MediaTek MT8173 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 821

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


MediaTek MT8173 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
MediaTek MT8173 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the MediaTek MT8173 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the MediaTek MT8173 4 core processor released in Q1/2015 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q3/2016.
Mediatek MT-Serie (72) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
MediaTek MT81xx MT86xx A72 / A53 (3) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (3)
1 Generation 3
Cortex-A72 / Cortex-A53 Architecture Kryo
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The MediaTek MT8173 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.80 GHz. The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 clocks with 2.40 GHz, has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4 Cores 4
4 Threads 4
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.80 GHz
2x Cortex-A72
A-Core 2.40 GHz
2x Kryo
1.40 GHz
2x Cortex-A53
B-Core 1.60 GHz
2x Kryo

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 MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon 680

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

PowerVR GX6250 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 530
0.70 GHz GPU frequency 0.62 GHz
0.70 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.62 GHz
-- GPU Generation 5
28 nm Technology 14 nm
1 Max. displays 0
2 Compute units --
32 Shader 256
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
10 DirectX Version 11,1

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.

PowerVR GX6250 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 530
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode
No Codec VP9 Decode
No Codec VP8 Decode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 2 GB of memory in a maximum of 2 memory channels is supported by the MediaTek MT8173, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 supports a maximum of 8 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 14.9 GB/s enabled.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
LPDDR3-933 Memory LPDDR4-3733
2 GB Max. Memory 8 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
14.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 14.9 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The MediaTek MT8173 has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is --. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The MediaTek MT8173 has 0.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 28 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 14 nm.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
28 nm Technology 14 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
Q1/2015 Release date Q3/2016
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the MediaTek MT8173 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 2.3 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (96%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (69%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
331 (97%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
341 (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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
768 (89%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
864 (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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
348 (94%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
370 (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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
610 (81%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
752 (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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
PowerVR GX6250 @ 0.70 GHz
90 (19%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Qualcomm Adreno 530 @ 0.62 GHz
476 (100%)

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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
609 (38%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
4C 4T @ 2.40 GHz
1594 (100%)

Devices using this processor

MediaTek MT8173 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017) Unknown

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