HiSilicon Kirin 960 vs Samsung Exynos 7880. Specifications, performance, tests

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

• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  HiSilicon Kirin Samsung Exynos
• Generation
  5 1
• CPU group
  HiSilicon Kirin 960 Samsung Exynos 7570/7870/7880

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.

• Frequency
  1.80 GHz 1.90 GHz
• Turbo (1 Core)
  2.40 GHz 1.90 GHz
• Turbo (8 Cores)
  2.40 GHz 1.90 GHz
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) normal

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
  ARM Mali-G71 MP8 ARM Mali-T830 MP3
• GPU frequency
  0.90 GHz 0.60 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo 0.60 GHz
• Execution units
  8 3
• Shader
  256 48
• Max. GPU Memory
  2 GB --
• Max. displays
  2 2
• Generation
  Bifrost 1 Midgard 4
• Technology
  16 nm 28nm
• Release date
  Q2/2016 Q4/2015

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

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Samsung Exynos 7880 and HiSilicon Kirin 960. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4-1600 LPDDR4-1600
• Max. Memory
  6 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 0

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of HiSilicon Kirin 960 and Samsung Exynos 7880 to make an informed decision on the appropriate cooling system. Remember that TDP refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  5 W

Information on architecture, interfaces, and additional instructions supported by HiSilicon Kirin 960 and Samsung Exynos 7880, including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None None
• L2-Cache
  -- 2.00 MB
• L3-Cache
  4.00 MB --
• Architecture
  Cortex-A73 / Cortex-A53 Cortex-A53
• Technology
  16 nm 14 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q4/2016 Q1/2017