Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's Adreno 750 rumored to have 1 GHz clock, Cortex-X4 "Hunter" core to be clocked at 3.72 GHz

We recently reported that the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would be based on a quad-cluster ARM core design should include the ARM Cortex-X4. While that story suggested that the Adreno 750 would be more or less the same as the Adreno 740 in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, we are now getting to know that the Adreno 750 GPU in the 8 Gen 3 may, in fact, get a significant speed bump.

Chinese site Mydrivers reports that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3'x Cortex-X4 "Hunter" core will see a clock bump up to 3.72 GHz, which should result in a 15-20% performance gain over the Cortex-X3 in the 8 Gen 2. What is also being rumored is that the 8 Gen 3's Adreno 740 will operate at a 1 GHz clock.

While the clock speed bump is welcome, it must be emphasized that Qualcomm doesn't officially indicate the Adreno 740's clock speeds, which generally hover around the 800 MHz mark. Nevertheless, if the rumor is true, the Adreno 750 could be first Qualcomm GPU to officially hit 1 GHz. 

Qualcomm will be sticking to TSMC 4 nm with 8 Gen 3 instead of transitioning to a 3 nm node that is being rumored for the upcoming Apple A17 Bionic. This brings us to the question of how well Qualcomm would manage the thermals with increased GPU core clocks, the increased CPU core clocks and the new 1+3+2+2 Cortex core configuration notwithstanding.

That being said, it is also possible that Qualcomm may reserve the higher clocked Adreno 750 for high-end flagships and enthusiast gaming phones. Just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, we might see an 8 Gen 3 exclusively for the Galaxy S24, for example, that might boast increased GPU performance.

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