Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx

CPU comparison

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx - 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 Microsoft SQ3 has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.00 GHz. Up to 16 GB of memory is supported in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 was released in Q3/2022.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx has 8 cores with 8 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 2.84 GHz. The CPU supports up to 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx was released in Q4/2018.
Qualcomm Snapdragon (104) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (104)
Qualcomm Snapdragon SQ3 (1) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (2)
2 Generation 2
Kryo 680 Architecture Kryo 495
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 3.00 GHz. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx has 8 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 2.84 GHz.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
3.00 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Gold
A-Core 2.84 GHz
4x Kryo 495 Gold
2.40 GHz
4x Kryo 680 Silver
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 Microsoft SQ3 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon 685 @ 3 TOPS
-- NPU + CPU + iGPU --

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

Qualcomm Adreno 690 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 680
GPU frequency 0.25 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.59 GHz
6 GPU Generation 5
7 nm Technology 7 nm
0 Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 8
-- Shader 768
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 4 GB
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 680
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 Microsoft SQ3 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx can connect up to 16 GB of memory in 8 memory channels.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
LPDDR4X-2133 Memory LPDDR4X-4266
16 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
8 (Octa Channel) Memory channels 8 (Octa Channel)
68.3 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 TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 has a TDP of --, that of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx is 7 W.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
-- TDP (PL1 / PBP) 7 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 has a 0.00 MB cache, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx cache has a total of 2.00 MB.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
5 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)
Q3/2022 Release date Q4/2018
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.0 stars (1 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 0 stars (0 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (43%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx (37%)

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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
1688 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
724 (43%)

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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
7538 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
2808 (37%)

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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
605 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
0 (0%)

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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
3571 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
198 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
1261 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
Qualcomm Adreno 690 @ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
Qualcomm Adreno 680 @ 0.59 GHz
1843 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
1057 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
117 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
771 (100%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 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 Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3
8C 8T @ 3.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
8C 8T @ 2.84 GHz
3 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon Microsoft SQ3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Lenovo Flex 5G
Lenovo Yoga C 5G
Samsung Galaxy Book S

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