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Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 Comparison – How far we have come?

It is no secret to anyone the fact that the great and well-known worldwide company Qualcomm focuses on delivering to its users around the world products of the best quality, focusing on processors that are not only found inside smartphones, but a large part of the smart products that are currently available. Today we are going to compare two of the most popular processors, the Snapdragon 865 and the Snapdragon 845, and we will see who is the winner in this Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 comparison.

How far we have come?

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Specs Sheet Comparison

Snapdragon 865 Snapdragon 845
Release dateDecember 4, 2019December 5, 2017
CPUTri-cluster, octa-core (1x Cortex-A77 (Kryo 585) @2.84 GHz
3x Cortex-A77 (Kryo 585) @2.4 GHz
4x Cortex-A55 (Kryo 385) @1.8 GHz)
Dual-cluster, octa-core (4x Kryo 385 Gold @2.8 GHz
4x Kryo 385 Silver @1.7 GHz)
GPUAdreno 650Adreno 630
AnTuTu Scores589,706 points265,892 points
ConnectivitySnapdragon X55
External 5G Modem
D/L speed 7.5Gbps (5G), 2.5Gbps (4G LTE)
U/L speed 3Gbps (5G), 316Mbps (4G LTE)
NSA, SA, TDD, FDD
Snapdragon X20
D/L speed 1.2 Gbps (LTE cat.18)
U/L speed 150 Mbps (LTE cat.13)
CameraSpectra 480 dual-core ISPSpectra 280 ISP
AIHexagon 698 DSPHexagon 685 DSP
First phoneTitanium M6 5GLG G7
Price$400+$200 to $300

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Release Date Comparison

About release dates, it is obvious that the Snapdragon 865 has a great advantage. The SDN 865 came out a couple of months ago: on December 4. While there are still no devices carrying it, some rumors already said that the first phones to include it will be released during the first quarter of 2020, being the first one the Titanium M6 5G. This advantage of dates means that the new mid-range oriented chip will include technology for 5G communications.

As for the Snapdragon 845, it was released 2 years back from now on December 5, 2017. It continued the same 10nm process from the SD 835 but had higher performance thanks to new Kryo 385 Gold cores configuration as well as the groundbreaking Adreno 630 GPU.

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Process Comparison

First off let us start with the process technology which determines the power consumption and performance of the SoC. Keep in mind the lower the number the better is the performance as well as battery life efficiency. The Snapdragon 865 takes the lead with a TSMS 7nm EUV (N7P) process technology, while the Snapdragon 845 has just TSMS 8nm FinFET. The smaller size in the nanometers makes it possible to build smaller chips but with greater power, and the new EUV technology helps it manage energy consumption much better.

Process Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – CPU Comparison

It is time to start this great comparison of processors, and we will start talking about the CPUs that are inside. The Snapdragon 865 is built with an octa-core CPU configuration. The main core of this processor is an Arm Cortex A77 at a speed of 2.85GHz that works hand in hand with a 512kb L2 memory cache for maximum performance. Likewise, three larger Cortex A77 cores flank the main core, offering them 2.4GHz peak clock speeds and smaller 256kb L2 caches. Finally, the Cortex A77 is the most powerful arm CPU design so far, thus having more than enough power to run the most demanding mobile applications and games available.

With that said, the Snapdragon 845 is manufactured in a process technology of 10nm and has a custom octa-core CPU Kryo 385. This CPU distributes its eight cores in two groups, power in the main and energy savings in the secondary. So, we have 4 Cortex A75 cores at a primary clock speed of 2.8GHz and 4 Cortex A55 cores at a secondary clock speed of 1.8GHz.

Not only the SD 865 has more frequency also has the upper generation of Cortex cores which is Cortex A77, meanwhile, the SD 845 has the old Cortex A75 and A55. So, the Snapdragon 865 CPU is way faster than the 845 one.

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 - CPU Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – GPU Comparison

Turning to talk about the GPUs that are inside these two powerful processors, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 has an Adreno 650 GPU, which promises a performance gain similar to 25% for graphic representation, thus having an energy efficiency also improved by 35%. It’s the best GPU in the Snapdragon lineup and is only featured in flagships.

That being said, Snapdragon 845 has a high-end Adreno 630 with a frequency of 710 MHz which is the third-best GPU of the company so far, being a leader in the industry.

Snapdragon 845 GPU had a close call with the Snapdragon 865 GPU, however, Adreno 650 is simply on the next level with 2x (100% better) performance of Adreno 630.

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 - GPU Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Also read: MediaTek Helio P95 vs Snapdragon 765G – Is The Upgraded P90 Any Better?

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Benchmark Comparison

AnTuTu

We started with AnTuTu, with which the Snapdragon 865 underwent three performance tests with Performance Mode activated and another three with Performance Mode deactivated. In the first we obtained 545,354 points in the highest measurement, while with the second we obtained 557,575 in the same case. With 8GB of RAM, the OnePlus 7T gave us 372,130 points, while the Huawei Mate 30 Pro also had 8GB of RAM and 331,707 points.

On the other hand, for the Snapdragon 845 we take a look at the result of the prototype equipped with the processor, which has yielded an average score in AnTuTu calculated from three iterations of 349.156 points.

AnTuTu

GeekBench

We continued with GeekBench, and the results obtained by the Snapdragon 865 for a single core were, with the Performance Mode active, 925/3,415, 921/3,450 and 925/3,433 points. Without the Performance Mode it obtained 928/3,449, 924/3,454 and 925/3,434 points. As we see, very stable results. Here, the Realme X2 Pro offered us 677/2,577 points and the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, above, 758/2,894 points.

Whereas, the average performance for the Snapdragon 845 calculated from three iterations in this test in the single-core execution mode is 2,434 points, while in multi-core mode this figure rises until reaching 8,121 points.

GeekBench

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – AI Comparison

Now, talking about AI, In the Snapdragon 865 we see the fifth generation of Qualcomm’s AI engine, twice as powerful as its predecessor and providing a performance of 15 billion operations per second, 3MB of system cache and with support for LPDDR4 (2,133 megahertz) and LPDDR5 (2,750 MHz). This new engine uses Kryo cores, the GPU and other components such as the Hexagon 968, a new tensor processing unit that works about 4 times better than its predecessor achieving 35% more efficiency in power, with which it is they achieve functions like instant translation in real time (both text and voice).

With that said, Qualcomm never talked about the AI processing speeds on the Snapdragon 845 and this might be because, at the time this processor was released to the market, there was not much talk about AI. But as per the generation of the DSP, is possible that users can easily confirm that the Snapdragon 845 can’t outperform 765G in AI. The order of AI performance is just as the name of their DSPs.

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 - AI Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Camera Comparison

Speaking of image processing, what we see in the Snapdragon 865 is the new Spectra 480 ISP, focused on providing new photography and video functions to smartphones thanks to its working speed of up to 2 gigapixels per second (processing 4 pixels for each clock turn instead of one). In this way, processing is achieved 40% faster than the previous generation, without neglecting energy savings by not suffering an increase in temperature.

With that said, powering the camera experience of the new Snapdragon 845 is the Spectra 280 ISP, a second-generation image processing engine. This is all new and looking to focus on bringing you the best photos and videos from your mobile device. But the really exciting thing is that Snapdragon 845 supports Ultra HD Premium video capture, perfect for the latest generations of UHD TVs. Also, there is support for 720p HDR10 capture at 480fps.

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 - Camera Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 – Connectivity Comparison

As for connectivity, the Snapdragon 865 is prepared to work with a more advanced 5G technology modem than the current ones: the Snapdragon X55 5G, which will reach a high rate of data transfer speed. Energy consumption when using 5G networks will be reduced, something that is important due to the operation of this type of networks. With that said,

The Snapdragon 845 offers advanced specifications with the X20 LTE modem. For download uses LTE Cat. 18 that offers speeds of up to 1.2Gbps and for load makes use of LTE Cat. 13 with speeds of 150Mbps. However, it doesn’t offer 5G networking which was in developing 2 years back.

Connectivity Comparison

Winner: Snapdragon 865

Price Comparison

Regarding its price, throughout this article it has been seen that the Snapdragon 865 greatly overcomes the Snapdragon 845, but it is time to change that. The Snapdragon 865 which is one of the best upper-mid end 5G and 7nm EUV SoC might benefit the manufacturer and provide a reason for the price increase. Considering its specifications, we might expect the price range to be around $400+ USD, depending on which manufacturer it is.

As for the Snapdragon 845, is not in production now so you will be getting a used one or rarely a new piece. If you are able to find a box packed SD 845 phone, it won’t cost higher than $200 to $300 depending on which phone it is Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or Pocophone F1.

Winner: Snapdragon 845

Our verdict

Concluding this Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 comparison, we must say that it depends on the user to select the processor that best suits its needs. That being said, and guided by this comparison, it can be seen that the Snapdragon 765G works in a better way compared to the Snapdragon 845 due to the internal characteristics that it has and that it provides to the devices, but as we always say, it all depends on the tastes and needs of the user.

Overall Winner: Snapdragon 865

snapdragon-865-vs-snapdragon-845-d
Snapdragon 865 vs Snapdragon 845 Comparison – How far we have come?
Summary
Due to the internal characteristics that it has and that it provides to the devices, the Snapdragon 765G works in a better way compared to the Snapdragon 845.
Reader Rating5 Votes
6.3
SD 865 over SD 845
Better processor
Better CPU
Better GPU
Better Benchmark scores
Better AI
Better camera
Better connectivity
SD 845 over SD 865
Better price
9
Total Rating