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Kishonti
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a mobile processor make a significant jump in performance over previous efforts. Both the Tegra 4 and Snapdragon 800 leapfrogged the competition in 2013, and now it’s time for the next evolution.
I got a chance to test out Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 805 processor, and while it easily beats every ARM CPU/GPU combo before it, it’s not orders of magnitude faster than its predecessors. Check out the charts and analysis below, and look for future coverage of the 805 later this year once it actually starts arriving in devices.
Comparison devices
| Device | Chipset | CPU | GPU |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTC One M8 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 | Krait 400 | Adreno 330 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 | Krait 400 | Adreno 330 |
| Apple iPhone 5s | Apple A7 | 1.3GHz dual-core | PowerVR G6430 |
| Qualcomm reference tablet | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 | Krait 450 | Adreno 420 |
Graphics performance (GFXBench 3.0)
Qualcomm reference tablet
17.4
Samsung Galaxy S5
11.9
HTC One M8
11.7
Apple iPhone 5s
10.9 In frames per second; longer bars indicate faster performanceNote:
Graphics performance 2 (Manhattan)
Qualcomm reference tablet
40.4
Samsung Galaxy S5
28.5
HTC One M8
27.7
Apple iPhone 5s
26.1 In frames per second; longer bars indicate faster performanceNote:
The 3DMark benchmark running at 720p and 1080p easily maxed out on all the devices I tested, making its usefulness as a comparison tool limited. 3DMark Unlimited unfortunately runs at the test device’s native resolution, making a one-to-one comparison between Qualcomm’s reference tablet — with a high 2,560×1,440 screen resolution — and the 1080p phones on the list impossible.
Instead, GFXBench 3.0 made for a much more relevant benchmark, since it pushes devices harder while running them all at 1080p.
As you can see from the results above, the 805 has at least a five frames-per-second advantage over its nearest competitor, the Snapdragon 800. And that’s on the more-demanding Manhattan benchmark. On the more forgiving T-Rex test, the advantage is even greater.
Qualcomm still plans to release its 64-bit 808 and 810 early next year, but for right now, the 805 is king.
