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Snapdragon 778G vs MediaTek Dimensity 1200: Just how powerful is Qualcomm's latest affordable SoC?

The Snapdragon 778G is built on TSMC's 6 nm manufacturing process. (Source: Qualcomm)
The Snapdragon 778G is built on TSMC's 6 nm manufacturing process. (Source: Qualcomm)
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G and MediaTek's Dimensity 1200 are the two current chipsets of choice across the mid-range and sub-premium segments. Some may wonder exactly what performance differences exist between the two chipsets; answers are, thankfully, here.

Qualcomm released the Snapdragon 780G at the start of the year. For some reason, however, the Snapdragon 780G only ever found use on one phone, Xiaomi's Mi 11 Lite 5G. Instead, Qualcomm has replaced the chipset with the 6nm Snapdragon 778G. That SoC has now found wide application in the mid-range and sub-premium segments, essentially sharing a space with MediaTek's Dimensity 1200. But how do those two compare to each other?

Starting off with Geekbench, the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 hits hard with a score of 809. In comparison, the Snapdragon 778G comes away with a single-core score of 771. In the multi-core tests, the MediaTek chipset earns a score of 2,463; the Snapdragon 778G records 2,808. That's turning out to be a trend with MediaTek chipsets recently—better peak performance while lagging a bit behind in the multi-core segment. Those numbers translate to a 5% advantage to the Dimensity 1200 in the single-core test, and a 14% disadvantage in the multi-core test.

The Snapdragon 778G crushes the Dimensity 1200 on PCMark Work 3.0 as well, with a score of 12,265 versus the MediaTek chipset's 8,486. Interestingly, though, the Dimensity 1200 does better on AnTuTu's CPU test, scoring 173,352—about 7% better than the Snapdragon 778G's 161,328. This just indicates that AnTuTu favors single-core performance, with the Dimensity 1200 having an edge due to its higher-clocked Cortex A78 core (3.0 GHz vs 2.4 GHz)

Moving over to the GPU side of the fence, the Dimensity 1200 and its Mali G77 records 58 fps in GFX 3.1's Manhattan ES Off-Screen test. The Snapdragon 778G and its Adreno 642 lag behind at 49 fps, or about a 24% disadvantage. Those numbers are mirrored on AnTuTu's GPU test, where the Dimensity 1200 (232,145) destroys the Snapdragon 778G (156,405)—a huge 48% advantage to the MediaTek chipset. 3DMark's WildLife Unlimited offers similar conclusions, with the Dimensity 1200 scoring 4,214 points versus the Snapdragon 778G's 2,485. 

All said, it's obvious that the Dimensity 1200 offers much better peak graphical performance than the Snapdragon 778G. As for sustained GPU performance, it's already known that the Dimensity 1200 keeps up with last year's Snapdragon 865 in that department. CPU performance favors the Qualcomm chipset, however. Both chipsets are built on TSMC's 6 nm node but the Snapdragon 778G will almost definitely be more efficient as its performance cores all run at lower frequencies. The Dimensity 1200 is the better choice for gaming, but the Snapdragon 778G may well be a smarter option for average users.

Buy the Snapdragon 778G-powered Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G on Amazon.

The Dimensity 1200 on the OnePlus Nord 2.
The Dimensity 1200 on the OnePlus Nord 2.
The Snapdragon 778G on the Galaxy A52s.
The Snapdragon 778G on the Galaxy A52s.
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 10 > Snapdragon 778G vs MediaTek Dimensity 1200: Just how powerful is Qualcomm's latest affordable SoC?
Ricci Rox, 2021-10- 3 (Update: 2021-10- 3)