Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 vs MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus: Neck and neck in every aspect (2024)

MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 Plus chipset was the company's big return to flagship chipsets in the west, and it was a long time coming. The non-Plus version launched in devices like the OPPO Find X5 Pro Dimensity Edition, a China-only exclusive. However, with the advent of the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro came an additional tier above — the Asus ROG Phone 6D Ultimate. The "Ultimate" moniker obviously implied at the time that it was the superior device, and so, we put both chipsets to the test.

In short, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus is still a beast, and many of us in the West were excited for it to land on a device that can be easily obtained here. It laid the groundwork for the Dimensity 9200 and the 9300 which have both arrived since, and the company has been on a warpath of greatness in recent years. This comparison intends to compare both the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus and the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 to discover which is the better chipset. While we used two devices from the same OEM and companies approach chipsets differently, we believe that there will be a retained philosophy across both of these devices and their tunings. This means that we should get a more accurate representation of the capabilities of these chipsets relative to each other.

It's important to note that during our testing, we discovered that when enabling Asus' X-Mode, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus sustains a rather intensive overclock, which the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 does not. The primary core goes from 3.2GHz to 3.35GHz, and the three super-cores go from 2.85GHz to 3.2GHz. That's a pretty large jump, increasing both power consumption and performance. There's no way to disable it either aside from disabling the company's X Mode, but then it's largely impossible to reach even the highest clock speeds advertised for this chipset. We reached out to Asus for comment and were told that, yes, this is intended behavior.

Given that Asus could get such an extreme overclock out of this chipset, it bodes well for the Dimensity 9000 Plus in a sense. In the interest of fairness, we compared both devices throughout with Asus' X Mode enabled and with X Mode disabled. While it's not a perfect comparison, it's the best way to compare both of these chipsets currently and gives us the broadest picture of what each is capable of relative to the other.

About this comparison: We compared the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro to the Asus ROG Phone 6D Ultimate. Both devices were factory reset, no Google accounts were linked, and Wi-Fi was only enabled to install update packages for benchmarks that required it. Benchmarking applications were installed via adb, and all tests were run on airplane mode with device batteries above 50%. Both devices had Asus' X Mode mode enabled to get the most out of these chipsets and to remove any artificial limitations imposed by software. The tests were then re-run with X Mode disabled.

Fundamental differences

Architectural differences across the board

These chipsets have some similarities in their composition, however, they are also very different. While there's the same primary Cortex-X2 core, the same trio of Cortex A710 cores, and the same quadruplet set of A510 cores, that's where the similarities really end. For starters, the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus has different clock speeds right out of the gate, and as already detailed, the Asus ROG Phone 6D Ultimate modifies those further.

The Dimensity 9000 was also lauded for its incredible power efficiency earlier that year, but we don't seem to get any of that here. My theory is that despite the efficiency gains earlier in the year, MediaTek is now pushing this chipset further. The final steps in the frequency multiplier use the most energy, and this chip is being pushed to its very limits — not just by MediaTek, but by Asus, too.

Another design choice by MediaTek was the inclusion of a 6MB system-level cache, or SLC. Qualcomm's only comes in at 4MB. This cache can improve the performance of the overall SoC, rather than just the CPU itself, by reducing the need for requests to the main memory. In short, each core has its own cache (L1), each cluster has its own cache (L2), the CPU overall has its own L3 cache, and the SLC is a cache for the entire SoC. Check out the below image:

Source: ARM

Each core can access its level 1 (L1) cache the fastest. The further something is from the CPU, the longer it takes to reach, and reaching out to the main memory takes the longest. While not shown above, the system-level cache is a cache that is then used across the entire chipset, such as the GPU, NPU, and CPU.

In other aspects of the chipset, we get MediaTek's own proprietary infrastructure. In AI, we get the MediaTek AI Processing Unit, we get MediaTek's Imagiq 790 for an ISP, and we get a Helio modem for connectivity. The ISP appears to be on par with Qualcomm's own Spectra 680, but the modem in its downlink appears to falter behind somewhat. Not only that, the AI capabilities of the APU don't appear to be anywhere near as powerful as what Qualcomm can offer either.

Where things get really interesting is with the GPU. While Qualcomm tends to keep the magic behind Adreno closely hidden, MediaTek has chosen an off-the-shelf GPU that is well-documented by Arm. Its Arm's Valhall architecture packs 10 cores and promises major performance boosts over the Mali G78. There was also a major focus on improving performance, particularly when it came to Vulkan.

All of this shapes the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus to be a formidable contender for Qualcomm. Outside of raw computation and imaging, I think it's fair to say that Qualcomm has MediaTek beat. However, that's not the whole picture.

Benchmarks Overview

• AnTuTu: This is a holistic benchmark. AnTuTu tests the CPU, GPU, and memory performance, while including both abstract tests and, as of late, relatable user experience simulations (for example, the subtest which involves scrolling through a ListView). The final score is weighted according to the designer’s considerations.
• GeekBench: A CPU-centric test that uses several computational workloads, including encryption, compression (text and images), rendering, physics simulations, computer vision, ray tracing, speech recognition, and convolutional neural network inference on images. The score breakdown gives specific metrics. The final score is weighted according to the designer’s considerations, placing a large emphasis on integer performance (65%), float performance (30%), and finally cryptography (5%).
• GFXBench: Aims to simulate video game graphics rendering using the latest APIs. Lots of onscreen effects and high-quality textures. Newer tests use Vulkan while legacy tests use OpenGL ES 3.1. The outputs are frames during test and frames per second (the other number divided by the test length, essentially), instead of a weighted score.
  • Aztec Ruins: These tests are the most computationally heavy ones offered by GFXBench. Currently, top mobile chipsets cannot sustain 30 frames per second. Specifically, the test offers really high polygon count geometry, hardware tessellation, high-resolution textures, global illumination and plenty of shadow mapping, copious particle effects, as well as bloom and depth of field effects. Most of these techniques will stress the shader compute capabilities of the processor.
  • Manhattan ES 3.0/3.1: This test remains relevant given that modern games have already arrived at its proposed graphical fidelity and implement the same kinds of techniques. It features complex geometry employing multiple render targets, reflections (cubic maps), mesh rendering, many deferred lighting sources, as well as bloom and depth of field in a post-processing pass.
• CPU Throttling Test: This app repeats a simple multithreaded test in C for as short as 15 minutes, though we ran it for 30 minutes. The app charts the score over time to see when the phone starts throttling. The score is measured in GIPS — or billion operations per second.
• Burnout Benchmark: Loads different SoC components with heavy workloads to analyze their power consumption, thermal throttling, and their maximum performance. It uses Android’s BatteryManager API to calculate the watts being used during testing, which can be used to understand the battery drain on a smartphone.

Computational workload

Neck and neck

We first tested both of these chipsets against each other by testing their computational capabilities. We used Geekbench 5, ensuring that each device was at a normal ambient temperature with airplane mode enabled.

X Mode on

From the above, we can note that the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus gets quite far ahead in its computational abilities. There's a negligible boost in single-core, though in multi-core, we see a 9% increase in MediaTek's own results over the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. As will be a common theme throughout this comparison, the Dimensity 9000 Plus is a performance beast regarding CPU-centric computational prowess.

X Mode off

However, with X Mode disabled, the scores flip. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus falls behind the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 both in multi-core and in single-core. This is likely due to the reduced clock speeds on the MediaTek chipset, though you would expect the same to apply to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 as well with X Mode disabled.

Power efficiency

Pushing MediaTek to its limits

Burnout Benchmark allows us to easily measure the power consumed by a chipset in a smartphone. When we tested the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 initially, we spoke with the developer, Andrey Ignatov, to get a sense of how the app works. He told us to run the app with a fully charged device on the lowest brightness and with airplane mode enabled, so all the data collected here is under those conditions. Ignatov told us the following tests are run on different components of the SoC as part of Burnout Benchmark:

• GPU: Parallel vision-based computations using OpenCL
• CPU: Multi-threaded computations largely involving Arm Neon instructions
• NPU: AI models with typical machine learning ops

X Mode on

The maximum wattage of the Dimensity 9000 Plus in these conditions was an astounding 16.38W. A standard 5,000mAh battery would last continuously for a little bit over three hours when pushed to this consistent maximum. While that is an unrealistic condition to be in (particularly because of throttling, as well as the fact that nobody will really use their phone like that), it helps to visualize what kind of battery drain that is.

In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 drained at 13.28W at its peak drainage, according to these measurements. That equates to just over three and a half hours of usage in a smartphone that packs a 5,000mAh battery. As you can see, both of these chipsets are major battery drainers, with the Dimensity 9000 Plus doing a little bit worse in the efficiency department.

However, there's a different story when it comes to comparing the GPU and the CPU. The CPU of the MediaTek Dimensity performs better than the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, both initially and over a longer period of time. However, the Adreno GPU of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 completely destroys the Mali GPU in the Dimensity 9000 Plus. It's just not really a contest.

X Mode off

The maximum wattage of the Dimensity 9000 Plus in these conditions was slightly lower with X Mode disabled, coming in at 14.26W. A standard 5,000 mAh battery would last continuously a little bit under three and a half hours when pushed to this consistent maximum. While that is an unrealistic condition to be in (particularly because of throttling, as well as the fact that nobody will really use their phone like that), it helps to visualize what kind of battery drain that is. These chipsets are a lot more neck and neck with X Mode disabled.

In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 drained at 13.75W at its peak drainage, according to these measurements. That equates to just over three and a half hours of usage in a smartphone that packs a 5,000 mAh battery. As you can see, both of these chipsets are major battery drainers, with the Dimensity 9000 Plus doing a little bit worse in the efficiency department.

I'm not sure why the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 performed better overall here with X Mode disabled, but it got slightly more out of both the GPU and the CPU in this test. The power draw also increased a small bit, which makes sense. However, you'll notice from the graphs below that while the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 spikes higher than the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus, it also has worse sustained performance. The MediaTek chipset is a slow starter but ultimately ends up higher.

Graphics

Adreno still reigns supreme

GFXBench is an application that can test the graphical capabilities of a smartphone’s GPU through a number of different tests. We ran five different tests here, with the most computationally taxing being the 1440p Aztec tests.

As we can see from the above graphs, while it appears that the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus struggles with OpenGL workloads, those Vulkan improvements are coming through strong. The percentage difference between the OpenGL tests in the form of the T-Rex offscreen test and Manhattan 3.1 vs the likes of the 1440p Aztec Vulkan test are vastly different. While it seems the intensive workload of Aztec OpenGL is also neck and neck, the point is this: Both chipsets do well under pressure, but it seems that Mali on the MediaTek has been improving.

CPU Throttling Test

MediaTek pulls ahead

We tested both of these chipsets in the CPU Throttling Test and discovered that the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus simply does a better job with or without X Mode. With X Mode on, its lowest point is the same as the average of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. With X Mode off, it achieves higher and throttles less.

X Mode on

X Mode off

Antutu

Close enough

Antutu is a holistic benchmark that tests all aspects of a smartphone. While the total number it calculates doesn’t really give you anything more than a number to compare to other smartphones, it still gives you a rough idea of how much better one phone can be than another in a computational sense. It’s certainly not a guiding light by any stretch, but Antutu still has its place in the industry.

X Mode on

X Mode off

If you're looking for a powerful chipset that's still being put in some of the best phones to this day, such as the Nothing Phone 2, then you can't go wrong with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. It has top-of-the-line performance in every aspect, including in the additional processing units and signal processors. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus isn't a bad chipset, but somehow, it falters even in power efficiency. It's not that it's far behind the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 — they're practically a tie — but the Snapdragon edges just that little bit further. Couple that with the better GPU performance of the Snapdragon and the on-par or even better CPU performance of the Snapdragon at times, and it's hard to say that the MediaTek chipset is the best for sure.

Nevertheless, I think it's clear that MediaTek has surprised pretty much everyone with its return to flagship chipsets in recent years, and the Dimensity 9000 kickstarted it all. The 9000 Plus is a powerful SoC that has bested the other attempts of that generation by Samsung's Exynos or Google's Tensor. An extra competitor in the space is a good thing, and I'd well believe that the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 was the best chipset of the first half of 2022. The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 is an incredible chipset, but its predecessor, the 8 Gen 1, was just awful.

With the state of the smartphone chipset market heating up in recent years and MediaTek coming out with some phenomenal chipsets, I think it's fair to say that the company is a formidable contender and well and truly neck and neck with Qualcomm at this stage. The 9000 Plus is where it all started, though, and we're hopeful that MediaTek's chips can go on to power some of the best Android phones.