When choosing a new smartphone, we usually pay attention to several key indicators: screen, processor, camera and appearance. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but it is these four that are of interest to any more or less advanced consumer. Today we want to focus on the processors of modern smartphones, their, without exaggeration, hearts. Indeed, the mobile processor will provide the smartphone with high-quality sound, good pictures, fast charging and an LTE module. But first of all, the user is interested in the speed of the smartphone, so comparing mobile processors is a useful exercise before buying a new device. We will discuss this, and we will do it in the simplest possible language, without going into technical subtleties, in order to really clarify the situation, and not confuse even more.
First, let's be clear. By the wording “mobile processor”, we mean not just a “pebble”, but a full-fledged system-on-a-chip (aka chipset, aka SoC, aka CPU), which consists of many interconnected components, each of which affects in its own way smartphone processor performance. Also, we should not forget about RAM and optimization, which are inextricably linked with chipsets, which we will also discuss below.
Kernels. More doesn't mean better
You can often hear the opinion that your iPhone has only two cores, and on my Meise there are ten, which means Meise is cooler! No, not harder. For many reasons. But now let's focus on the cores. The key indicator here is the clock frequency (denoted by GHz), and the higher it is, the faster your smartphone will run. But you will have to pay for the speed with inevitable heating and, as a result, the rapid discharge of the battery. To avoid over-discharge, manufacturers began to use clusters in which the cores operate at different clock speeds and, as a result, charge consumption. This technology is called big.LITTLE and is the most common option today. The most important thing that the average consumer should know is that all these cores never work at the same time: during games, benchmarks and other heavy tasks, productive and energy-intensive cores turn on, and less powerful, but energy-efficient ones cope with simple tasks.
graphics accelerator
This parameter is of interest, first of all, to gamers, because it is the graphics accelerator that is responsible for 3D graphics, texture rendering in games and high frame rates. The most famous names here are Adreno, Mali and PowerVR. At one time, Tegra and its K1 processor, which was focused exclusively on games, “shot” out. Gamers squealed with delight, but the processor never received new versions.
As for the choice, the rule here is simple: if you want advanced graphics, choose an advanced chipset, because the GPU is always tightly tied to the CPU.
Heating and throttling. Less is better
Heating is generally a sore subject for a mobile processor. Not only can it melt the glue and leave yellow spots on the smartphone screen (and this happens, yeah), it also negatively affects the processor itself. To avoid overheating and subsequent damage, the processor forcibly lowers the clock frequency - this is the very throttling. In simple words, the hotter your smartphone, the slower it will run. All chipsets are subject to throttling to some extent, but the lower this figure, the better. Ideally, the smartphone should not get very hot at all. The anti-record in this regard was set by the Snapdragon 810, and smartphones based on it are better to bypass today.
Technical process. Less is better
In recent years, information about the manufacturing process by which the chipset is made has been appearing in promotional materials for smartphones more and more often. For a techie, it's a matter of talent and finesse. It is important for us to know that the smaller the number in front of the cherished nanometers (denoted by nm), the better. For modern flagship solutions, the figure of 10 nm is relevant. It is unlikely that this indicator will be decisive when choosing a smartphone, but since manufacturers like to brag about them, we will also mention them.
Bit depth. 64 bits in priority
Again, without getting into the technical jungle, we note that a smartphone with an old, but flagship processor will be inferior in performance to a new 64-bit middling. In addition, all new applications are developed with 64-bit processors in mind, so the choice in favor of the latter is obvious.
Benchmarks and parrots
Today, the most common synthetic benchmarks are Antutu and Geekbench. However, we do not recommend focusing on dry numbers: firstly, the industry knows cases when specially trained smartphones “deceived” synthetics, demonstrating performance that they are not capable of in real life, and secondly, the performance of smartphone processors today is so high, that it is almost impossible to tell the difference between “fast” and “very fast” with the naked eye. It is much more interesting to check the performance of a smartphone with real tasks: check the smoothness of the interface, run several games, the camera, etc.
Operation and optimization
In fact, these parameters do not directly relate to the SoC, but are inextricably linked with it: a productive processor needs a lot of RAM, otherwise it simply will not be able to reach its potential. As of today, the optimal amount of RAM is 3-4 GB, and we categorically do not recommend agreeing to less than 2 GB. What about 6 gigs? - you ask. We answer. Now these are just useless show-offs, but in the future, most likely, everything will change.
As for optimization, Apple users are very fond of talking about it. Indeed, a relatively small range and the same type of filling allow the company to achieve a well-coordinated work of hardware and software. For android, these are unattainable heights due to the motley stuffing of smartphones, multiplied by shells that manufacturers love to put on top of the “naked” android. Therefore, in order for everything to work smoothly, you have to take not quality, but quantity. Since the user cannot influence this parameter in any way, we recommend that you simply give preference to a clean OS without add-ons.
Finally, some specifics
Now that we've decided on the key specs, let's just name the best smartphone processors today. The undisputed market leader - Qualcomm and their snapdragon. The manufacturer has entry-level solutions, such as the Snapdragon 430, the mid-price segment (the sought-after representative is Snapdragon 625) and flagship models, the newest of which as of spring 2017 is the Snapdragon 835 - this is the best that is on the Android and Windows market. smartphones today.
Breathes in the back of the leader's head Exynos, produced by Samsung. These processors are not very common on the market, because they are installed only on smartphones and tablets of the Korean giant itself and are sometimes found in Meizu, but are not inferior in quality to Snap. The current leader of the line is Exynos 8895.
As for MediaTek, everything is purely Chinese here: there are a lot of models, they have heaps of cores, but there are problems with real performance. No, we do not want to say that MTK are bad processors, but they are inferior to Snap's solutions. Of the models on the market, the flagship is Helio X25.
Processors Intel well known to desktop users and often found on Windows tablets. Caught on Intel and Android smartphones, but here the potential buyer needs to be careful: due to the use of a different architecture, these chipsets may not support some applications.
Processors Kirin- Huawei's own development, and everything is simple here: if you want a smartphone of this particular brand - accept it. However, Kirin will not let you down: the flagship model number 960 runs smoothly and is in no way inferior to colleagues in the shop, and even consumes battery loyally.
At Apple still simpler: all their processors are designated in the format An, where n is a number, and the larger it is, the better. Today it is the Apple A9X model.
Looks like a dark horse against this background Xiaomi: their Surge S1 is not the most productive and prone to overheating chipset, it is experimental in nature. Based on it Xiaomi Mi 5C, we do not recommend anyone to buy. And we certainly do not recommend accepting risky Rockchip, Spreadtrum, AllWinner and even more artisanal China. Yes, it will be cheaper, only your joy about this will quickly be replaced by indignation at the disgusting quality of the device.
Processor comparison
We have summarized all the basic characteristics that are important for the user in a table that will help you choose the right option. This includes the most common chips from well-known manufacturers over the past 2-3 years, which have not yet lost their relevance.
| Model | GPU | Nuclei | Frequency (GHz) | Process technology (nm) | release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapdragon 835 | Adreno 540 | ||||
| Snapdragon 821 | Adreno 530 | ||||
| Snapdragon 820 | Adreno 530 | ||||
| Snapdragon 810 | Adreno 430 | ||||
| Snapdragon 808 | Adreno 418 | ||||
| Snapdragon 650 | Adreno 510 | ||||
| Snapdragon 625 | Adreno 506 | ||||
| Snapdragon 430 | Adreno 505 | ||||
| MT6797T Helio X25 | Mali-T880 MP4 | 1,55+2+2,5 | |||
| MT6797 Helio X20 | Mali-T880 MP4 | 1,4+1,8+21 | |||
| MT6757 Pro/Helio P25 | Mali T880 MP2 | ||||
| MT6755(M)/Helio P10 | Mali T860 MP2 | ||||
| MT6738(T) | Mali T860 MP2 | ||||
| Kirin 960 | Mali-G71 MP8 | ||||
| Kirin 955 | Mali-T880 MP4 | ||||
| Kirin 935 | Mali-T628 MP4 | ||||
| Exynos 8895 | Mail-G71 MP20 | ||||
| Exynos 8890 | Mali T880MP12 | ||||
| Exynos 7880 | Mali-T830 MP3 | ||||
| Exynos 7870 | Mali-T830 MP3 | ||||
| Exynos 7580 | Mali-T720 MP2 |
Another convenient way to compare mobile processors is their performance graphs. In the figure below you see the top devices from the Antutu benchmark as of late 2016 early 2017.
so, when choosing a mobile processor, first of all, we pay attention to the manufacturer (we listed the most reliable ones above), the clock frequency of productive cores, and the presence of heating. Everything else is technical subtleties that it makes no sense for an ordinary user to delve into (and if you are not an ordinary user, you have not learned anything new from this text). It is enough to be guided by a simple rule: flagship models here collect all the best, there are no problems with them (with rare exceptions), they are needed, first of all, by gamers and enthusiasts. For example, Google Daydream is only compatible with advanced processors. Modern "middle peasants" also cope with applications and games, including three-dimensional ones, without any problems. As for the entry level, you will have to make compromises here, but it is much better if it is a low-power but reliable chipset from a well-known manufacturer than a handicraft no-name from which you can expect anything.
Many smartphone manufacturers would like to attract potential customers with the specifications of their devices. However, most users simply don't know what the hardware specs mean. Let's try to figure this out together
Many smartphone manufacturers would like to attract potential customers with the specifications of their devices. However, most users simply don't know what the hardware specs mean. Let's try to figure this out together. 
Battery Life
Most manufacturers indicate the battery life of a smartphone on the packaging. Often this unit is expressed in milliamps per hour (mAh). The larger this value, the better. At the same time, Apple, for example, does not indicate the battery capacity of its iPhone 5, but says that its charge will last for 10 hours of video playback. For many users, this approach is more understandable.
With each new generation of smartphones, manufacturers are trying to increase battery life. For example, the battery capacity of the recently announced Nokia Lumia 920 is 2000 mAh. The same power and the battery Droid Razr M from Motorola. The power of the new battery Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be 3200 mAh. However, this does not mean that the device will last longer on a single charge than the Lumia, since the Galaxy Note 2 consumes more power when running.
Today, most good smartphones have a battery capacity of about 2000 mAh and above, which allows the device to work without recharging for at least 10 hours. The best in this indicator are still Motorola and Nokia, followed immediately by Apple and Samsung.
Number of processor cores
You don't have to be a prodigy to understand that even the most powerful battery becomes absolutely useless if the device is not equipped with a good CPU and GPU. A single-core processor running at 1.2 GHz (Gigahertz is a measure of the speed of a device) will benefit slightly from having a powerful battery. A device with a dual-core processor will run much faster.
When buying a smartphone, be aware that the higher the GHz, the better and, of course, a dual-core device is better than a single-core one. Most modern smartphones today come with a dual-core processor running at 1.5 GHz. Also on the market are smartphones with a quad-core processor.
When buying a smartphone, when determining the number of processor cores, it is worth remembering two factors. The more cores, the faster your device will run. At the same time, the more cores, the more energy the smartphone will consume and, therefore, the more powerful battery it should be equipped with.
You may have come across names like ARM or x86. Almost all modern smartphones and tablets are based on ARM processors, since these processors are more energy efficient than x86 from Intel.
Screen resolution
It is with this indicator that many manufacturers often try to attract buyers. Screen resolution is defined by two measures: the total number of pixels and the density of pixels per inch. The more pixels per inch, the better the picture will be. At the same time, the higher the screen resolution, the more energy the device consumes.
The screen resolution density of the iPhone 5 is 326 dpi. The iPhone 4S had exactly the same resolution. The total resolution of the new device is 1136x640. Apple's biggest competitor to the iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S III boasts 306 ppi and an overall resolution of 1280x720. Technically, the Galaxy has more pixels, however, and the screen of the device is also larger, and the density per inch is less, which means that the picture will be of less quality.
Articles and Lifehacks
Many smartphone owners are interested in what is a processor in a mobile phone and what are its functionalities.
Similar to a personal computer, a microchip is the heart of a mobile device. However, it is used together with other components (graphics accelerator, etc.) to form a system that functions as a command center.
The absolute leader among developers of microprocessor architectures is ARM Limited. The overwhelming majority of manufacturers, such as NVidia, and others, use ARM technology in the manufacture of chips.
About architecture versions for the processor in the phone
Architecture is one of the most important characteristics of microprocessors. Thanks to the development of technological progress, the functionality of smartphones is constantly expanding. Upgrading devices requires newer versions of the "stuffing" that allow you to optimize their work. For example, increase productivity, reduce energy costs, etc.However, along with the advantages, processors of more recent versions have some disadvantages. So, devices based on ARMv6 turned out to be incompatible with some, in particular, designed for ARMv7. This is not the only evidence that the difference between different versions of the same architecture can be the same as between completely different architectures.
What determines the main parameters of the processor in the phone
The second most important characteristic after the architecture is the kernel. The technical parameters of each smartphone, as a rule, indicate a two- or four-core processor. The kernel defines the following parameters of the device:
- Performance
.
For three-dimensional games, applications for processing video, multimedia files, 4 cores are required. Sometimes devices use an extra 5th core to perform simple tasks... like conserving battery life at high performance.
In general, more cores do not so much expand the functionality of the system, but increase the speed of task execution. The process is optimized by distributing the load between the elements.
- power usage
.
To reduce power consumption, the cores that are not used during operation are automatically turned off.
- Clock frequency
.
Shows how many cycles the microprocessor performs per time interval (second). The unit of measurement is GHz, MHz. The value of the clock frequency is proportional to the speed of the device, as well as the value of power consumption. In order to reduce energy costs, manufacturers put a limit on PM.
Another necessary characteristic of mobile processors
One of the important parameters that gadget sellers rarely remember is the amount of cache memory. The larger the capacity of the virtual storage, the higher the speed of task execution.
The difference between cache volumes can be traced by comparing a device from an official manufacturer and its replica. With the same parameters, a branded gadget will work faster than a copy.
Reducing the amount of cache memory reduces the market value of the product. However, such a chip may well meet the needs of the average user.
It's no secret that the performance of your future smartphone directly depends on three components: processor, graphics core and RAM. They determine how smoothly the interface on your phone will work, whether games will slow down, and how quickly applications will launch. Today we will tell you how to choose a smartphone that will suit you with its speed.
Mobile processors are produced by companies such as Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, Intel, NVIDIA and some others that are just starting to master the market. Therefore, today we will not make forecasts for the future and guess whether the company will release or not a commercial version of the prototype presented at the exhibition, but we will look into specific models that are used in the production of smartphones. But we'll talk about this a little later, when we start reviewing specific processor models, and now we'll talk a little about manufacturers.
One of the leaders in the production of energy-efficient microchips based on ARM technology is Qualcomm Corporation, which has released such hits as Snapdragon 400, 600, 800. But Apple designs processors for its smartphones itself, also using the ARM architecture in them. In turn, Samsung also releases its own high-performance Samsung Exynos processors for its top-end smartphones.
The Chinese manufacturer is not far behind. MediaTek Corporation is confidently gaining its position in the market, getting rid of the stigma of second-tier brands. Separately, I would like to say about the "smart" products of the famous company NVIDIA, since its processors are equipped with a special Tegra video core, which is mainly focused on the gaming industry. Thanks to this manufacturer, a new class of devices has appeared, gaming tablets and smartphones. And on the market there is such a player in the traditional PC-industry as Intel. Moreover, Intel produces Atom processors based on the x86 architecture, the same as in conventional computers, so the products of this company can most often be found on Windows devices.
When choosing a fast smartphone, you can not rely on only one indicator, the processor clock speed. Although, as a rule, the higher this indicator, the better. All modern mobile processors are able to lower and increase their own frequency depending on the load, as older brothers do in full-fledged computers. Therefore, the specification indicates exactly the upper limit of the processor clock frequency. Budget processors have a frequency of 1000-1300 MHz, the middle class - 1300-1700 MHz, and flagships operate at 1900 MHz or more.
True, it is worth remembering that some megahertz can be an order of magnitude faster than others, that is, in addition to the frequency, a bunch of different parameters also affect the speed of work. Therefore, it is incorrect to compare head-on different smartphones by the frequency of their processor. It is better to use a special Benchmark program. In the world of Android smartphones, Benchmark AnTuTu is the most popular, by running this test, you will get a result in the form of an abstract number of points or, as seasoned reviewers say, “parrots”. With the help of this program, you need to compare the speed of different smartphones. In any case, it is better to choose a processor with a clock speed of at least 1500 MHz, which is a reasonable minimum today.
Number of processor cores
And now we have come to a very interesting question, how many cores should be in the processor? Single-core processors today are not even for budget models, but for irrevocably obsolete devices.
The market is dominated by multi-core solutions, in which several computing units can work on different tasks in parallel. Following the dual-core processors, four-, five- and even eight-core processors appeared. It would seem that everything is simple, the more cores, the faster the chip. However, in practice this is not always the case. Firstly, a smartphone most often does not use all the processor cores at the same time. Secondly, most applications can work with a maximum of two computing cores. Even the latest version of the iPhone 5s uses a processor with only two cores, but thanks to excellent optimization, they show results that even much more multi-core devices can envy. For example, in the NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip, the fifth core performs an auxiliary function, ensuring the operation of the device in power saving mode, that is, checking mail and processing system processes, or when the phone is in standby mode. The older four cores are sleeping at this time.
Let's pay attention to the eight-core Samsung Exynos 5 processor, which is equipped in some regions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Note 3 models. In fact, it includes two 4-core processors. One of them is weak, but economical, and the other, on the contrary, is very powerful, but unusually voracious. The bottom line here is that, depending on what the smartphone is doing, only one of the two processors is working. When the load increases, for example, when you start a heavy game, a more powerful processor turns on. The rest of the time, tasks are executed on the processor, which consumes less power, which saves battery. At the same time, a full-fledged 8-core processor has already appeared - the MTK 6592 chip from MediaTek. This giant has settled in such smartphones as Gionee Elife S5.5, Lenovo S939 and Huawei Honor 3X.
For budget models, a 2-core processor will be the best. And if you are a gamer, then there are 4-core models of the middle and top class for you. An 8-core chip is currently more suitable for enthusiasts, since there is nowhere to use it to the fullest yet, and when this opportunity appears, then premium smartphones will cost like state employees.
The speed of the smartphone in games directly depends on the graphics accelerator. This is a microprocessor that deals exclusively with the processing and output of graphics. If in desktop computers a powerful video card has always been a separate board, then in smartphones everything should be as compact as possible. Therefore, the graphics core in them is physically adjacent to the central processor. They are located on the same integrated circuit. For this reason, you cannot choose the optimal combination of processor and video core on your own; manufacturers have already done this for you. But in order to understand whether games will slow down, it is still useful to know which video core is used in a smartphone. Currently, most of the graphics accelerators use the Mali and Adreno cores, known to us from Qualcomm processors, but PowerVR from Imagination Technologies and GeForce from NVIDIA, these chips have many varieties and are multi-core.
Do not forget, the higher the display resolution in a smartphone, the more powerful the chip it needs to process graphics, otherwise there will be slowdowns. Therefore, devices with Full HD resolution require the flagship PowerVR SGX544, Adreno 220 and Mali 450 graphics accelerators. And the mid-range graphics chips Mali 400, Adreno 220, PowerVR SGX 540 are suitable for those who do not pursue gaming performance, but would like to have no problems watch HD videos and play medium-heavy games.
Smartphone RAM
Many people confuse RAM with the built-in flash drive, but if the latter is used only to store files on your smartphone, then the commands and data necessary for the processor to perform work are temporarily placed in RAM. The more RAM, the faster applications run, and the more simultaneous tasks a smartphone can perform without unloading them from memory.
The maximum amount of RAM in today's smartphones is 3 GB. For comfortable performance of daily tasks on a smartphone with the Android mobile operating system, from 1 to 2 GB of RAM is enough. But it's definitely not worth it to go down.
Now consider the models of the most productive processors from different manufacturers.
As you know, for the first time in a mobile chipset, a 64-bit processor is used. Apple A7 is two main cores clocked at 1300MHz, it uses the latest ARM v8 architecture. The new cores are called Cyclone, and the entire Apple A7 chip is manufactured by Samsung using a new 28nm High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process. The iPhone 5/5c, we recall, uses a 32-bit Apple A6 processor, also manufactured by Samsung, but made using an older 32 nm process. Thus, despite the tough struggle in the smartphone market between Samsung and Apple, it is the Korean manufacturer that continues to produce chips for the iPhone. The graphics accelerator in the iPhone 5s is also on top - a 4-core PowerVR (Series 6) G6430 that supports OpenGL 3.0, DirectX 10 and OpenCL 1.x. This is one of the most powerful mobile graphics chips on the market right now. The amount of RAM has not changed compared to the iPhone 5 / 5c - 1 GB, but it uses a faster version of LPDDR3 instead of LPDDR2.
As you can see, Apple decided not to chase the number of cores or ultra-high frequency, which, in addition to power, also increase power consumption, but simply used the best practices on the market and optimized software.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is an ARM chip for top-end tablets and smartphones. It is manufactured at TSMC's factories on a 28nm HKMG process and includes 4 processor cores based on the Krait 400 architecture, operating at a frequency of up to 2500 MHz. As a video adapter, Adreno 330 is used at a frequency of up to 375 MHz. Compared to Snapdragon 800 series chips such as MS8974AB, the Snapdragon 801 offers higher CPU and GPU frequencies.
The processor part of the chip is based on the Qualcomm architecture called Krait, which is fully compatible with the ARMv7 instruction set. The new Krait 400 cores slightly differ from the Krait 300 (Snapdragon 600) in their accelerated L2 cache. With an operating frequency of up to 2500 MHz and high performance per clock (higher than Cortex-A9 but lower than Cortex-A15), the Snapdragon 801 provides very high processor performance. Snapdragon 801's main competitors are NVIDIA Tegra 4, Samsung Exynos 5420 and Apple A7, as well as any new top-end chips. The Snapdragon 801 is one of the most powerful chips on the market right now, but the release of the Snapdragon 805 will make it lose some ground.
Another difference between Snapdragon 801 and Snapdragon 600 is the improved graphics core. The Snapdragon 600 uses the Adreno 320 (400 to 450 MHz) video adapter, while the Snapdragon 801 has the more powerful Adreno 330 (MSM8974AC: 578 MHz). Considering the increased memory bandwidth, it's not surprising that its performance is significantly better. Adreno 330 is slightly faster than Mali-T628 (Samsung Exynos 5420 chip) or PowerVR G6430 (Apple A7 chip). However, the final performance depends on the device in which the chip is installed, in particular, its cooling. The video adapter supports OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.2. This chip can be found today in Gionee Elife E7, Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2, HTC One (M8), Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, Oppo find 7, ZTE Nubia X6 and OnePlus One.
MediaTek MT6592 is an ARM chip for Android tablets and mid-range smartphones. It was released at the end of 2013 and is manufactured on the 28 nm process technology. It consists of 8 Cortex-A7 processor cores operating at a frequency of 1700 to 2000 MHz, and an ARM Mali-450MP4 video adapter operating at a frequency of 700 MHz. In addition, the chip also includes a Wi-Fi module, a video decoder (hardware 4K video decoding), an LPDDR3 memory controller (up to 666 MHz), and a 2G/3G (UMTS/HSPA+) radio module.
Although the MT6592 is equipped with relatively powerful processor cores, its performance in everyday scenarios is often lower than that of 2-core chips like the Apple A7 or 4-core chips based on the Cortex-A15 or Krait (Snapdragon 800) architecture. This is partly to blame for the slow Cortex-A7 architecture with its low performance per clock, and partly for the fact that not all applications can use all eight cores of the chip. The integrated video adapter ARM Mali-450MP4 includes 4 cores operating at a frequency of 700 MHz. Therefore, the performance of this solution is not much lower than NVIDIA Tegra 4. Like the latter, Mali-450MP4 does not support OpenGL ES 3.0, but it shows excellent performance in games. This processor can be found in Gionee Elife S5.5, Lenovo S939, Huawei Honor 3X, ThL T200, Zopo ZP1000, Explay Diamond, ThL T100, Zopo ZP990+ and Zopo ZP998.
With this processor, we are a little cunning, since this fresh development can still be found in one Explay 4Game smartphone and NVIDIA Shield tablet, but it simply makes no sense to recommend the previous NVIDIA Tegra 3, since at the moment it is starting to lose ground. The chip includes a 4-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor with a maximum frequency of 1900 MHz, a fifth companion core with a maximum frequency of 500 MHz, a 72-core NVIDIA GeForce ULP video accelerator with support for 3D stereo imaging, and a dual-channel memory controller. In the case of NVIDIA Tegra 4, an LTE modem is also integrated into the chip.
Verdict
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 models are already scheduled for release in Q1 2015, and the announcement of the innovative 8-core MediaTek MT6752 with the Mali T760 video core is expected in Q4. Progress does not stand still, and we will definitely talk about it later. Our main task is to answer the question: which processor to look for when choosing a smartphone?
The answer may seem somewhat vague, but it is the most objective. The one you really need. Above, we gave examples of where and in what devices this or that chip is used. You should not chase the number of cores and clock speed if you just need a "toy". In this case, NVIDIA Tegra 4 is the best choice for you. For people who are practical and who love stability, the Apple A7, and for those who need crazy performance despite power consumption, the Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC is ideal. MediaTek MT6592 is suitable for thrifty people, that is, those who have bought a smartphone for more than one year and want the processor to have some potential, albeit ephemeral. The most powerful and inexpensive smartphones, and even with good discounts, are offered by the store
In a time when mobile phones were fat and black and white, processors were single-core, and gigahertz seemed an insurmountable bar (20 years ago), the only characteristic for comparing CPU power was clock speed. A decade later, the second important characteristic was the number of cores. Nowadays, a smartphone, less than a centimeter thick, contains more cores, and the clock speed is higher than a simple PC of those years. Let's try to figure out what the processor clock speed affects.
Processor frequency affects the speed at which the processor's transistors (and there are hundreds of millions of them inside the chip) switch. It is measured in the number of switchings per second and is expressed in millions or billions of hertz (megahertz or gigahertz). One hertz is one switching of processor transistors per second, therefore, one gigahertz is one billion such switchings in the same time. For one switch, to put it simply, the core performs one mathematical operation.
Following the usual logic, one can come to the conclusion that the higher the frequency, the faster the transistors in the cores switch, the sooner the tasks are solved. That is why in the past, when the bulk of processors were essentially an improved Intel x86, architectural differences were minimal, and it was clear that the higher the clock frequency, the faster the calculations. But over time, everything has changed.
Is it possible to compare the frequencies of different processors
In the 21st century, developers have taught their processors to process more than one instruction per cycle. Therefore, processors with the same clock rate, but based on different architectures, produce different levels of performance. Intel Core i5 2GHz and Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 2GHz are two different things. Although the second one has more cores, it will be weaker in heavy tasks. Therefore, the very frequency of different types of cores cannot be compared, it is also important to take into account the specific performance (the number of instruction executions per clock cycle).
If we draw an analogy with cars, then the clock frequency is the speed in km / h, and the specific productivity is the load capacity in kg. If a passenger car (ARM processor for a smartphone) and a dump truck (x86 chip for a PC) drive nearby, then at an equal speed, a passenger car will transport a couple of hundred kilos at a time, and a truck several tons. If we talk about different types of cores specifically for smartphones (Cortex A53, Cortex A72, Qualcomm Kryo), then these are all cars, but with different capacities. Accordingly, here the difference will not be so huge, but also significant.
You can only compare the clock speeds of cores on the same architecture. For example, MediaTek MT6750 and Qualcomm Sanapdragon 625 each contain 8 Cortex A53 cores. But MTK has a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz, while Qualcomm has 2 GHz. Therefore, the second processor will run approximately 33% faster. But the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652, although it has a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz, is faster than the 625 model, since it uses more powerful Cortex A72 cores.
What gives a high processor frequency in a smartphone
As we have already found out, the higher the clock frequency, the faster the processor works. Consequently, the performance of a smartphone with a higher frequency chipset will be higher. If one smartphone processor contains 4 Kryo cores at 2 GHz, and the second - 4 of the same Kryo cores at 3 GHz, then the second one will be about 1.5 times faster. This will speed up the launch of applications, reduce the turn-on time, allow faster processing of heavy sites in the browser, etc.
