Dimensity 7300 vs 7200 Comparison: Which Chip is More Powerful?

The CMF Phone 1 by Nothing features the latest Dimensity 7300 processor, which appears like an upgrade over the Dimensity 7200 chipset found in the Nothing Phone (2a). However, there is more to this upgrade than meets the eye. So to dissect MediaTek’s bizarre naming scheme, we have come up with this comparison between Dimensity 7300 vs Dimensity 7200 chipsets. We have run several benchmark tests including Geekbench, AnTuTu, CPU Throttling test, 3DMark, and more.

Dimensity 7300 vs 7200 Specs Overview

Glance over the specifications of Dimensity 7300 (CMF Phone 1) and Dimensity 7200 (Nothing Phone (2a)) to understand the difference between both processors.

Geekbench 6 CPU

Let’s first compare the CPU performance of Dimensity 7300 and 7200. In the Geekbench test, the Dimensity 7300 scores 1,018 in single-core and 2,920 in multi-core.

In contrast, the Dimensity 7200 achieves a single-core score of 1,114, about 10% more than 7300, and a multi-score of 2,561, lagging by nearly 14%.

In multi-threaded tasks, Dimensity 7200 is behind 7300 because the latter packs four Cortex-A78 cores whereas the former packs only two Cortex-A715 cores. Sure, the Cortex-A715 core is a newer ARM core compared to the older Cortex-A78 core, but you can’t squeeze more performance with 6x Cortex-A510 efficiency cores.

In single-core tasks though, Dimensity 7200 shines. It’s clocked up to 2.8GHz so you get a 10% lead. All in all, since Dimensity 7200 packs newer ARM cores, the efficiency and performance-per-watt figures would outrank Dimensity 7300.

AnTuTu Benchmark

Next, in the AnTuTu benchmark, the Dimensity 7300 scores 637,177 points whereas Dimensity 7200 gets 708,424 points, an 11% increase in overall performance. In this test, the CPU and GPU performance difference is more visible. Dimensity 7200’s CPU scores 224,809 points whereas Dimensity 7300’s CPU gets 183,575 points, a difference of 22%.

In the GPU department, there is a 22% performance difference. Simply put, the last-gen Dimensity 7200 performs better than the latest Dimensity 7300 chipset in nearly all segments. Finally, in the storage test, both perform along the same lines.

CPU Throttling Test

Moving to the CPU Throttling test, both chipsets showcase great performance with almost no visible drop in performance. In a 15-minute test, the Dimensity 7300 throttled to 94% of its maximum performance, and Dimensity 7200 stood at 91%. The instruction execution is also rather close to each other’s performance.

3DMark Wild Life Stress Test

Coming to the intensive 3DMark Wild Life Stress test that evaluates the GPU prowess, here the difference becomes even more evident. While the stability remains similar across the board, Dimensity 7200’s Mali-G610 MC4 GPU outranks Mali-G615 MC2 GPU on Dimensity 7300 by over 30%.

MediaTek has baked in a newer GPU on Dimensity 7300, but the compute cores have been halved. To sum up, despite being an older chipset, the Dimensity 7200 offers better graphics performance than the latest Dimensity 7300 SoC.

AITuTu Benchmark

In the AITuTu benchmark that tests the NPU, or APU (AI Processing Unit) as MediaTek likes to call it, the Dimensity 7300 indeed has a more powerful AI accelerator. MediaTek’s 6th-gen APU 655 offers 15% more performance than the APU 650 available on D7200. In some of the AI workflows, you are going to get better performance on the latest Dimensity 7300 chipset.

5G Speed Test

In the 5G speed test too, Dimensity 7300’s 5G modem delivers better download speed than Dimensity 7200. Testing on Jio’s 5G network at the same location, Dimensity 7300 achieved a peak download speed of 339 Mbps and a peak upload speed of 3.09 Mbps.

In contrast, Dimensity 7200’s 5G modem could reach up to 298 Mbps in download speed test, and 2.10 Mbps in upload speed test. It appears MediaTek has added a new 5G modem on the Dimensity 7300. Keep in mind that both chipsets support dual 5G SIM connectivity and VoNR.

The Verdict: Diffusing the Numbering Confusion

To conclude, I would say that the Dimensity 7300 is not an outright upgrade over the Dimensity 7200. In fact, Dimensity 7300 packs older ARM cores. Yeah, the multi-core CPU performance is better, but there is no doubt that newer ARM cores offer better efficiency and performance-per-watt. In single-core tasks, you are going to get faster performance on the last-gen Dimensity 7200 chipset.

And in the GPU department, there is a clear downgrade. The Mali-G615 MC2 GPU on the Dimensity 7300 is underpowered, compared to D7200’s GPU. Finally, regarding AI and 5G performance, the latest Dimensity 7300 offers marginal improvements over the Dimensity 7200.