Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) vs MediaTek Dimensity 9300

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) CPU1 vs CPU2 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) MediaTek Dimensity 9300

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) and the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) 4 core processor released in Q4/2023 with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q4/2023.
AMD Ryzen 5 (86) Family Mediatek Dimensity (36)
AMD Sephiroth (Steam Deck Refresh 2023) (1) CPU group MediaTek Dimensity 9300 (1)
4 Generation 5
Sephiroth (Zen 2) Architecture Cortex-X4 / -A720
Mobile Segment Mobile
Valve Steam Deck (AMD Custom APU 0405) Predecessor MediaTek Dimensity 9200+
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) is a 4 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.40 GHz (3.50 GHz). The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 clocks with 3.25 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 9300
4 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
normal Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Yes Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.40 GHz (3.50 GHz) A-Core 3.25 GHz
1x Cortex-X4
-- B-Core 2.85 GHz
3x Cortex-X4
-- C-Core 2.00 GHz
4x Cortex-A720

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.

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 9300
-- AI hardware Mediatek APU
-- AI specifications MediaTek APU 790 @ 33 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.

AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Steam Deck) GPU ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12
1.00 GHz GPU frequency 1.00 GHz
1.60 GHz GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
7 nm Technology 4 nm
2 Max. displays 0
8 Compute units 12
512 Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
8 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version 12

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.

AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Steam Deck) GPU ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12
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 / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode / Encode
Decode Codec VC-1 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 16 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh), while the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 76.8 GB/s enabled.

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 9300
LPDDR5-6400 Memory LPDDR5X-9600
16 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
102.4 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 76.8 GB/s
No ECC No
2.00 MB L2 Cache --
4.00 MB L3 Cache 18.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version --
8 PCIe lanes --
7.9 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) has a TDP of 15 W. The TDP of the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is 12.5 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 9300
15 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 12.5 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
4 W TDP down --
100 °C Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) has 6.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 6 nm. The cache of MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is at 18.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 4 nm.

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Characteristic MediaTek Dimensity 9300
6 nm Technology 4 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv9-A (64 bit)
SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3 ISA extensions --
FF3 Socket --
AMD-V, SVM Virtualization None
Yes AES-NI No
SteamOS (Arch Linux) Operating systems Android
Q4/2023 Release date Q4/2023
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

Here you can rate the Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.2 stars (6 ratings). Rate now:
Here you can rate the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.4 stars (18 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) (57%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) (57%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 (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.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
1296 (57%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
2287 (100%)

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.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 2.80 GHz
4510 (57%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
7880 (100%)

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.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
AMD Custom Radeon Graphics (Steam Deck) @ 1.60 GHz
1638 (68%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12 @ 1.00 GHz
2400 (100%)

Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)

The Cinebench 2024 benchmark is based on the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxon's 3D program Cinema 4D. The benchmark runs are each 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
57 (100%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

The Multi-Core test of the Cinebench 2024 benchmark uses all cpu cores to render using the Redshift rendering engine, which is also used in Maxons Cinema 4D. The benchmark run is 10 minutes long to test whether the processor is limited by its heat generation.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
275 (100%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
0 (0%)

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.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 3.50 GHz
975 (100%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 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.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 2.80 GHz
4359 (100%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
0 (0%)

AnTuTu 10 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 10 benchmark is one of the best-known benchmarks for mobile processors, which is now available in version 10. There is a version for Android-based smartphones and tablets, as well as a version for Apple mobile devices, i.e. iPhones and iPads.

The Antutu 10 benchmark has 3 phases. In the first phase, the device's RAM is tested, in phase 2 the graphics are tested and in the final phase the entire device is pushed to its performance limits by rendering 3D graphics.

Antutu 10 is therefore ideal for comparing the performance of different devices.
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
2041950 (100%)

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).
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh)
4C 8T @ 2.40 GHz
0 (0%)
MediaTek Dimensity 9300 MediaTek Dimensity 9300
8C 8T @ 3.25 GHz
33 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) MediaTek Dimensity 9300
Valve Steam Deck (2023 Refresh) Unknown

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