Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 vs Samsung Exynos 7904. Specifications, performance, tests

Comprehensive background on the processors being compared, detailing their series, generation, and targeted market segment.

• Family
  Qualcomm Snapdragon Samsung Exynos
• CPU group
  Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Samsung Exynos 7872/7884/7885/7904
• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Generation
  3 2

Essential parameters including the number of cores, threads, base and turbo frequencies, and cache size. These metrics provide insight into the processor’s speed—higher values generally indicate better performance.

• CPU Cores / Threads
  4 / 4 8 / 8
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)
• A-Core
  2x Kryo 2x Cortex-A73
• B-Core
  2x Kryo 6x Cortex-A53
• Frequency
  1.60 GHz 1.60 GHz
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.40 GHz 1.80 GHz
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No

The integrated graphics (iGPU) do not influence the CPU performance significantly; they serve as a substitute for a dedicated graphics card in the absence of one or are utilized in mobile devices.

• GPU name
  Qualcomm Adreno 530 ARM Mali-G71 MP2
• GPU frequency
  0.62 GHz 0.77 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  0.62 GHz No turbo
• Execution units
  0 2
• Shader
  256 32
• Max. GPU Memory
  -- 2 GB
• Max. displays
  0 1
• Generation
  5 Bifrost 1
• Direct X
  11,1 11
• Technology
  14 nm 16 nm
• Release date
  Q4/2015 Q2/2016

This section details the built-in codecs used for encoding and decoding media content, which significantly enhance processing speed and efficiency.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  Decode Decode / Encode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No Decode
• h264
  Decode Decode / Encode
• VP8
  Decode Decode / Encode
• VP9
  Decode No
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  No Decode / Encode
• VC-1
  Decode No
• JPEG
  Decode Decode / Encode

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Samsung Exynos 7904 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4-1866 LPDDR4-1866
• Memory channels
  4 2
• ECC
  No No
• AES-NI
  No No

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and Samsung Exynos 7904 to make an informed decision on the appropriate cooling system. Remember that TDP refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

Information on architecture, interfaces, and additional instructions supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and Samsung Exynos 7904, including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Architecture
  Kryo Cortex-A73 / Cortex-A53
• Technology
  14 nm 14 nm
• Virtualization
  None None
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q3/2016 Q1/2019
• Part Number
  MSM8996 Pro-AB --