Garena Free Fire - The Cobra	51.9	58.2
Call of Duty: Mobile	47.3	40.1
Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5 Mobile)	72.2	46.2
Minecraft: Pocket Edition	105.5	74.3
Real Racing 3	64.9	87.3
Sniper 3D	67.5	93.1
Need for Speed No Limits	72.7	93.1
Mortal Kombat X	75.3	66.9
CSR Racing 2	72.7	69.8

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	200 MP	32 MP
Dual Camera resolution	64 MP
Image Signal Processor (ISP)	Qualcomm Spectra 580
Video Encoding FPS	60	60
Video Encoding resolution	8K, 4K (Ultra HD), 2K, FullHD	4K, 2K, FullHD
Codec support	Dolby Vision, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, HDR10+, HLG, HDR10	H.264, H.265/HEVC

Networks and Navigation

Modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 Modem-RF System 5G	21
Download speed	7500 MBit/s.	1400 MBit/s.
Upload speed	3000 MBit/s.	900 MBit/s.
Navigation	GNSS, QZSS, GLONASS, SBAS, GPS, NavIC, NavIC enabled, Beidou, Galileo, Dual frequency GNSS	GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou
NFC support	Yes	No
5G support	Yes	No

Result:
The number of parameters for which Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is better: 31
The number of parameters for which HiSilicon Kirin 980 is better: 8
You need to understand that you should not sightlessly trust the software comparison on the table. You can watch benchmark video from beginning to end of parallel testing and hear what people say who really appreciated the capabilities of both chips Snapdragon 888 and Kirin 980, as well as read the test results at the links below.

Snapdragon 888 SoC - all data

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

• Snapdragon 888 specs and review.

Kirin 980 SoC - all data

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

• Kirin 980 specs and review.