Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Benchmark Comparison

We recently compared theSnapdragon 8s Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3and concluded that there are significant gaps in performance between the two chipsets, with the former not offering the same flagship-tier performance. We also pitted the newly launchedSnapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 against the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the previous-gen flagship chipset, to evaluate their performance.

And if you look at it objectively, then the 8 Gen 3s seems closer in performance to the SD 7+ Gen 3 and SD 8 Gen 2. Therefore, here is a benchmark comparison between the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, including Geekbench, AnTuTu, CPU Throttling test, and more.

Note:We ran the tests on the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and the OnePlus 12R powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Specs Comparison

Before you proceed, take a look at the specs for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. You can also head to our explainer on theSnapdragon chipset naming schemeto understand the new nomenclature.Snapdragon 8s Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 2Release DataMarch 2024November 2022Process NodeTSMC 4nmTSMC 4nmCPUOcta-core Kryo CPU1x 3.0GHz (Cortex-X4)4x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A720)3x 2.0GHz (Cortex-A520)Octa-core Kryo CPU1x 3.2GHz (Cortex-X3)2x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A715)2x 2.8GHz (Cortex-A710)3x 2.0GHz (Cortex-A510)GPUAdreno 735Hardware-accelerated Ray TracingAFME 2.0Adreno 740 GPUHardware-accelerated Ray TracingUnreal Engine 5Game Post Processing AcceleratorNPUHexagon NPURun AI models up to 10B parametersHexagon NPUCamera SupportCognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPsUp to 200MP photo capture108MP ZSL, 64+36 ZSL, 36+36+36 ZSL4K HDR video capture at 60 FPS18-Bit Spectra ISPCognitive ISPSnapdragon SightConnectivityWi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LEWi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, LEModemSnapdragon X70 5G ModemPeak Download Speed 6.5 GbpsPeak Upload Speed 3.5 GbpsSnapdragon X70 5G ModemPeak Download Speed 10 GbpsPeak Upload Speed 3.5 GbpsStorage / RAM SupportUFS 4.0LPDDR5X memory up to 4200MHzUFS 4.0LPDDR5X memory up to 4200MHzAV1 Codec SupportHW-accelerated AV1 Decode onlyHW-accelerated AV1 Decode onlyNavIC SupportYesYes

Geekbench 6 CPU Score

As it’s evident from the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Snapdragon8s Gen 3 performs on similar linesto the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The newly launched Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 achieves a single-core score of 1,999 points and 5,273 in the multi-core test.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, on the other hand, received 1,934 in the single-core test and 5,367 in the multi-core test. Despite clocking the cores at a lower frequency, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 manages to rival the CPU on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 due tonewer coresavailable on the SD 8s Gen 3.Geekbench 6 CPUSnapdragon 8s Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 2Single-core1,9991,934Multi-core5,2735,367

AnTuTu Benchmark Score

Next, in the AnTuTu benchmark test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 again comes close to Qualcomm’s 2022 flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. TheSnapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored 1,523,930 in the AnTuTu testand the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 got 1,535,770 points.

In fact, in the CPU test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored slightly higher than the SD 8 Gen 2. That said, the GPU on the 8 Gen 2 is marginally better.AnTuTu BenchmarkSnapdragon 8s Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 2AnTuTu Score1,523,9301,535,770CPU391,196388,627GPU520,531605,405Memory344,714256,269UX267,489285,469

CPU Throttling Test

In the CPU Throttling test, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3did a much better jobthan the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. As the 8s Gen 3 packs newer cores having better efficiency, it can sustain a high workload on its CPU without sacrificing performance.

In the 15-minute test, theSnapdragon 8s Gen 3 throttled to 94%of its maximum performance whereas the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 throttled to 75% of its maximum performance. However, this also depends on the cooling system used by OEMs and how well they’ve implemented it.

Geekbench GPU Test

Since 3DMark kept crashing on the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, we did the Geekbench GPU test to find the performance difference between both Adreno GPUs. TheAdreno 735 GPUon the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 got 8,838 in the OpenCL test and 10,154 in the Vulkan test.

In comparison, theAdreno 740 GPUon the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC scored a bit higher in the OpenCL test, achieving 9,133 points. However, in the Vulkan test, the 8 Gen 2 scored 9,109 points. I’d say both GPUs are quite capable with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and are both equally matched.Geekbench 6 GPUSnapdragon 8s Gen 3Snapdragon 8 Gen 2OpenCL8,8389,133Vulkan10,1549,109

AI Performance Test

For the final AI performance test, we ran the Geekbench ML app to evaluate the NPU performance of both chipsets. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 scored 612 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 got 383 points. The low score of both chipsets might be attributed to the fact that Qualcomm chipsets currently don’t support theNNAPI backendproperly. We tried to run other AI benchmarking apps, but Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro refused to launch those apps.

The Verdict: Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

The new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 from Qualcomm matches the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in nearly all areas. If I had to choose a chipset between the two options, I would definitely go with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. Why? It boasts slightly underclocked but newer ARM cores which wouldimprove the battery life and thermal performanceof the chipset.

But that’s my opinion and choice at the end of the day. What do you think about the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3? Would you pick it over the previous-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2? Let us know in the comments below.

Arjun Sha

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.

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