Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2

CPU comparison

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 or Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 - 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 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.15 GHz. Up to 32 GB of memory is supported in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 was released in Q4/2018.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.15 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 was released in Q3/2020.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (102) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (2) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon SQ1/SQ2 (2)
2 Generation 1
Kryo 495 Architecture Kryo 495
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 is 3.15 GHz while the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has 8 CPU cores and 8 threads can calculate simultaneously. The clock frequency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 is at 3.15 GHz.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.15 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Gold
A-Core 3.15 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Gold
1.80 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Silver
B-Core 2.42 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Silver

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 8cx Gen. 2 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
Qualcomm AI engine AI hardware --
Hexagon 690 @ 7 TOPS AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 or Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has integrated graphics, called iGPU for short. The iGPU uses the system's main memory as graphics memory and sits on the processor's die.

Qualcomm Adreno 690 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 690
0.25 GHz GPU frequency --
0.59 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
6 GPU Generation 6
7 nm Technology 7 nm
0 Max. displays 0
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- 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 690 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 Codec VP9 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode Codec AVC Decode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 can use up to 32 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The maximum memory bandwidth is 68.2 GB/s. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 supports up to 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 68.3 GB/s.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
LPDDR4X-4266 Memory LPDDR4X-2133
32 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
8 (Octa Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 68.3 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
2.00 MB L3 Cache --
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The thermal design power (TDP for short) of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 is 7 W, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 has a TDP of --. The TDP specifies the necessary cooling solution that is required to cool the processor sufficiently.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
7 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) --
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 is manufactured in 7 nm and has 2.00 MB cache. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 is manufactured in 7 nm and has a 0.00 MB cache.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
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, Windows 10 (ARM) Operating systems Android, Windows 10 (ARM)
Q4/2018 Release date Q3/2020
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 1.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks

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 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
760 (96%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
793 (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 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
2855 (94%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
3053 (100%)

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 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
7 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
8C 8T @ 3.15 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen. 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ2
Lenovo Flex 5G
Lenovo Yoga C 5G
Samsung Galaxy Book S
Microsoft Surface Pro X

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