- In the Geekbench CPU test, the Oryon-powered Snapdragon 8 Elite beats the Dimensity 9400 in both single-core and multi-core performance.
- However, in graphics tests, Dimensity 9400's GPU delivers impressive performance, narrowly beating Snapdragon 8 Elite's Adreno 830 GPU.
- Both Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 score along the same lines on the AnTuTu benchmark.
Qualcomm and MediaTek have both launched their flagship chipsets for Android phones this year. With the launch of Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400, both companies are pushing the boundaries to offer the best performance on Android phones. So to compare these chipsets, we have benchmarked Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 on Geekbench, AnTuTu, 3DMark, and more. Now without any delay, let’s go through the comparison.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Specs Comparison
| Snapdragon 8 Elite | Dimensity 9400 | |
|---|---|---|
| Process Node | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) |
| CPU | Octa-core 2nd-gen Oryon CPU | Octa-core Arm CPU |
| CPU Cores | 2x 2nd-gen Oryon (4.32GHz) 6x 2nd-gen Oryon (3.53GHz) | 1x 3.63 GHz (Cortex-X925) 3x 3.30 GHz (Cortex-X4) 4x 2.40 GHz (Cortex-A720) |
| GPU | Adreno 830 GPU | Arm Mali-G925 Immortalis MP12 GPU |
| Storage / Memory Support | UFS 4.0 LPDDR5X at 5.3GHz 10.7 Gbps | UFS 4.0 LPDDR5X at 5.3GHz |
| Machine Learning and AI | New Hexagon AI Engine On-device multimodal AI support | MediaTek NPU 890 Support for Multimodal and MoE LLMs Agentic AI, LoRA training |
| ISP | AI Spectra ISP Up to 320MP photo capture 8K HDR video at 60 FPS | Imagiq 1090 ISP Up to 320MP photo capture 8K HDR video at 60 FPS |
| Modem | Snapdragon X80 5G modem Up to 10 Gbps Peak Download Up to 3.5 Gbps Peak Upload | MediaTek Release-17 5G Modem Up to 7 Gbps on sub-6GHz 5G networks with 4CC-CA support |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and UWB | Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Geekbench 6 CPU
Starting with the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, the Oryon-powered Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 3,033 in single-core and 9,271 in multi-core. On the other hand, the Dimensity 9400 with Arm’s Cortex CPU cores achieved 2,618 in single-core and 8,291 in multi-core. Here, the Snapdragon 8 Elite leads by 15% in single-core performance and around 11% in multi-threaded tasks.
Geekbench 6 CPU Snapdragon 8 Elite Dimensity 9400 Single-core 3,033 2,618 Multi-core 9,271 8,291 Temperature 32.8 degrees C 37.5 degrees C
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: AnTuTu Benchmark
In the AnTuTu benchmark, both Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 performed along the same lines. Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 2,759,190 points and the Dimensity 9400 got 2,701,004 points. Surprisingly, the Dimensity 9400 performed better on the CPU benchmark and outranked Snapdragon 8 Elite in GPU performance too by a slight margin.
AnTuTu Benchmark Snapdragon 8 Elite Dimensity 9400 AnTuTu Score 2,759,190 2,701,004 CPU 583,775 632,892 GPU 1,132,574 1,177,786 Memory 643,562 405,582 UX 399,279 484,744 Temperature 36.7 degrees C 39.3 degrees C
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: CPU Throttling Test
Next, in the CPU Throttling test, it becomes clear that while Dimensity 9400’s CPU is powerful, it can’t sustain peak performance for an extended period. It may have to do with vivo X200 Pro mini’s small form factor, but in our 60-minute stress test, the Dimensity 9400 throttled to 62% of its max performance. In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Elite throttled to 77%, sustaining peak performance for much longer.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Geekbench 6 GPU
As we noticed in the AnTuTu benchmark, the Arm Immortalis-G925 MP12 GPU on Dimensity 9400 is really powerful. It not only rivals the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s Adreno 830 GPU but also narrowly beats it on both OpenCL and Vulkan graphics APIs on the Geekbench 6 GPU test.
| Geekbench 6 GPU | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Dimensity 9400 |
|---|---|---|
| OpenCL | 19,193 | 20,806 |
| Vulkan | 24,462 | 24,813 |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: 3DMark Tests
Now, coming to the demanding 3DMark GPU test. In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite got the best loop score of 6,311 points and the lowest loop score of 5,258 points. It also maintained an excellent stability of 83.3%.
Dimensity 9400’s GPU also got the best loop score of 5,839 points, but it quickly throttled the GPU, bringing the lowest loop score to 2,306 points. The stability stood at a dismal 39.5%. In my opinion, the GPU is being highly throttled to reduce the temperature on a small device like the vivo X200 Pro mini. We need to test the Dimensity 9400 on a larger Android phone to ascertain the GPU stability.
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test Snapdragon 8 Elite Dimensity 9400 Best loop score 6,311 5,839 Lowest loop score 5,258 2,306 Stability 83.3% 39.5% Temperature 42.6 degrees C 40.6 degrees C
Next, in the 3DMark Solar Bay test, Dimensity 9400 again delivered slightly better ray-tracing performance. It averaged 41.62 FPS and maintained a lower temperature as well. In the intensive Steel Nomad Light test, Dimensity 9400 scored 2,405 points whereas the Snapdragon 8 Elite got 2,201 points.
3DMark Solar Bay Snapdragon 8 Elite Dimensity 9400 Overall Score 10,614 10,946 Average FPS 40.36 FPS 41.62 FPS Temperature 43.4 degrees C 41.4 degrees C
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Geekbench AI
Now, coming to the Geekbench AI test that evaluates the NPU. Unfortunately, Snapdragon 8 Elite’s NPU driver stack is not ready, resulting in much lower scores. Hence, we have not included them in this comparison. That said, we ran the test on the CPU, and it seems Dimensity 9400 did better on AI workloads. Overall, we need to wait for Qualcomm to add support for its Hexagon AI engine so we can comprehensively compare both NPUs.
Geekbench AI Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU Dimensity 9400 CPU Single Precision Score 1,970 2,125 Half Precision Score 2,037 2,119 Quantized Score 2,416 3,026
The Verdict
As far as the CPU performance is concerned, the custom Oryon core on the Snapdragon 8 Elite is better than Arm’s Cortex cores on the Dimensity 9400. The Oryon cores can scale to higher frequencies while keeping the temperature in check. It also consumes lower power compared to Dimensity 9400’s CPU.
On the GPU front, Dimensity 9400’s Immortalis-G925 GPU has impressed us with its remarkable graphics performance. In multiple tests, it beats the Adreno 830 GPU by a slight margin. That said, sustained graphics performance remains a concern, but to ascertain that, we need to check the stability on a larger device with better cooling system.
Overall, MediaTek has indeed developed a flagship chipset. I think premium Android phones will have unmatched CPU and GPU performance this year, which is excellent news for consumers.
Anshuman Jain
