MediaTek Dimensity 820 vs HiSilicon Kirin 980

Last updated:

CPU comparison with benchmarks


MediaTek Dimensity 820 CPU1 vs CPU2 HiSilicon Kirin 980
MediaTek Dimensity 820 HiSilicon Kirin 980

CPU comparison

MediaTek Dimensity 820 or HiSilicon Kirin 980 - 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 MediaTek Dimensity 820 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.60 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 2 memory channels. The MediaTek Dimensity 820 was released in Q2/2020.

The HiSilicon Kirin 980 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.60 GHz. The CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The HiSilicon Kirin 980 was released in Q4/2018.
Mediatek Dimensity (36) Family HiSilicon Kirin (29)
MediaTek Dimensity 820 (1) CPU group HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2)
1 Generation 7
Cortex-A76 / Cortex-A55 Architecture Cortex-A76 / Cortex-A55
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The MediaTek Dimensity 820 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.60 GHz. The HiSilicon Kirin 980 has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.60 GHz.

MediaTek Dimensity 820 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 980
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.60 GHz
4x Cortex-A76
A-Core 2.60 GHz
2x Cortex-A76
2.00 GHz
4x Cortex-A55
B-Core 1.92 GHz
2x Cortex-A76
-- C-Core 1.80 GHz
4x Cortex-A55

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

MediaTek Dimensity 820 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 980
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

ARM Mali-G57 MP5 GPU ARM Mali-G76 MP10
0.90 GHz GPU frequency 0.72 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) --
Vallhall 1 GPU Generation Bifrost 3
7 nm Technology 7 nm
2 Max. displays 2
5 Compute units 10
80 Shader 160
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 GB Max. GPU Memory 4 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.

ARM Mali-G57 MP5 GPU ARM Mali-G76 MP10
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The MediaTek Dimensity 820 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory in 2 memory channels. The HiSilicon Kirin 980 can connect up to 8 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

MediaTek Dimensity 820 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 980
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-2133
16 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
17.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth --
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 2.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The MediaTek Dimensity 820 has a TDP of --, that of the HiSilicon Kirin 980 is 6 W.

MediaTek Dimensity 820 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 980
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 6 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The MediaTek Dimensity 820 has a 0.00 MB cache, while the HiSilicon Kirin 980 cache has a total of 2.00 MB.

MediaTek Dimensity 820 Characteristic HiSilicon Kirin 980
7 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
Android Operating systems Android
Q2/2020 Release date Q4/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the MediaTek Dimensity 820 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 980 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek Dimensity 820 (94%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek Dimensity 820 (92%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 (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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
646 (95%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
681 (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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2432 (94%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2576 (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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
820 (93%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
885 (100%)

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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2512 (90%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2778 (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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
ARM Mali-G57 MP5 @ 0.90 GHz
576 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
ARM Mali-G76 MP10 @ 0.72 GHz
520 (90%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
407964 (99%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
412594 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
447630 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 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.
MediaTek Dimensity 820 MediaTek Dimensity 820
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
4401 (100%)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

MediaTek Dimensity 820 HiSilicon Kirin 980
Unknown Huawei P30
Huawei P30 Pro
Huawei Honor 20
Huawei Honor 20 Pro
Huawei Mate 20
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Huawei Nova 5T

Popular comparisons containing this CPUs

1. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
2. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
3. Qualcomm Snapdragon 765GHiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G vs HiSilicon Kirin 980
4. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
5. Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5GHiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G vs HiSilicon Kirin 980
6. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
7. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
8. Qualcomm Snapdragon 732GHiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G vs HiSilicon Kirin 980
9. Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4GHiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G vs HiSilicon Kirin 980
10. HiSilicon Kirin 980Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 870


back to index