MediaTek MT8173 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


MediaTek MT8173 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
MediaTek MT8173 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the MediaTek MT8173 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 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 8cx Gen 3 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2022.
Mediatek MT-Serie (72) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (104)
MediaTek MT81xx MT86xx A72 / A53 (3) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (1)
1 Generation 3
Cortex-A72 / Cortex-A53 Architecture Cortex-X1 / Cortex-A78
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
-- 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 8cx Gen 3 clocks with 3.00 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
4 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.80 GHz
2x Cortex-A72
A-Core 3.00 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Prime
1.40 GHz
2x Cortex-A53
B-Core 2.42 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Gold

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.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

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 690
0.70 GHz GPU frequency --
0.70 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation 6
28 nm Technology 7 nm
1 Max. displays 0
2 Compute units --
32 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
10 DirectX Version 12.0

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 690
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 Decode
No Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

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 8cx Gen 3 supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 68.2 GB/s enabled.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
LPDDR3-933 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
2 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
2 (Dual Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
14.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 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 8cx Gen 3 is 7 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- 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 8cx Gen 3 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

MediaTek MT8173 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
28 nm Technology 5 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, Windows 10 (ARM)
Q1/2015 Release date Q1/2022
-- 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 8cx Gen 3 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.4 stars (13 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (30%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
MediaTek MT8173 (13%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (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 (30%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
1096 (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 (13%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
5789 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
579 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
3286 (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 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 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.
MediaTek MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
610 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Qualcomm Adreno 690 @ 0.00 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 MT8173 MediaTek MT8173
4C 4T @ 1.80 GHz
609 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

MediaTek MT8173 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Amazon Fire HD 10 (2017) Unknown

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