With the Dimensity 9000, MediaTek has a powerful SoC in its range. Similar to Qualcomm’s Plus models, MediaTek has added the Dimensity 9000+, which achieves higher CPU and GPU clock speeds with stricter binning. Qualcomm is partly beaten, but Apple is still ahead. The GPU can’t quite keep up with the competition.
It rarely happens that MediaTek chips of the highest performance class make it to Europe. However, the editors now have a test device that already uses the new Dimensity 9000+ and thus the best of the best from MediaTek. Details about the smartphone must remain under wraps at this point.
Dimensity 9000+ may clock higher
While Qualcomm has shifted production from Samsung to TSMC for the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (benchmark), MediaTek has practically always been a regular customer of the Taiwanese foundry. For the latest Plus model, only stricter binning is used, i.e. a special selection of powerful chips that achieve higher clock rates than the standard model. For the Dimensity 9000+, MediaTek has increased the maximum clock of the Arm Cortex-X2 from 3.00 to 3.20 GHz. The GPU, on the other hand, which also comes from the Arm with the Mali-G710 MC10, is said to work 10 percent faster. The starting point was a clock speed of 850 MHz, but 10 percent more performance does not necessarily mean a higher clock speed of 85 MHz, and a new official figure is still pending.
| MediaTek Dimension 9000+ | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| production | TSMC N4 | |
| core design | 1 + 3 + 4 | |
| CPU | 1 × Cortex-X2 @ 3.20GHz 3 × Cortex-A710 @ 2.85GHz 4 × Cortex-A510 @ 1.80GHz | 1 × Cortex-X2 @ 3.20GHz 3 × Cortex-A710 @ 2.75GHz 4 × Cortex-A510 @ 2.00GHz |
| GPU | Arm Mali-G710 MC10 @? MHz | Adreno 730 @ 900MHz |
| Storage | LPDDR5 @ 3200MHz LPDDR5X @ 3750MHz* | LPDDR5 @ 3200MHz |
Single-core performance remains Apple’s domain
No other manufacturer can match Apple’s single-core performance in Geekbench. Last year’s A15 and the A14 from 2020 are still at the top. When the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro were presented, Apple said that the competitors would still have a hard time with the A13. In this comparison, however, the Dimensity 9000+ ranks ahead of Qualcomm in terms of both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the newer Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
MediaTek has the highest multi-core performance
It looks even better for MediaTek in the multi-core measurement. In view of the same clocking Cortex-X2 and faster Cortex-A710, the chip is unsurprisingly ahead of Qualcomm and practically on par with the A15. In this comparison, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 achieves the performance level of the Apple A14.
Geekbench 5.1
- Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (A15)217%
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (A14)201%
- MediaTek Dimension 9000+174%
- Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro (SD8+ Gen 1)165%
- OnePlus 10 Pro (SD8 Gen 1)157%
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 QRD154%
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (E2200)149%
- Asus ROG Phone 5 (SD888)141%
- Oppo Find X3 Pro (SD888)141%
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (E2100)138%
- Google Pixel 6 Pro (Tensor)131%
- Vivo X60 Pro (SD870)129%
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (E990)119%
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro (K9000)118%
- OnePlus Nord 2 (MT D1200)• 100%
- Google Pixel 5 (SD765G)75%
Unit: points
MediaTek already supports LPDDR5X-7500
PCMark 3.0, which is only available for Android, paints a clear picture in favor of MediaTek. In the configuration of the test device with 16 GB LPDDR5X-7500, the Dimensity 9000+ is 14 percent ahead of the current Qualcomm generation. The Dimensity 9000+ can also be combined with a slower LPDDR5-6400 like Qualcomm and would probably do a little worse in this constellation. Qualcomm does not yet support the latest standard, but will probably do so with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 expected in November. Apple recently switched from LPDDR4X-4266 to LPDDR5-6400 for the A16.
- MediaTek Dimension 9000+220%
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 QRD195%
- Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro (SD8+ Gen 1)194%
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (E2200)171%
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (E2100)167%
- OnePlus 10 Pro (SD8 Gen 1)161%
- Vivo X60 Pro (SD870)148%
- Google Pixel 6 Pro (Tensor)139%
- Google Pixel 5 (SD765G)106%
- OnePlus Nord 2 (MT D1200)• 100%
Unit: points
Qualcomm and Apple have faster GPUs
However, Qualcomm still has the powerful Adreno GPU on its credit side. MediaTek does not offer any in-house development in this area and has to line up behind Qualcomm and Apple with the Mali-G710 MC10 purchased from Arm. In 3DMark, the Dimensity 9000+ is the closest and even lands ahead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the demanding “Wild Life Extreme”, but behind the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, while it only takes third place in the normal “Wild Life”. behind Apple and Qualcomm is enough. Using the older APIs OpenGL ES 3.0 and 3.1, MediaTek even marches to the top of the rankings with a 4 percent and 10 percent lead, respectively.
3DMark Unlimited
- Wild Life Extreme (Metal/Vulkan)
- Wild Life (Metal/Vulcan)
- Sling Shot Extreme (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)
- Sling Shot (OpenGL ES 3.0)
- Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (A15)2,828
- Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro (SD8+ Gen 1)2,767
- MediaTek Dimension 9000+2,653
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 QRD2,577
- OnePlus 10 Pro (SD8 Gen 1)2,541
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (A14)2.113
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (E2200)1,845
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (E2100)1,769
- OnePlus Nord 2 (MT D1200)1.256
- Vivo X60 Pro (SD870)1.225
- Google Pixel 5 (SD765G)444
Unit: points
Third place behind Apple and Qualcomm is manifested in GFXBench. However, the Arm Mali-G710 MC10 is anything but slow and often only achieves a few FPS less. Competitors such as Google with a GPU also purchased from ARM or Samsung with the GPU developed in cooperation with AMD fare worse.GFXBench Offscreen
- Aztec Ruins 2160p (High) (Metal/Vulcan)
- Aztec Ruins 1440p (High) (Metal/Vulcan)
- Aztec Ruins 1080p (Normal) (Metal/Vulcan)
- Car Chase 1080p (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)
- Manhattan 1080p (Metal/OpenGL ES 3.1)
- Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro (SD8+ Gen 1)106%
- MediaTek Dimension 9000+101%
- Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max (A15)• 100%
- OnePlus 10 Pro (SD8 Gen 1)97%
Unit:
frames per second (FPS)
First impression of the Dimensity 9000+
The first impression of the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ is positive. In terms of CPU performance, MediaTek is slightly better than Qualcomm, but this is only due to the slightly higher clock rates. Ultimately, both companies are dependent on Arm’s developments in this area. Qualcomm will only be able to make a bigger leap forward with its own Nuvia designs – if they are allowed to. Apple impressively shows what a custom design can achieve. The A15 only falls behind MediaTek and Qualcomm due to fewer performance cores.
The GPU remains a strength of Qualcomm and Apple, but MediaTek is anything but badly served with Arm’s GPU “off the peg” and only has to admit defeat by a few percentage points. In return, the group saves several billion US dollars in development costs and potential patent disputes.
TechAint 