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Qualcomm recently announced its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for Android phones, and we finally have access to the Realme GT7 Pro which packs the powerful processor. So, to test Qualcomm's claims, we ran several tests on Snapdragon 8 Elite, including Geekbench, AnTuTu, 3DMark, etc. We also recorded the temperature to understand the thermal performance of the chipset. On that note, let's get started.
We compared the Realme GT7 Pro, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. During our initial tests, the phone became unusually hot. However, after restarting the device several times, the processor worked fine and maintained a normal temperature.
Snapdragon 8 Elite specifications
| Snapdragon 8 Elite | |
|---|---|
| Process node | TSMC's 3nm process (N3E) |
| Processor | Octa-core 2nd generation Oryon processor |
| CPU cores | 2x 2nd generation Oryon (4.32 GHz) 6x 2nd generation Oryon (3.53 GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 830 GPU |
| Storage/memory support | UFS4.0 LPDDR5X, up to 5.3 GHz Up to 10.7 Gbps |
| Machine learning and AI | New Hexagon AI engine Support for multimodal AI on device |
| ISP | ISP AI Spectra Photo capture up to 320 MP 8K HDR video at 60 FPS |
| Modem | Snapdragon X80 5G Modem Up to 10 Gbps peak download Up to 3.5 Gbps peak download |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and UWB |
Snapdragon 8 Elite: Geekbench 6 processor
In the Geekbench CPU test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 3,033 in the single-core test and 9,271 in the multi-core test. Keep in mind that the Snapdragon 8 Elite's Oryon processor is still based on the older Armv8 architecture. As a result, it doesn't feature any SME units, resulting in slightly lower Geekbench scores than Apple's A18 Pro in single-core tasks.
What's remarkable is that the 2nd generation Oryon cores are really efficient, as Qualcomm claims. After intensive CPU testing, the surface temperature hovered around 33 degrees Celsius, which is fantastic. And the CPU under single-threaded maximum load consumes about 6W to 7W.
| Geekbench 6 processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|---|---|
| Single-core | 3,033 |
| Multi-core | 9,271 |
| Temperature | 32.8 degrees Celsius |
Snapdragon 8 Elite: AnTuTu reference
In our AnTuTu benchmark test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 2,759,190 points. It did not cross the 3 million mark as the first leaks suggested. Nonetheless, Snapdragon 8 Elite has set a new benchmark in mobile computing. The CPU scored 583,775 points and the new Adreno 830 GPU alone scored a whopping 1,132,574 points. After the AnTuTu test, the temperature was close to 36.6 degrees C, which again is impressive.
| AnTuTu reference | Score |
|---|---|
| AnTuTu Snapdragon 8 Elite Score | 2,759,190 |
| Processor | 583,775 |
| GPU | 1,132,574 |
| Memory | 643 562 |
| UX | 399 279 |
| Temperature | 36.7 degrees Celsius |
Snapdragon 8 Elite: CPU throttling test
We've found that flagship chipsets don't do well in the CPU throttling test, as it becomes more difficult to maintain maximum performance on large CPU cores, running at much higher frequencies. That said, the Snapdragon 8 Elite performed exceptionally well.
During our 15-minute stress test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor was limited to 74% of its maximum performance. And in a longer 60-minute test, the CPU was throttled to 77%. Basically, for sustained CPU performance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite hits it out of the park. Not to mention that the temperature remained around 39 degrees C.
Snapdragon 8 Elite: GPU Geekbench 6
Moving on to the Geekbench 6 GPU test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite's Adreno 830 GPU scored 19,193 points on OpenCL and 24,462 on the Vulkan graphics API. The scores are 40% higher than those achieved by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so yes, the GPU has been significantly improved.
| GPU Geekbench 6 | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|---|---|
| OpenCL | 19,193 |
| Vulcan | 24,462 |
Snapdragon 8 Elite: 3DMark tests
To further test the Adreno 830 GPU, we ran several graphics-intensive 3DMark tests. In the 3DMark Wild Life extreme stress test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite achieved the highest loop score of 6,311 points and the lowest loop score of 5,258 with a remarkable stability of 83.3%. And the surface temperature also remained manageable, around 42.5 degrees C.
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|---|---|
| Best loop score | 6,311 |
| Lowest loop score | 5,258 |
| Stability | 83.3% |
| Temperature | 42.6 degrees Celsius |
Next, in the 3DMark Solar Bay test that evaluates ray tracing capability, the Snapdragon 8 Elite's GPU achieved an overall score of 10,614 points. And in the demanding 3DMark Steel Nomad Light test, the Adreno 830 GPU scores 2,201 points. Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Elite offers significant improvements in graphics performance and efficiency.
| Snapdragon 8 Elite | 3DMark solar array | 3DMark portable steel lamp |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 10,614 | 2,201 |
| Average FPS | 40.36 | 4:31 p.m. |
Snapdragon 8 Elite: Geekbench AI
Finally, let's come to the Geekbench AI test which evaluates the NPU. It seems that Qualcomm has not prepared the driver stack for the new Hexagon NPU on the Snapdragon 8 Elite. We had to run the test on the outdated NNAPI framework, which resulted in much lower scores. We hope Qualcomm brings support for QNN so we can really see how the NPU performs on AI workloads.
When it comes to LLM performance on the device, the Snapdragon 8 Elite generated responses at 20 tokens per second, which is pretty good. I think the inference was done on the CPU, so CPU-based AI performance looks promising.
| Geekbench AI | NPU Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite processor |
|---|---|---|
| Single accuracy score | 242 | 1,970 |
| Half-precision score | 248 | 2,037 |
| Quantized partition | 501 | 2,416 |
The verdict
To conclude, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is a monumental upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The cores of the 2nd generation Oryon processor are very powerful and at the same time efficient, despite running two cores at a powerful frequency of 4.32GHz. And the new sliced GPU architecture implemented in Snapdragon 8 Elite has delivered remarkable gaming performance.
Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Elite brings a generational shift in mobile computing. So Qualcomm made the right choice by introducing a new naming convention. We will test the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for Galaxy on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which will bring even more power. With faster memory and increased clock speeds, Snapdragon 8 Elite can deliver even more. So stay tuned for a detailed analysis.
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