HiSilicon Kirin 970
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
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HiSilicon Kirin 970 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Specifications, performance, tests

User rating
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Released
Q3/2017
HiSilicon Kirin 970
HiSilicon Kirin 970
Released
Q1/2022
User rating
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

What's the best choice HiSilicon Kirin 970 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1? Which processor is faster?

We have prepared a comparison to help you choose the best processor. Compare their specifications and benchmarks.

HiSilicon Kirin 970 has a base frequency of 1.84 GHz. 8 CPU Cores / Threads. Stated TDP / base power 9 W. Released in Q3/2017.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has a base frequency of 1.80 GHz. 8 / 8 CPU Cores / Threads. Released in Q1/2022.

Differences

  • Higher clock speed

    Around 2% better clock speed

    1.84 GHz left arrow 1.80 GHz

Positions in all rankings

Common positions HiSilicon Kirin 970 CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    1125 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    894 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    1057 place
  • Higher turbo clock speed

    Around 25 % higher specified turbo frequency

    3.00 GHz left arrow 2.40 GHz

Positions in all rankings

Common positions Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU in popular benchmarks, for comparison with other models.

  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
    237 place
  • Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
    461 place
  • iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
    51 place

Specifications

Technical data
HiSilicon Kirin 970 HiSilicon Kirin 970
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
CPU family and group

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

  • CPU group
    HiSilicon Kirin 970 left arrow Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
  • Family
    HiSilicon Kirin left arrow Qualcomm Snapdragon
  • Generation
    6 left arrow 1
  • Predecessor
    - left arrow Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • Segment
    Mobile left arrow Mobile
CPU Technical specs

Core counts, threads, cache and clock modes describe the CPU configuration. Performance depends on the workload and comparable measured results.

  • A-Core
    4x Cortex-A73 left arrow 1x Cortex-X2
  • B-Core
    4x Cortex-A53 left arrow 3x Cortex-A710
  • Base Frequency
    1.84 GHz left arrow 1.8 GHz
  • C-Core
    - left arrow 4x Cortex-A510
  • Core architecture
    hybrid (big.LITTLE) left arrow hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
  • CPU Cores
    8 left arrow 8
  • CPU Threads
    8 left arrow 8
  • Hyperthreading / SMT
    No left arrow No
  • Overclocking
    No left arrow No
  • Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
    2.4 GHz left arrow 3 GHz
  • Turbo Frequency (8 Cores)
    2.4 GHz left arrow 2.5 GHz
IGPU

Internal Graphics does not affect the performance of the CPU, performs the work of the graphics card in its absence or on mobile devices.

  • DirectX Version
    12 left arrow 12.1
  • Execution units
    12 left arrow -
  • Generation
    Bifrost 2 left arrow 7
  • GPU Frequency
    750 MHz left arrow 840 MHz
  • GPU name
    ARM Mali-G72 MP12 left arrow Qualcomm Adreno 730
  • GPU Turbo
    No turbo left arrow No turbo
  • Max. displays
    1 left arrow -
  • Max. GPU Memory
    2 GB left arrow -
  • Release date
    Q3/2017 left arrow Q1/2022
  • Shader
    192 left arrow -
  • Technology
    16 nm left arrow 4 nm
Hardware codec support

Built-in codecs used to encode and decode content. Significantly speeds up the required operations.

  • AV1
    No left arrow No
  • H.264 / AVC
    Decode / Encode left arrow Conflicting source values: Decode | Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • JPEG
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VC-1
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode
  • VP8
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
  • VP9
    Decode / Encode left arrow Decode / Encode
Memory specs & PCI

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and HiSilicon Kirin 970. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

  • ECC
    No left arrow No
  • Max. Memory
    8 GB left arrow 16 GB
  • Memory channels
    4 left arrow 4
  • Memory type
    LPDDR4X-2133 left arrow LPDDR5-3200
Encryption
  • AES-NI
    No left arrow No
Thermal Management

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP HiSilicon Kirin 970 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Power specifications describe different manufacturer limits. TDP, base power and maximum turbo power are separate values; they do not establish measured system consumption.

  • TDP (PL1, legacy label)
    9 W left arrow -
Technologies and extensions

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by HiSilicon Kirin 970 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

  • Architecture
    Cortex-A73 / Cortex-A53 left arrow Kryo
  • Instruction set (ISA)
    ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) left arrow ARMv9-A64 (64 bit)
  • L2-Cache
    - left arrow 2 MB
  • L3-Cache
    2 MB left arrow 4 MB
  • Part Number
    - left arrow SM8450
  • Release date
    Q3/2017 left arrow Q1/2022
  • Technology
    10 nm left arrow 4 nm
  • Virtualization
    None left arrow None

Benchmarks

Performance tests CPUs

Based on the results of several benchmarks, you can more accurately estimate the difference in performance between HiSilicon Kirin 970 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Compare the synthetic test values and choose the best processor!

These are saved results from the earlier catalog. Measurement dates and test configurations were not recorded. Models with no comparable results are omitted.

Recent models: test results with identified primary sources — Cinebench R23 · Cinebench R20 · Cinebench R15 · Cinebench 2026 · RandomX benchmark

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 SC is a popular cross-platform performance test for desktop or mobile processors that uses system memory intensively

Higher values are better in this metric.

349.000000
HiSilicon Kirin 970
1241.000000
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)
Geekbench 5 MC is a popular cross-platform performance test for desktop or mobile processors that uses system memory intensively

Higher values are better in this metric.

1455.000000
HiSilicon Kirin 970
3838.000000
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)
The performance of the iGPU - the internal GPU in games

Higher values are better in this metric.

330.000000
HiSilicon Kirin 970
2236.000000
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

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