Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 vs. 8 Elite Gen 5 GPUs: Key Differences Revealed by Geekbench

Earlier this year, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, promising a 20% boost in CPU performance and a 23% increase in GPU performance compared to the previous Elite generation. Shortly after, Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, but confusingly benchmarked it against the two-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This raises the question: what truly distinguishes the Elite and non-Elite Gen 5 chips?

The CPUs in these chips operate at different clock speeds—2x 3.8GHz plus 6x 3.32GHz for the standard Gen 5, and 2x 4.61GHz plus 6x 3.63GHz for the Elite variant.

Both chips feature the "Adreno 840" GPU, yet they are evidently different. Since Qualcomm's direct comparison focused on the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, we turn to Geekbench for clearer insights.

Multiple devices, such as the Moto X70 Ultra, have undergone Geekbench tests, including the OpenCL GPU benchmark, which indicates a GPU base frequency of 384MHz.

In contrast, benchmarking of an Elite Gen 5 device like the Realme GT 8 Pro reveals both 384MHz (base frequency) and 768MHz (boost frequency). Notably, the non-Elite Gen 5 chip lacks this 768MHz boost performance.

Geekbench OpenCL Test: Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (Moto X70 Ultra) vs. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (Realme GT 8 Pro)

Although Qualcomm has not explicitly confirmed this, it appears the standard Gen 5 chips did not meet the higher frequency benchmarks necessary to be classified as Elite variants. Furthermore, the non-Elite Adreno 840 GPUs do not include the High-Performance Memory feature—an 18MB dedicated memory module that improves bandwidth and reduces latency. Internally, the Elite Adreno 840 is identified as “Adreno 829,” while the non-Elite counterpart is simply “Adreno 840.”

Besides Motorola’s Moto X70 Ultra, the OnePlus Ace 6T is another forthcoming smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip. Qualcomm also mentions partners such as iQOO, Honor, Meizu, and vivo, so more real-world comparisons between Elite and non-Elite Gen 5 chips will soon emerge.

Source | Via