Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs 8s Gen 3: Which is the best gaming chip?

Modified Jun 14, 2024 15:48 GMT

Picture of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — Snapdragon's 8 Gen 3 gaming chip (Image via Qualcomm)

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was launched in November 2023 as a flagship chipset and performs well in gaming. It powers almost every top-end Android phone launched this year. However, the launch of the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 has confused many people. Many would assume the latter would be the better option since it is newer, but that may not be the case.

This article compares the two chipsets with proper benchmark scores to declare which one is the best gaming chipset.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs 8s Gen 3

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is the successor to the 8 Gen 2. It brings several improvements over its predecessor and has the best gaming performance. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 is a brand-new chip launched in 2024, aiming to deliver a new class of performance to smartphones that doesn't cost $800-$1000.

However, both Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 8s Gen 3 are based on the same ARM architecture and are more similar to each other than you may realize. Let's take a look at their specs to have a better understanding of the two chips.

Specs comparison

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (Image via Qualcomm)

Here are the full specs of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 8s Gen 3:

Specifications	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
Architecture	ARM v9.2-A	ARM v9.2-A
Core layout	Cortex-X4 - 1x 3.3 GHz Cortex-A720 - 3x 3.15 GHz Cortex-A720 - 2x 2.96 GHz Cortex-A520 - 2x 2 GHz	Cortex-X4 - 1x 3 GHz Cortex-A720 - 4x 2.8 GHz Cortex-A520 - 3x 2 GHz
Cores	8	8
Threads	8	8
Max frequency	3.3 GHz	3.0 GHz
L3 cache	12 MB	8MB
GPU	Adreno 750	Adreno 735
RAM support	LPDDR5X - 4800	LPDDR5X - 4200
Thermal design power (TDP)	6.3W	6W
Manufacturing node	4nm	4nm

The major differences between the two CPUs are their core layout and clock speeds. The core layout of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is better and has a larger number of performance cores with higher clock speeds compared to the other chip.

Performance comparison

The specs gave us a general look at the differences between the two chips, but let's look at some real benchmark data to judge which chipset is better.

Benchmarks	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3	Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
Geekbench 6 (Single-core)	2193	2019
Geekbench 6 (Multi-core)	7304	5570
AnTuTu 10	2087940	1495593
3DMark Wild Life Performance	17370	11802

In multi-core benchmarks, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is 31% better than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. In single-core, the former is only 9% than the latter. The former chip also scores better performance in AnTuTu and is close to 50% better in the 3DMark GPU benchmark than the latter.

Therefore, expect the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to provide the best performance and will be found in many of the best gaming phones.

Pricing

Qualcomm announcing Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (Image via Qualcomm)

Smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are significantly more expensive than phones with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chips. The price difference can be as much as 50% in some cases.

Verdict

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is the best chip for mobile devices out of the two. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 comes close in terms of CPU performance, but its graphics performance leaves much to be desired compared to the former. However, due to the cheaper price of Snapdragon 8s Gen 3-based phones, it will be more popular among budget gaming devices.

Check out our other CPU comparisons:

Edited by Angad Sharma