Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Lite. Specifications, performance, tests

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

• Segment
  Mobile Mobile
• Family
  Qualcomm Snapdragon Qualcomm Snapdragon
• Generation
  5 3
• CPU group
  Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820

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
  1.60 GHz 1.36 GHz
• Turbo (1 Core)
  1.80 GHz 1.80 GHz
• Hyperthreading
  No No
• Overclocking
  No No
• Core architecture
  hybrid (big.LITTLE) hybrid (big.LITTLE)

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 509 Qualcomm Adreno 530
• GPU frequency
  0.72 GHz 0.51 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  0.72 GHz 0.51 GHz
• Shader
  128 256
• Generation
  5 5
• Technology
  14 nm 14 nm
• Release date
  Q2/2017 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 Decode
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No No
• h264
  Decode Decode
• VP9
  Decode Decode
• VP8
  Decode Decode
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  No No
• VC-1
  Decode Decode
• JPEG
  Decode Decode

Overview of the types and quantities of RAM supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Lite and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636. The supported memory frequencies may vary depending on the motherboard configuration.

• Memory type
  LPDDR4-1333 LPDDR4-1333
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 4

Analyze the TDP (Thermal Design Power) requirements of Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Lite 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 636 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Lite, including virtual machine technologies and fabrication processes.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  ARMv8-A64 (64 bit) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  None None
• Architecture
  Kryo 260 Kryo
• Technology
  14 nm 14 nm
• Socket
  N/A N/A
• Release date
  Q4/2017 Q1/2016
• Part Number
  SDM636 MSM8996 Lite