I tried playing on Snapdragon’s biggest rival

I used to be very impressed after I in contrast MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 processor inside the brand new OPPO Discover X8 Professional. Whereas it may not fairly prime the charts, it is definitely no slouch, and our stress take a look at outcomes recommend loads of thermal headroom to make it an ideal alternative for these prolonged gaming classes. However can it sustain with the mighty Snapdragon relating to real-world gaming? I took the brand new flagship and numerous the most well-liked Android titles to see what the telephone gala’s are like in the actual world.

I’ve the high-performance ASUS ROG Telephone 9 Professional gaming telephone, which encompasses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite energy processor, for comparability, together with the Google Pixel 8 Professional – with a considerably increased GPU implementation – within the center vary. I’ve additionally included the ASUS Zenfone 11 Extremely with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor for example of last-gen efficiency. Earlier than we get into the outcomes, although, let’s check out some benchmarks to see the place we would anticipate issues to face.

With customized Phoenix-L and -M CPU cores as an alternative of Arm Cortex, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has a big benefit in Geekbench 6. Nevertheless, few cell video games are CPU-bound, so this benefit in all probability will not there are lots of on this sport take a look at. Our 3DMark Wild Life Excessive and Photo voltaic Bay checks are extra apparent. Each chips and handsets ship nearly an identical outcomes, suggesting related body charges. Nevertheless, the Dimensity 9400 makes it by the stress checks with fairly secure efficiency for about 9 or 10 runs and pretty low temperatures. To beat it, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite must run considerably hotter, however will this discrepancy present up in precise video games, that are often much less demanding than these stress checks? Let’s bounce in

Dimensity 9400 vs Snapdragon 8 Elite gaming efficiency

We’ll begin with some in style FPS titles: COD Cellular to see if telephones can deal with a demanding 120 fps body fee, and PUBG Cellular to introduce HDR graphics and 4x AA necessities at 60 fps. Neither of those two older video games can be thought-about the head of cell graphics, however their play types require excessive and secure body charges.

MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 manages stable body charges right here. Whereas it is not as locked into 120fps because the Snapdragon 8 Elite is in COD Cellular, it is above 117fps more often than not, and also you’re unlikely to note the uncommon dips to a still-healthy 112fps that I noticed in two spherical. However since we’re being cautious, this rating is not fairly as easy because the last-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which scores barely higher at 90% and minimal framerates on this sport.

The roles are barely reversed in PUBG Cellular, the place the OPPO Discover X8 Professional and its MediaTek chip are barely extra secure than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 when it comes to minimums. Once more, although, it is not as locked into 60fps because the 8 Elite, however you may be hard-pressed to note or really feel the common distinction under 1fps. Whereas it is clear, none of those video games are extraordinarily demanding of a flagship chip; we should always observe the slight enchancment in minimal FPS in comparison with final 12 months’s Google Pixel 8 Professional, pointing to a marginal profit from the delivery of those higher-performance chips, at the very least for critical players.

Subsequent, we flip to Genshin Affect. Though 4 years outdated at this level, its open-world landscapes are nonetheless a few of the most sought-after visuals within the cell gaming area, particularly when the sport is run at a 60fps goal. The Dimensity 9400 meets that purpose solidly, for probably the most half, with 90% of frames counted above 59 fps and a minimal fps that is truly a body higher than the final ROG. Likewise, the telephone presents a greater minimal than the final era Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so when it not often drops, it is not as noticeable.

Nevertheless, the Snapdragon 8 Elite once more has a barely tighter grip at precisely 60 fps, though neither telephone struggles right here. Whereas the MediaTek chip does introduce common odd frames and dropped frames, they’re under 22ms and will due to this fact not be noticeable. Our Elite 8 truly noticed a extra noticeable yank on the finish of our five-minute interval, however that seems to be an anomaly.

Lastly, we come to our fast-paced FZero GX emulator take a look at. Whereas the menus proceed to current probably the most memorable of any telephone I’ve ever examined, the Dimensity 9400 handles these sections a bit extra gently than the 8 Elite. The OPPO Discover X8 Professional and its MediaTek chip additionally match and even surpass Qualcomm’s largest for common and tenth percentile frames, beating the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 whereas it is at it. Nevertheless, as we have seen earlier than, the Mount of Arms structure works fairly nicely right here, and even the weaker Pixel 8 Professional manages constant body charges within the sport. Talking of which, the MediaTek chip seems to be somewhat extra erratic, with common small dips under 60fps, whereas the ASUS gaming telephone locks this to a largely secure worth. Nonetheless, with minimal lag detected on both handset, each really feel very easy to play.

Based mostly on these 4 in-game checks, there may be little or no to inform between the efficiency of the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. Their comparative similarities are mirrored equally nicely in real-world gaming, making both a wonderful alternative for these trying to make sure constant body charges in the present day and into the foreseeable future. That is additionally a stable consequence for Arm’s Immortalis G925, which has beforehand been thought-about (maybe unfairly) a slower GPU than Qualcomm’s Adreno.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite could have a slight fps benefit in some instances and appears to stay to a barely tighter 60 fps, however that is not sufficient to win it over right here. The large caveat is the Elite 8’s stress take a look at temperature outcomes and our hands-on expertise with hotter Snapdragon telephones than the well-cooled ASUS ROG Telephone 9.

Whereas precise gaming is not that heat, at the very least not within the 20 minutes I might afford to play, the a lot increased temperatures point out the potential for extra aggressive throttling for those who play longer, cost whereas gaming, or simply reside. someplace a lot hotter than moist outdated Blighty. There are additionally upcoming video games to contemplate, which can ultimately put extra stress on the telephone’s {hardware} and trigger temperatures to rise. The 8 Elite could not deal with video games as nicely in a number of years. I’ve no such considerations concerning the Dimensity 9400, at the very least not within the implementation I examined on the OPPO Discover X8 Professional. We have additionally in contrast the vivo X200 Professional which is hotter, however nothing comes near the warmth we have seen from round 8 Elite telephones.

After all, there may be additionally availability. Most MediaTek flagship telephones, such because the OPPO Discover X8 Professional and vivo X200 Professional, are usually not obtainable within the US. I definitely would not undergo the hassles and hoops of the service to import one, particularly since there is not any clear efficiency benefit to Taiwanese chips. Nevertheless, if these telephones are on sale in your nation, players mustn’t hesitate to get one.