Snapdragon 820 and Adreno 530 vs Helio X25 and Mali-T880 – specifications, benchmarks and temperatures

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Snapdragon 820 is the top CPU model of Qualcomm for 2016, and it can be found under the hood of some top notch smartphones out there on the market. Its MediaTek alternative turns out to be Helio X25, if we leave the Helio X30 aside because it’s not available on the market yet. A clash between Qualcomm and MediaTek is always intriguing, especially when we are talking about premium products. This is why we decided to do a short comparison between the two chips with the help of LG G5 and Meizu Pro 6. In this article we compare the specifications of the two chips, put them side by side in a number of benchmark tests, evaluating the computing and graphics performance, as well as check the extent to which they lead to overheating of the smartphones’ constructions. If interested, you can check the current price and availability of the two phones used for this article:

Meizu Pro 6
LG G5

Specs sheet

QualcommSnapdragon 820
Process14 nm
Cores4
Frequency1.6 – 2.15 GHz
ArchitectureKryo
GPUAdreno 530

MediaTekHelio X25
Process20 nm
Cores10
Frequency1.55 – 2.5 GHz
Architecture2x Cortex-A72, 4x Cortex-A53, 4x Cortex-A53
GPUMali-T880MP4

Snapdragon 820

 

Snapdragon 820 is Qualcomm’s top-notch CPU for 2016. It is a 64-bit 14 nm mobile CPU. According to the manufacturer, CPU performance is twice as high as that of Snapdragon 810. Also, the chip features four Kryo cores – two ticking at up to 2.15 GHz and other two – at up to 1.6 GHz. Furthermore, there is an update of the GPU – the new Adreno 530 brings 40% better GPU performance (when compared to Adreno 430). Snapdragon 820 also boasts LTE Cat 12/13 support with download speed up to 600 Mbps (Cat 12), and upload speed up to 150 Mbps (Cat 13). This is 33% better than Snapdragon 810. Additionally, the specs are supplemented by Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO, support of 4K screens, up to 25MP cameras and 4K video recording. Also available are Quick Charge™ 3.0 and WiPower for quick and wireless charging.

You can find more useful information about Snapdragon 820 on Qualcomm’s official website:
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/processors/820

Helio X25

Helio X25 has been manufactured through a 20nm technological process and has 10 cores, which are arranged in three groups. This arrangement is a clever way of balancing between the low energy consumption and high performance – the first group is engaged in lighter tasks, and if need be, the other cores are employed as well. There are two powerful Cortex-A72 cores, using an operating frequency of up to 2.5GHz, four Cortex-A53 cores ticking at up to 2.00GHz and another four more not so demanding Cortex-A53 cores with an operating frequency of up to 1.4GHz. Also present is a Mali-T880 graphics card with a frequency of up to 850MHz, and according to the manufacturer, it surpasses the Mali-T760 with 180% in terms of performance, and with 40% in terms of energy efficiency. Additionally, the mobile chip supports up to 32MP cameras, 4К video recording, displays with resolution of up to 2560 х 1600 pixels, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and LTE Cat 6 with up to 300Mbps of download speed and up to 50Mbps of upload speed.

You can find more useful information about Helio X25 on MediaTek’s official website:
http://mediatek-helio.com/x20/

Benchmarks

We compared the two models in 8 benchmark tests in which we checked their CPU (first 4 tests) and GPU performance (the latter 4 tests). The table below displays the results.

BenchmarksSnapdragon 820Helio X25
Geekbench 3 (Multi-Core)39955209 (+30%)
Vellamo 2 Metal2301 (+105%)1121
Vellamo 3 Metal3534 (+11%)3184
Pi – 10 mil. (lower is better)32.744 (+17%)27.890
GFXBench 2.7 T-Rex (offscreen)74 (+90%)39
GFXBench 3 Manhattan (offscreen)38 (+111%)18
GFXBench 3.1 Manhattan (offscreen)28 (+154%)11
3D Mark Ice Unlimited29540 (+80%)16447

Temperatures

Apart from performance, we also tested the two chips for potential overheating issues with the help of the Epic Citadel app. The latter allows us to simulate several hours of gaming. Immediately after this, we measure the temperatures in three sections of the smartphone’s back. Neither of the two phones displayed worrying values but the MediaTek representative had induced slightly higher temperatures. However, the chip although being the main, it is not the only factor which affects temperatures. What’s more important here is that the degrees we got are acceptable. The photos below display the registered temperatures in the three sections of each smartphone’s back.


temp-game

temp

If interested, you can check the current price and availability of the two phones used for this article:

Meizu Pro 6
LG G5

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