Both Qualcomm and MediaTek have launched their flagship chipsets for Android phones this year. With the launch of snapdragon 8 elite And dimension 9400Both the companies are pushing the boundaries to offer the best performance on Android phones. So to compare these chipsets, we have benchmarked the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 on Geekbench, AnTuTu, 3DMark, and more. Now without any further delay let’s move on to the comparison.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Specification Comparison
| snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 9400 | |
|---|---|---|
| process node | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) |
| CPU | octa-core 2nd generation Orion CPU |
octa-core arm cpu |
| cpu core | 2x 2nd generation Orion (4.32GHz) 6x 2nd generation Orion (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 LLM Agentic AI, LoRa Training |
| isp | AI Spectra ISP Photo capture up to 320MP 8K HDR video at 60 fps |
imagic 1090 isp Photo capture up to 320MP 8K HDR video at 60 fps |
| modem | Snapdragon X80 5G Modem Peak download up to 10 Gbps Peak upload up to 3.5 Gbps |
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 CPUs
Starting with the Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark, the Orion-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 is ahead by 15% in single-core performance and about 11% in multi-threaded tasks.
| geekbench 6 cpu | snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 9400 |
|---|---|---|
| single core | 3,033 | 2,618 |
| multi core | 9,271 | 8,291 |
| temperature | from 32.8 degrees | 37.5 degrees Celsius |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: AnTuTu benchmarks
In AnTuTu benchmarks, both the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 performed on the same lines. The Snapdragon 8 Elite got 2,759,190 points and the Dimensity 9400 got 2,701,004 points. Surprisingly, the Dimensity 9400 performed better on CPU benchmarks and even beat the Snapdragon 8 Elite in GPU performance by a small margin.
| AnTuTu benchmark | snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 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 Celsius | 39.3 degrees Celsius |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: CPU Throttling Test
Next, in the CPU throttling test, it becomes clear that the Dimensity 9400’s CPU is powerful, but it cannot sustain peak performance for extended periods. This may have to do with the Vivo X200 Pro Mini’s smaller form factor, but in our 60-minute stress test, the Dimensity 9400 dropped to 62% of its maximum performance. In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Elite peaked at 77%, maintaining peak performance for longer periods of time.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Geekbench 6 GPU
As we saw in the AnTuTu benchmarks, the Arm Immortalis-G925 MP12 GPU on the Dimensity 9400 is really powerful. It not only rivals the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s Adreno 830 GPU, but also beats it by a slim margin on both OpenCL and Vulkan graphics APIs in the Geekbench 6 GPU test.
| geekbench 6 gpu | snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 9400 |
|---|---|---|
| opencl | 19,193 | 20,806 |
| Vulcan | 24,462 | 24,813 |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: 3DMark test
Now, let’s move on to the demanding 3DMark GPU test. In the 3DMark Wildlife 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 excellent consistency of 83.3%.
The Dimensity 9400’s GPU also got the best loop score of 5,839 points, but it quickly outpaced the GPU, leading to the lowest loop score of 2,306 points. Stability was a disappointing 39.5%. In my opinion, the GPU is being throttled excessively to reduce temperatures on a small device like Vivo X200 Pro MiniWe need to test the Dimensity 9400 on a larger Android phone to find out GPU stability.
| 3DMark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test | snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 9400 |
|---|---|---|
| best loop score | 6,311 | 5,839 |
| lowest loop score | 5,258 | 2,306 |
| Stability | 83.3% | 39.5% |
| temperature | from 42.6 degrees | 40.6 degrees Celsius |
Next, in the 3DMark Solar Bay test, the Dimensity 9400 again delivered slightly better ray-tracing performance. Its average was 41.62 fps and the temperature was also low. In the intensive Steel Nomad Lite test, the Dimensity 9400 scored 2,405 points while the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 2,201 points.
| 3dmark solar bay | snapdragon 8 elite | dimension 9400 |
|---|---|---|
| overall score | 10,614 | 10,946 |
| average fps | 40.36 fps | 41.62 fps |
| temperature | 43.4 degrees Celsius | 41.4 degrees Celsius |
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Dimensity 9400: Geekbench AI
Now, let’s come to the Geekbench AI test which evaluates the NPU. Unfortunately, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s NPU driver stack is not ready, resulting in a very low score. Therefore, we have not included them in this comparison. That said, we ran tests on CPUs, and it looks like the Dimensity 9400 performed better on AI workloads. Overall, we’ll have to wait for Qualcomm to add support for the Hexagon AI engine so we can comprehensively compare the two NPUs.
| geekbench ai | Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU | dimension 9400 cpu |
|---|---|---|
| single precision score | 1,970 | 2,125 |
| half precision score | 2,037 | 2,119 |
| quantified score | 2,416 | 3,026 |
Decision
As far as CPU performance is concerned, the custom Orion core on the Snapdragon 8 Elite is better than Arm’s Cortex core on the Dimensity 9400. Orion can scale to higher frequencies while keeping core temperatures under control. It consumes less power than the Dimensity 9400 CPU.
On the GPU front, the Dimensity 9400’s Immortalis-G925 GPU impressed us with its remarkable graphics performance. In many tests, it beats the Adreno 830 GPU by a slight margin. That said, sustained graphics performance remains a concern, but to be sure, we need to check stability on a larger device with a better cooling system.
Overall, MediaTek has truly developed a flagship chipset. I think premium Android phones this year will have unmatched CPU and GPU performance, which is great news for consumers.
