It can be seen that the CPU architecture of the second generation Snapdragon 8 is very special. It consists of four clusters, namely the so-called "1+2+2+3", which is very different from the common "1+3+4", which reduces one small core, and the performance core is 2+2 in total.

Qualcomm held the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit in November this year, with a pace significantly faster than in previous years. After the press conference, according to convention, the author also experienced the QRD of the second generation Snapdragon 8 as soon as possible and conducted some running score tests. Let’s take a look:

snapdragon 8 Gen 2 QRD

Second generation Snapdragon 8 parameters, QRD introduction

Before starting, first review the core parameters of the second generation Snapdragon 8 CPU and GPU:

CPU:

Super large core 1x Cortex-X3 3.19GHz

​Big core 1 2x Cortex-A715 2.80GHz

Big core 2 2x Cortex-A710 2.80GHz

​Small core 3x Cortex-A510 Refreshed 2.02GHz

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​Cache:

​X3 x 1: L2 1MB x1

A715 x 2 : L2 512KB x2

A710 x 2 : L2 512KB x2

​L3 8MB

GPU:

​Adreno 740 680MHz

You can see that the CPU architecture of the second generation Snapdragon 8 is very special. It consists of four clusters, namely the so-called " +2+2+3", which is very different from the common "1+3+4", which reduces one small core, and the performance core is 2+2 in total. The reason why there is a new Cortex-A715 that continues to retain two Cortex-A710s is that Qualcomm explains that it hopes to take into account the operation of 32-bit APP (both X3 and A715 are pure 64-bit). However, for the current domestic application ecosystem, 64-bit is actually quite popular enough. Most of the remaining "hard" 32-bit APPs are lightweight loads, and it is actually acceptable to run with three small cores.

The frequency of the second generation Snapdragon 8 is also more aggressive, directly pulling to about 3.2GHz (but judging from the current known information, it seems that there is a higher frequency version of 3.36GHz), four large cores are 2.8GHz, and small cores are 2.02GHz. Compared with the first generation of Snapdragon 8, it has a significant increase, and is even higher than the first generation of Snapdragon 8+ (large core + 50MHz).

GPU parameters seem to be "unusual" and the frequency is not radical. However, as a new generation of GPU, it also supports "next era" features such as Vulkan 1.3, hardware-level ray tracing .

performance related. The second generation Snapdragon 8 uses the TSMC N4 process, supports LPDDR5X 8400 and UFS 4.0. QRD is the "full blood version". Both new chips are used.

system is still native to Android, based on Android 13.

is similar to some first-generation Snapdragon 8+. The CPU of the second-generation Snapdragon 8 QRD will not be fully fully completed in daily applications. The super-large core is controlled less than 3GHz, while the large core and small cores are fully completed.

regular running score test

I won’t say much, let’s first go “I don’t accept it and run a score”:

Antutu’s total score exceeds 1.28 million, which is currently the absolute first echelon, higher than Dimensity 9200 engineering machine . The main advantage is the GPU, which is about 20,000 points more.

The above picture shows the two test results

Geekbench 5. The single thread has almost reached 1500, and the multi-threading exceeds 5200, which is the strongest level of Android at present.

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P.S.: Currently, the Geekbench 5 background has data for the 3.36GHz high-frequency version test machine (Samsung Galaxy S23 series). The single thread has reached 1530, and multi-threaded is not normal, with only less than 4800.

Geekbench 5 performance horizontally, single thread leads Android is not a big problem, but there is still a big gap with Apple . Multi-threading has already touched the tail of A16, which is the result of a combination of new cores, increasing the number of cores, and radical frequency. Summary of the GPU performance scores of

GFXBench, let's learn about it.

GFX car chase, Manhattan 3.1 and Manhattan frame count

GFXBench Aztec Ruins Vulkan/Metal frame count

​GFXBench frame count horizontally. A week ago, the GPU peak of Dimensity 9200 left a deep impression on us. After all, the GPU of MediaTek surpassed Apple chips at the same time, which is indeed radical enough. However, compared with Qualcomm, the peak performance of Dimensity 9200 is still inferior, and the second-generation Snapdragon 8 is currently the number one in the mobile phone GPU .

The second generation Snapdragon 8 QRD on the left, and the Dimensity 9200 engineering machine on the right, and the Dimensity 9200 engineering machine on the right also provides UFS 4.0 support. QRD also uses the new flash chip . The continuous read and write performance is slightly worse than the Dimensity 9200 engineering machine, but it is also a very high level. Random reading is basically at the same level, while random writing is obviously stronger than the Dimensity engineering machine.

GPU energy efficiency and performance output

Due to the limitations of on-site testing projects, energy efficiency has been tested only for GFXBench. The specific CPU performance can be used to allow the data of mass production machines, which will be more reference.

The GPU performance of the second generation Snapdragon 8 can be said to be very strong, so how is its energy efficiency? As for QRD data, it is so strong that it is beyond words. It has significantly surpassed the direct competitor Dimensity 9200 and is also significantly ahead of the previous generation (first generation Snapdragon 8+). This energy efficiency performance is indeed very amazing.

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Attachment: Other data not listed above (unit is fps/W)

​Manhattan 3.0: 40.75 (This is the highest GPU power consumption among the four scenarios, but it was only 8.05W after no load in the past)

​Aztec 1080P Vulkan: 22.8

In order to make the layout more uniform, the right image turned 90° to place

Finally, take a look at 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme stress test, that is, 20 rounds of cycle test, from the chart, the first 11 rounds are basically a straight line, very stable at 37XX points, and fluctuates later, with a stability of 83.7%. Although it has not reached 90%, it has a good "foundation" after all, and the lowest round of data is far stronger than the 28XX peak of the first generation of Snapdragon 8+.

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​ Or the same sentence: mass production machines see

​The above are some preliminary performance tests based on the second generation of Snapdragon 8 QRD. As for the current data available, it is absolutely leading the performance of both CPU and GPU in the Android field. The CPU of the new architecture and its higher frequency make it more "popular" when running scores. As for the performance of GPUs, although Qualcomm has always been stronger, it is indeed rare to see such energy efficiency significantly ahead of previous generations/competitive products this time. Given past testing experience, Qualcomm QRD's data is relatively reference-oriented and is very close to mass production opportunities, so its power consumption during gaming is worth looking forward to.

​ Due to the limitations of on-site testing conditions, there is still suspense about CPU energy efficiency and game performance. Let’s leave the answers to these questions to the actual test of the second generation Snapdragon 8 first-generation model that will be ushered in soon.