Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801: Performance Previewed
By , with contributions by Alex Davies,
1. Qualcomm's Revisionist History

We’ve seen Samsung call the MSM8974AB a Snapdragon 800 in the Galaxy Note 3, yet Sony calls the supposedly-same piece of silicon a Snapdragon 801 in its Xperia Z2 Tablet. Confused? So were we. They both have the same SKU, so they’re both the same chip, right? Wrong. Still confused? We’re not surprised.

The Three Revisions of 8x74

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that there are actually three revisions of Snapdragon 80x, and it’s necessary to understand them before we go into exactly what Qualcomm means when it refers to an SoC as Snapdragon 801.

When Qualcomm packaged up what was to become the Snapdragon 800, the first revision of the silicon was only made available for development and testing. That manifestation of the chipset was not for general consumption, and as a result did not end up in devices sold at retail.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

The Snapdragon 800 that reached the market in devices like Google's Nexus 5, LG's G2, Sony's Xperia Z1, and assorted Galaxy products is actually the second revision, and Snapdragon 801 is merely a third revision of the same silicon. While we can’t be sure what exactly changed in-between the development chips (v1) and actual shipping Snapdragon 800 SoCs (v2), we do know that Snapdragon 801 (v3) adds three key features that Snapdragon 800 doesn’t have: Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA), eMMC, and HEVC.

While the Snapdragon 801 was originally shown to have Bluetooth 4.1 support, after speaking to Qualcomm, the company says that was merely a typo on the Snapdragon 801 SoC diagram. Snapdragon 801 features the same v4.0 Bluetooth standard as Snapdragon 800.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801Qualcomm Snapdragon 801

In some ways, these revisions explain why the same SKU can appear in both Snapdragon 800- and Snapdragon 801-branded products. Of course, it would be nice if mainstream buyers had access to the same level of knowledge. Not being able to understand exactly what you’re paying for can be frustrating. It would certainly make our lives easier if Qualcomm would call these SoCs Snapdragon 800, 801, 802, and so on. As they exist currently, it's far too easy to favor a pricier device with an MSM8974AA chip just because it's called Snapdragon 801, with no clear indication of what it possesses over a Snapdragon 800 with the exact same SKU. Confusing specs that make purchases more difficult are never a good thing. But part of the reason this happens is that Qualcomm’s customers aren’t end-users at all. The company's customers are device manufacturers, and Qualcomm is probably not as prepared or equipped for marketing directly to consumers as its competitors Intel, Nvidia, and Samsung.

Now that we have the major differences between Snapdragon 80x revisions covered, let’s explore the individual Snapdragon 800 and Snapdragon 801 SKUs.

2. Snapdragon SKUs: 800 And 801 Explained

Decoding Snapdragon 80x SKUs

Snapdragon 80x processors are sometimes listed with a long SKU consisting of a three letters, followed by four numbers and potentially capped by two more letters, such as APQ8074AB or MSM8974AB. The APQ prefix stands for Application Processor Qualcomm, and refers to an SoC that does not include an integrated cellular modem. That critical differentiating component is part of the MSM (Mobile Station Modem)-designated Snapdragons. So, APQ simply means no modem, while MSM means that some form of modem is included.

However, the three-letter prefix is completely redundant to, and reveals far less information than the second numeral in the SKU. In the example above, notice that the three-letter prefix wasn’t the only thing different between these two SKUs. The second numeral is zero in the APQ SKU, while that digit is a nine in the MSM SKU. You see, APQ8074AB and MSM8974AB are the same chip, the APQ just lacks a modem, while the MSM has 4G LTE capability.

That second digit in the SKU not only tells you whether the chip contains a cellular modem or not, but also reveals what kind of modem. All Snapdragon 800 and 801 SoCs are available in the following four connectivity flavors, as revealed by the second numeral in the SKU:

SKU (8x74)
Meaning
0
No Modem
2
HPSA+
6
CDMA
9
LTE

Since the three-letter APQ and MSM designations take a backseat to the second numeral, and everything but the modem remains the same, for the sake of brevity, we’ll be listing all of the Snapdragon 800 and 801 SoC SKUs simply as “8x74” in our tables from here on out.

Snapdragon 800 SKUs

Snapdragon 800CPU Core ClockGPU Core ClockMemory ClockISP Clock
8x74VV2.15 GHz450 MHz800 MHz320 MHz
8x74AA2.26 GHz450 MHz800 MHz320 MHz
8x74AB2.26 GHz550 MHz933 MHz400 MHz

It’s pretty clear why Snapdragon 800 -AB-equipped devices top benchmarks compared to those equipped with the -AA variant like Google's Nexus 5. Both chips are billed as Snapdragon 800, but the -AB is faster where it counts: the GPU runs 10% faster and the memory features 15% higher clock rates. While those numbers may look small, GPU and RAM performance do have a notable impact on device performance. For instance, thanks to full HWComposer support in Android 4.3 and up, the UI is hardware-accelerated, offloading work from the CPU and GPU, reducing power consumption and improving performance. The faster the GPU is, the more overlays can be handled. Of course, the quicker GPU also affects games and other compute-oriented workloads able to keep the CPU complex idle for longer. 

What The Heck Is VV?

From what we can ascertain, -VV are the lowest-binned Snapdragon 800s. We haven't found any devices specifically listening -VV, but they've likely turned up before in the lab. In Google Nexus 5 Review: A Fast, Affordable Phone With LTE For All, we broke down how binning can affect the ultimate performance of a device, showing that our specific Nexus 5 is slower than most in some CPU-driven tests.

So, it seems likely that -VV chipsets are those with the lowest binning, and so they're clocked slightly lower as a result. Qualcomm does list some “2200 MHz” Snapdragon 800 devices in its developer section (the LG G Flex and Sony Xperia Z1 Compact are examples). It's possible that number is a typo and those aren't actually -VV-based devices, since they tend to benchmark like -AB-equipped devices. There's additional evidence of misinformation in the developer section as well. The LG G2 is listed at “2620 MHz”, whereas we know it has a 2260 MHz clock rate.

Hopefully that clears up Qualcomm's two-letter suffix code in terms of the Snapdragon 800 SKUs. But do they mean the same thing for Snapdragon 801? Sort of.  

Snapdragon 801 SKUs


CPU Core ClockGPU Core ClockMemory ClockISP Clock
Snapdragon 800
8x74VV2.15 GHz450 MHz800 MHz320 MHz
8x74AA2.26 GHz450 MHz800 MHz320 MHz
8x74AB2.26 GHz550 MHz933 MHz400 MHz
Snapdragon 801
8x74AA2.26 GHz450 MHz800 MHz320 MHz
8x74AB2.26 GHz578 MHz933 MHz465 MHz
8x74AC2.45 GHz578 MHz933 MHz465 MHz

The -AA model runs at the same frequency as Snapdragon 801 as it did as 800, making the only difference between them the extra features supported by Snapdragon 801 (DSDA, eMMC 5.0, and HEVC). However, Qualcomm told us that the -AA was in limited production and would not be found in many devices. And the -AA model is where similarities between Snapdragon 800 and 801 end. The Snapdragon 801 8974AB is equipped with a faster GPU core than Snapdragon 800 8974AB, while the 801 9874AC also sports a faster CPU core.

As far as we know, Snapdragon 801 8974AC is the SoC powering Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone. While we haven’t tested that handset yet, we did get the chance to benchmark another Snapdragon 801 device, Sony’s Xperia Z2 Tablet, as previewed by our own Alex Davies. Being the first Snapdragon 801 device we could get our hands on, we tried to test it as extensively as time allowed.

3. Snapdragon Showdown: 800 Versus 801

As a Wi-Fi-only model, Sony’s Xperia Z2 Tablet naturally lacks a cellular component, so the actual SKU of the Snapdragon 801 inside the Z2 Tablet we tested is APQ8074AB.

In particular, we wanted to see how much faster, if at all, the 801 is compared to Snapdragon 800. So, we started off with the Google Nexus 5. Recognizing that device's lower native resolution (1080p versus the Z2’s 1200p), we balanced the comparison by adding Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4” for its similar form factor and much higher 1600×2560 resolution. By measuring how resolution and GPU clock rate affect performance, we have a better sense of how the SoCs compare.

DeviceSoCCPU CoreGPU CoreMemoryDisplay
Sony Xperia Z2 TabletQualcomm Snapdragon 801
APQ8074AB
Qualcomm Krait 400 (quad-core) @ 2.3 GHzAdreno 330 (quad-core) @ 578 MHz3 GB DDR3 @ 933 MHz10.1" IPS @ 1920x1080 (224 PPI)
Google Nexus 5Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
MSM8974AA
Qualcomm Krait 400 (quad-core) @ 2.3 GHz
Adreno 330 (quad-core) @ 450 MHz
2 GB DDR3 @ 800 MHz
4.95" IPS+ @ 1920x1080 (445 PPI)
Samsung Galaxy Note 3Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
MSM8974AB
Qualcomm Krait 400 (quad-core) @ 2.3 GHzAdreno 330 (quad-core) @ 550 MHz3 GB DDR3 @ 933 MHz5.7" SAMOLED @ 1920x1080 (386 PPI)
Samsung Galaxy NotePro 8.4Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
MSM8974AB
Qualcomm Krait 400 (quad-core) @ 2.3 GHz
Adreno 330 (quad-core) @ 550 MHz2 GB DDR3 @ 933 MHz
8.4" WQXGA @ 2560x1600 (359 PPI)
Apple iPhone 5sApple A7ARM v8 (dual-core) @ 1.3 GHz
Imagination Technologies PowerVR G6430 (four-cluster) @ 300 MHz
1 GB LPDDR3 @ ??? MHz4" IPS @ 1136x640 (326 PPI)

Beyond the Qualcomm chipsets, we thought it would be interesting to see how the Snapdragon 801 fares against the current top-performing SoC, Apple’s A7, so we added the iPhone 5s as kind of a baseline backdrop to show where the various Snapdragon 80x SKUs stack up.

As we go through the tests, keep in mind that the unit we tested is a pre-production model, running non-final software. Performance data we captured might differ from what Sony ends up shipping. However, since this is our first taste of Snapdragon 801 (8074AB), and our tests do show some demonstrable performance improvements (at least on the GPU side), we feel that it is fair to share the results with our readers.

4. AnTuTu 4, Basemark OS II, And Geekbench 3

AnTuTu 4

AnTuTu is an Android system benchmark designed to test the performance capabilities of four major aspects of mobile devices: Graphics (encompassing 2D, UI and basic 3D), CPU (fixed, floating-point, and threading), RAM (read and write), and I/O (read and write).

It’s disappointing to see the Z2’s Snapdragon 801 right at the bottom of the pile. However, as a pre-production model, this Z2 could have some performance issues that are yet to be ironed out. After all, the RAM score is clearly lower than what the Nexus 5 achieves, and on paper, the Xperia Z2 should benefit from quicker memory.

Basemark OS II

Rightware is an experienced multi-platform benchmark developer. The company leverages this experience with Basemark OS II, an all-in-one tool designed for measuring overall performance of mobile devices. The test is available on all major smartphone platforms, including Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 8. Basemark OS II uses a similar approach to Geekbench, but focuses on more application-specific areas, particularly User eXperience (UX), Web browsing, and rendering performance.

Even though it remains quite clear that this particular Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet has a memory performance issue potentially affecting other sub-tests, this metric appears to better-exploit the Snapdragon 801’s improved GPU core speed. In that one metric, it easily bests the older Snapdragon 800 in Google's Nexus 5 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4.

Geekbench 3

Primate Labs’ Geekbench is somewhat of an industry standard due to its long-standing database and wide cross-platform compatibility (Windows/OS X/Linux/iOS/Android). This benchmark produces two sets of scores: single- and multi-threaded. For each, it runs a series of tests in three categories: Integer, Floating Point and Memory. The individual results are used to calculate category scores, which in turn generate overall Geekbench scores.

The Xperia Z2 is in last place, and we see that memory performance is what's holding it back...again. In fact, the Z2’s single-core RAM performance is about 29% of the Nexus 5's. At least for now, we have to hope that this pre-production unit is deliberately hobbled, and that retail samples will better-represent the Snapdragon 801's potential.

It's doubtful that more threads vying for limited throughput will fare better than a single active core, but let's run the numbers anyway.

As we guessed, the situation doesn't improve; low memory bandwidth pulls down platform performance dramatically. Based on its specifications, the Snapdragon 801 should at least put Sony's Xperia Z2 up with the Nexus 5, if not Samsung's Galaxy Pro 8.4.

5. 3DMark And Basemark X 1.1

3DMark: Ice Storm Unlimited

Ice Storm simulates the demands of OpenGL ES 2.0-based games using shaders, particles, and physics via the company’s in-house engine. While it was just released in May of last year, the on-screen portions of Ice Storm have already been outpaced by more recent mobile chipsets, with Nvidia’s Tegra 4 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 both easily maxing out the Extreme version (1080p with high-quality textures). However, Ice Storm Unlimited, which renders the scene off-screen at 720p is still a good gauge of GPU-to-GPU performance.

The Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet jumps up the ladder, taking second place with ease. Its improved Snapdragon 801 Adreno 330 GPU core (578 MHz versus the standard 450 MHz of Snapdragon 800) gives it a 15% lead over the Nexus 5 in the Graphics sub-test, and a 31% lead over Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4. Assuming the memory bandwidth issue affects 3D workloads as well, those numbers could go up as Sony finalizes its hardware configuration.

Basemark X 1.1

Basemark X is a multi-platform suite based on a real game engine, Unity 4.0. It uses many of Unity’s modern features via the OpenGL ES 2.0 render path, just as a modern title might. Features like high poly-count models, shaders with normal maps, complex LoD algorithms, extensive per-pixel lighting (including directional and point light), along with a comprehensive set of post process, particle systems, and physics effects test how a modern game would look and run. It’s an aggressive test that still hasn’t been maxed out by the latest SoCs.

The Sony Xperia Z2 tablet takes third place in the medium quality metric, which doesn't surprise us, given the memory bandwidth results measured previously. Any workload limited by throughput is going to suffer, regardless of GPU clock rate increases.

Shifting to high quality apparently alleviates that bottleneck somewhat, resulting in a second-place finish behind Apple's A7. Fortunately, the next page of benchmarks should allow us to isolate the GPU more pointedly, without as much interference from other subsystems.

6. GFXBench 3.0: Manhattan And T-Rex

We reviewed Kishonti’s GFXBench 3.0 a few weeks ago, and we think it’s a good addition to our benchmark arsenal. We appreciate both the variety and detail of its individual tests, especially the fact that they’re broken up into high- and low-level groups. High-level tests simulate the nature of 3D applications, in particular, games. They do so by rendering scenes with an incredible amount of detail, utilizing the kind of GPU-stressing effects that a high-end game might put into effect.

The high-level tests include both an OpenGL ES 3.0-level test (Manhattan) and an OpenGL ES 2.0-level test (T-Rex). Manhattan renders a nighttime city scene where a giant robot takes on armored tanks, all while colored spot lights move about the scene. It uses a combination of forward and deferred rendering, and a whole lot of real-time lighting, making Manhattan the most modern and demanding GPU test in our suite. T-Rex simulates an action sequence where a motocross biker is chased through the jungle by a lumbering Tyrannosaurus. While not quite as a modern as Manhattan, T-Rex still strains the GPU by using several demanding effects simultaneously.

Manhattan 1080p Off-Screen

Normally, we’d run both the native resolution and off-screen tests in a product review, but today we’re more interested in comparing SoCs rather than devices, so native resolution isn’t relevant.

The iPhone 5s and Samsung Tab Pro 8.4 take first and second place with extremely close scores. The Xperia Z2 places third. Technically, it should be ahead, or at least equal to the Samsung Tab Pro 8.4, since it sports a faster GPU core.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 slips into fourth place, which is also strange, since the Note 3 features the same 550 MHz Adreno 330 GPU and TouchWiz software overlay as the Tab Pro 8.4; it should at least be on par. Our guess would be that the smaller device is throttling due to heat. After all, Manhattan is an aggressive benchmark, and the Note 3 is in a more compact form factor.

T-Rex 1080p Off-Screen

T-Rex is a demanding OpenGL ES 2.0-based test that utilizes many modern effects, including materials, high-res textures, motion blur, parallax mapping, and complex particle systems. It also uses complex geometry, planar reflections, specular highlights, and soft shadows as part of the render pipeline.

Here more than in Manhattan, the Snapdragon 801’s speed-boosted Adreno 330 really begin to show its worth, the Xperia Z2 takes first place with a five-percent lead over the iPhone 5s, and of course, that lead could increase with access to the SoC's peak memory bandwidth. Handicapped subsystem aside, this is the first time that a Snapdragon processor has beaten Apple's A7 in this test. Both of the Snapdragon 800 -AB devices fall behind the A7-equipped iPhone 5s.

Alright, so we’ve established that the Xperia Z2 tablet’s Snapdragon 801 is performing better than Snapdragon 800-based devices in GPU tests (despite pre-production idiosyncrasies). Now let’s see why.

7. GFXBench 3.0: ALU, Alpha Blending, And Fillrate

ALU 1080p Off-Screen

Reminiscent of demoscene “progs” from the '90s, this ALU test measures pure shader compete performance by rendering a simple scene consisting of a complex shader and a single full-screen quad.

The great thing about GFXBench's low-level tests is that they more effectively isolate subsystem performance. In this case, we're shining the spotlight on shaders, without the impact of hobbled memory bandwidth. Thus, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801 takes first place. Its 578 MHz Adreno 330 beats out the Galaxy Note 3’s 550 MHz by 11%. Both Snapdragon 800 -AB devices achieve very similar scores. The Nexus 5, with its Snapdragon 800 -AA, takes the second-to-last spot, while the iPhone 5s languishes in last place.

Alpha Blending Off-Screen

In these days of hardware-accelerated UIs, extensive particle systems, and render-to-texture effects, alpha blending performance is very important. In fact, it can mean the difference between a smooth user experience and a stuttering nightmare. This test renders semi-transparent quads using high-resolution, uncompressed textures to strain the GPU.

The trend repeats itself as the Xperia Z2’s Snapdragon 801 grasps the top spot by more than seven percent over Google's Nexus 5 and its Snapdragon 800. Strangely, the two Samsung devices equipped with the faster Snapdragon 800 -AB take third and fourth place. TouchWiz is probably to blame here, stealing precious alpha bandwidth to draw its overlays.

Fill Rate Off-Screen

This test measures texturing performance by rendering four layers of compressed textures simultaneously.

And there it is, folks: the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet has the highest fill rate score of the devices tested. No other benchmark so clearly illustrates the performance bump that Snapdragon 801 offers. The two Snapdragon 800 -AB-based devices take second and third place, tying almost exactly, per their comparable clock rates and SoCs.

8. So, Is 801 A Snappier-Dragon?

Right from the outset, we could see that the Snapdragon 801's GPU is faster than its predecessor. Really, though, we have to rely on the low-level GFXBench 3.0 tests to best illustrate the SoC's potential. You see, the pre-production Xperia Z2 tablet we were working with had clear memory and I/O bottlenecks, which we hope will be addressed before the device goes on sale.

Moving forward, it would be nice to see how the 8x74AC Snapdragon 801’s improved 2.5 GHz CPU complex handles the benchmarks. Surely, that would make it one of the fastest SoCs in production.

Speed isn’t what Snapdragon 801 is all about though, at least not as far as we’re concerned. So, why did Qualcomm introduce a revision to an existing SoC ahead of the 805? Snapdragon 801 seems to be Qualcomm responding to market forces. The company is keeping the wolves at bay, so to speak, before introducing its next-generation part destined to battle Apple’s A7 and Nvidia’s Tegra K1 (Denver) in the upcoming 64-bit ARMv8 race.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805Qualcomm Snapdragon 805

As we stated earlier, when we spoke to Qualcomm about the Snapdragon 80x series, we were told that one of the key drivers for a third revision was DSDA (Multi-SIM), especially needed in China, which utilizes Dual SIM more than any other country. Most locally-produced phones come equipped with two SIM slots, in fact. A lot of Chinese customers purchase data and voice separately, often through two independent resellers, requiring the pair of cards. SoC vendors over there (think MediaTek and AllWinner) already supply products with DSDA, so it stands to reason that Qualcomm wanted to achieve parity. With nearly every high-end Chinese phone sporting a Snapdragon chipset, Qualcomm needed to support a technology like DSDA.

By the same token, eMMC 5.0 support could be a clever way to keep Samsung interested as a strategic partner. Samsung is the single largest producer of NAND flash memory in the world, and the first manufacturer to enable eMMC 5.0-compatible solutions (last year).

As the 64-bit ARMv8 battle looms, it’s smart of Qualcomm to release an SoC that takes note of market forces and appeases key partners, while also pushing performance just high enough to stay ahead of the competition. Call it a stopgap. The Snapdragon 801 is that solution.