- We ran several benchmark tests on the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro to evaluate the performance of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset.
- In comparison to the premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 performed reasonably well in the CPU department.
- However, the Adreno 750 GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a powerhouse, and the Adreno 735 on the 8s Gen 3 is not a match.
After Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, Xiaomi was the first to launch a smartphone – the Civi 4 Pro in China – powered by this chipset. The latest Snapdragon 8-series chipset is said to deliver flagship performance without the bells and whistles generally seen on premium chipsets. So to evaluate the performance, we have conducted a benchmark comparison between Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. We have tested the CPU, GPU, and NPU of both processors using Geekbench, AnTuTu, and other benchmarking apps.
Note: We benchmarked the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 on the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro.
Specs Comparison
Before we proceed, you should understand the Snapdragon chipset naming scheme and the specs comparison between Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and 8 Gen 3.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Process Node TSMC 4nm TSMC 4nm CPU Octa-core Kryo CPU
1x 3.0GHz (Cortex-X4)
4x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A720)
3x 2.0GHz (Cortex-A520)Octa-core Kryo CPU
1x 3.3GHz (Cortex-X4)
3x 3.2GHz (Cortex-A720)
2x 3.0GHz (Cortex-A720)
2x 2.3GHz (Cortex-A520)GPU Adreno 735
HW Ray Tracing
AFME 2.0Adreno 750
HW Ray Tracing with Global Illumination
AFME 2.0
Unreal Engine 5 LumenNPU Hexagon NPU
Run AI models up to 10B parametersHexagon NPU
Run AI models up to 10B parametersCamera Support Cognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs
Up to 200MP photo capture
108MP ZSL, 64+36 ZSL, 36+36+36 ZSL
4K HDR video capture at 60 FPSCognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs
Up to 200MP photo capture
108MP ZSL, 64+36 ZSL, 36+36+36 ZSL
8K HDR video capture at 30FPS
Night Vision Video Capture with AI Noise ReductionConnectivity Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE Modem Snapdragon X70 5G Modem
Peak Download Speed 5 Gbps
Peak Upload Speed 3.5 GbpsSnapdragon X75 5G modem
Peak Download Speed 10Gbps
Peak Upload Speed 3.5 GbpsStorage / RAM Support UFS 4.0
LPDDR5X memory up to 4200MHzUFS 4.0
LPDDR5X memory up to 4800MHzAV1 Codec Support HW-accelerated AV1 Decode only HW-accelerated AV1 Decode only NavIC Support Yes Yes
Geekbench 6 Score
In the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored on expected lines, achieving a single-core score of 1,999 points and a multi-core score of 5,273 points. In comparison, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scores 2,234 in the single-core test and a whopping 6,985 in the multi-core test.
In multi-threaded tasks, there is a considerable difference between the two chipsets despite having the same CPU cores. The difference of 300MHz to 400MHz in clock speeds pushes the 8 Gen 3 to deliver great performance. That said, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is on par with the last-gen flagship chipset, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Geekbench 6 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
---|---|---|
Single-core | 1,999 | 2,234 |
Multi-core | 5,273 | 6,985 |
![geekbench CPU test between snapdragon 8s gen 3 and snapdragon 8 gen 3](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/geekbench-CPU-test-between-snapdragon-8s-gen-3-and-snapdragon-8-gen-3.jpg?w=676)
AnTuTu Benchmark
In the AnTuTu benchmark test, the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 gets 1,523,930 points whereas the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 crosses the 2-million mark, achieving a total score of 2,063,041 points. Besides the CPU performance, the Adreno 750 GPU on the 8 Gen 3 has performed exceptionally well, taking the lead even further.
The Adreno 735 GPU on the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is really capable and supports HW-accelerated Ray Tracing too. However, it’s no match for the powerful Adreno 750 GPU.
AnTuTu Benchmark Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 AnTuTu Score 1,523,930 2,063,041 CPU 391,196 453,927 GPU 520,531 834,879 Memory 344,714 404,061 UX 267,489 370,174
![antutu test between snapdragon 8s gen 3 and snapdragon 8 gen 3](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/antutu-test-between-snapdragon-8s-gen-3-and-snapdragon-8-gen-3.jpg?w=676)
CPU Throttling Test
Next, in the CPU Throttling test, both chipsets have done pretty well. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, in the 15-minute test, throttled the CPU to 94% of its maximum performance. In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 throttled to 90% of its maximum performance. There were no visible drops in performance on both chipsets, which is great.
![cpu throttling test between snapdragon 8s gen 3 and snapdragon 8 gen 3](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cpu-throttling-test-between-snapdragon-8s-gen-3-and-snapdragon-8-gen-3.jpg?w=676)
Geekbench GPU Test
We tried to run the 3DMark GPU test on the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, but it crashed repeatedly. So we have included results from the Geekbench GPU test, for both OpenCL and Vulkan frameworks. In the OpenCL test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored 8,838, and in the Vulkan test, it got 10,154 points.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, on the other hand, scored 14,540 points in the OpenCL test and 16,522 points in the Vulkan test. There is a difference of more than 60% between the GPU performance of both chipsets is huge.
Qualcomm has put the top-tier Adreno 750 GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and if you want a flagship gaming experience, you should consider this chipset. Note that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is also packing a capable GPU, and it performs close to the Adreno 740 GPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Geekbench 6 GPU Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 OpenCL 8,838 14,540 Vulkan 10,154 16,522
AI Performance Test
To test the Hexagon NPU, we ran the Geekbench ML test on both 8-series chipsets, and strangely, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 performed better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
The 8s Gen 3 achieved a score of 612 points whereas the SD 8 Gen 3 got 504 points on the NNAPI backend. Keep in mind, that Qualcomm chipsets are said to be lacking support for NNAPI, which may explain the low scores.
![Geekbench ML test between snapdragon 8s gen 3 and snapdragon 8 gen 3](https://beebom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Geekbench-ML-test-between-snapdragon-8s-gen-3-and-snapdragon-8-gen-3.jpg?w=676)
We also ran the AI Benchmark app, however, the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro performed poorly likely due to a lack of framework support. We will update the article when the results are consistent.
The Verdict: How Underpowered Is the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3?
From the benchmark numbers, it’s evident that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is not a premium-tier chipset, and doesn’t come close to the latest flagship, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, it rivals the last-gen flagship chipset from Qualcomm, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and matches the performance in nearly all segments. It can be seen as a souped-up version of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, which was recently launched.
Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 puts itself in a unique position. It’s better than the 7-series segment, almost flagship-level while lacking some Snapdragon experiences. On the efficiency front, I believe, it’s going to offer a better experience. What do you think about this new chipset? Do let us know in the comments below.
Great post! I never thought about the topic from that angle before.
You should have compared 8s gen 3 against 8 gen 2!
in the works, amigo. you will see more 8s Gen 3 comparisons soon.