Intel Atom x5-Z8550 vs HiSilicon Kirin 970

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Atom x5-Z8550 CPU1 vs CPU2 HiSilicon Kirin 970
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 HiSilicon Kirin 970

CPU comparison

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 or HiSilicon Kirin 970 - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 has 4 cores with 4 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.40 GHz. Up to 8 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 was released in Q1/2016.

The HiSilicon Kirin 970 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.40 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The HiSilicon Kirin 970 was released in Q3/2017.
Intel Atom (108) Family HiSilicon Kirin (29)
Intel Atom x3/x5/x7 (9) CPU group HiSilicon Kirin 970 (1)
5 Generation 6
Cherry Trail Architecture Cortex-A73 / Cortex-A53
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Intel Atom x5-Z8550 is 1.44 GHz (2.40 GHz) while the HiSilicon Kirin 970 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the HiSilicon Kirin 970 is at 2.40 GHz.

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
4 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.44 GHz (2.40 GHz) A-Core 2.40 GHz
4x Cortex-A73
-- B-Core 1.84 GHz
4x Cortex-A53

NPU AI performance

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is specified here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher. Processors with support for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors.

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 or HiSilicon Kirin 970 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU ARM Mali-G72 MP12
0.20 GHz GPU frequency 0.75 GHz
0.60 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
8 GPU Generation Bifrost 2
14 nm Technology 16 nm
3 Max. displays 1
12 Compute units 12
96 Shader 192
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
12 DirectX Version 12

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU ARM Mali-G72 MP12
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 can use up to 8 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s. The HiSilicon Kirin 970 supports up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to --.

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
DDR3L-1600 Memory LPDDR4X-2133
8 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
25.6 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
2.00 MB L3 Cache 2.00 MB
2.0 PCIe version --
2 PCIe lanes --
1.0 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Intel Atom x5-Z8550 is 2 W, while the HiSilicon Kirin 970 has a TDP of 9 W. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
2 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 9 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Atom x5-Z8550 is manufactured in 14 nm and has 2.00 MB cache. The HiSilicon Kirin 970 is manufactured in 10 nm and has a 2.00 MB cache.

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 970
14 nm Technology 10 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2 ISA extensions --
BGA 138 Socket --
VT-x, VT-x EPT Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
Operating systems Android
Q1/2016 Release date Q3/2017
23 $ Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Intel Atom x5-Z8550 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the HiSilicon Kirin 970 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (5 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 (66%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 (57%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
231 (66%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
349 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
827 (57%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
1455 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
Intel HD Graphics 400 @ 0.60 GHz
126 (38%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
ARM Mali-G72 MP12 @ 0.75 GHz
330 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
202 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
568 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1179 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
40 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8550
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
145 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
8C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Atom x5-Z8550 HiSilicon Kirin 970
Unknown Huawei Honor 10
Huawei Note 10
Huawei Play
Huawei Honor View 10
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Huawei P20
Huawei Nova 3
Huawei Nova 4

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. Intel Atom x5-Z8550Intel Celeron N4000 Intel Atom x5-Z8550 vs Intel Celeron N4000
2. Intel Atom x5-Z8500Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8500 vs Intel Atom x5-Z8550
3. HiSilicon Kirin 970Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G
4. HiSilicon Kirin 970Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
5. Intel Atom x7-Z8750Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x7-Z8750 vs Intel Atom x5-Z8550
6. Intel Atom x5-Z8350Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x5-Z8350 vs Intel Atom x5-Z8550
7. HiSilicon Kirin 970Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
8. Intel Atom x7-Z8700Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Atom x7-Z8700 vs Intel Atom x5-Z8550
9. HiSilicon Kirin 970Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
10. Intel Pentium N4200Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Intel Pentium N4200 vs Intel Atom x5-Z8550


back to index