Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 8 core processor released in Q1/2021 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2022.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (102) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855/860 (3) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (1)
6 Generation 3
Kryo 485 Architecture Cortex-X1 / Cortex-A78
Mobile Segment Mobile
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus Predecessor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.96 GHz. The processor can compute 8 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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.96 GHz
1x Kryo 485 Prime
A-Core 3.00 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Prime
2.42 GHz
3x Kryo 485 Gold
B-Core 2.42 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Gold
1.80 GHz
4x Kryo 485 Silver
C-Core --

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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Qualcomm AI engine AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
Hexagon 690 @ 7 TOPS AI specifications Hexagon

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.

Qualcomm Adreno 640 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 690
0.25 GHz GPU frequency --
0.68 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
5 GPU Generation 6
7 nm Technology 7 nm
1 Max. displays 0
4 Compute units --
384 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12.0 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 640 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 690
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
Decode / Encode 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 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860, 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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
16 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
34.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.2 GB/s
No ECC No
2.00 MB L2 Cache --
3.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 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.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 has 5.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is at 0.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 5 nm.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
7 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)
Q1/2021 Release date Q1/2022
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 5.0 stars (5 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 3.8 stars (9 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 (67%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 (47%)
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
733 (67%)
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
2698 (47%)
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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
972 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
2634 (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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
Qualcomm Adreno 640 @ 0.68 GHz
1037 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Qualcomm Adreno 690 @ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
542771 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
560128 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

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 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 860
8C 8T @ 2.96 GHz
7 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3
Unknown Unknown

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