Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 4 core processor released in Q4/2015 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2018.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (104) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (104)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (3) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (2)
3 Generation 2
Kryo Architecture Kryo 495
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.15 GHz. The processor can compute 4 threads at the same time. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 clocks with 3.15 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
4 Cores 8
4 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.15 GHz
2x Kryo
A-Core 3.15 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Gold
1.60 GHz
2x Kryo
B-Core 1.80 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Silver

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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
Qualcomm AI engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
Hexagon 680 AI specifications Hexagon 690 @ 7 TOPS
-- 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.

Qualcomm Adreno 530 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 690
0.62 GHz GPU frequency 0.25 GHz
0.62 GHz GPU (Turbo) 0.59 GHz
5 GPU Generation 6
14 nm Technology 7 nm
0 Max. displays 0
-- Compute units --
256 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
11,1 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.

Qualcomm Adreno 530 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 690
Decode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VP9 Decode
Decode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 12 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 68.2 GB/s enabled.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
LPDDR4-3733 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
12 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
14.9 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
-- L3 Cache 2.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 has a TDP of --. The TDP of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 is 7 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 has 0.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 14 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 is at 2.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 7 nm.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
14 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, Windows 10 (ARM)
Q4/2015 Release date Q4/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (3 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 3.0 stars (2 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (45%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (32%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
344 (45%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
760 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
903 (32%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
2855 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
367 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
746 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Qualcomm Adreno 530 @ 0.62 GHz
476 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
Qualcomm Adreno 690 @ 0.59 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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
1362 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)

AI performance (NPU)

The performance values of the processor's AI unit. The isolated NPU performance is given here, the total AI performance (NPU+CPU+iGPU) can be higher.

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. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
4C 4T @ 2.15 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
7 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
Unknown Lenovo Flex 5G
Lenovo Yoga C 5G
Samsung Galaxy Book S

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