The launch of the Dimensity 9600 Pro chip in China today indicates a significant shift for MediaTek. Built on TSMC’s 2nm manufacturing process, MediaTek's first ‘Pro’ chipset is set to challenge capable flagship processors. One of them is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which, despite being a year old, remains a top-tier chip. So, in this Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 comparison, we'll see if MediaTek’s latest offering can hold a candle to Qualcomm’s established flagship chip.
Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: The ‘Pro’ Difference
With the Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset, MediaTek has changed the naming convention of its chips for the first time. But the ‘Pro’ in its name isn’t just a throw-away term. Dimensity 9600 Pro is MediaTek’s first chip fabricated on TSMC’s 2nm node, a major upgrade from the company’s earlier offerings.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, on the other hand, is built on TSMC’s 3nm process. The difference in build architecture gives the Dimensity 9600 Pro a slight edge. MediaTek claims their 2nm chip improves performance, capability, and power efficiency. But we will have to wait and run benchmarks to see how big an improvement this turns out to be.
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Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: CPU
Both the Dimensity 9600 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 are octa-core CPUs. Dimensity 9600 Pro houses Arm’s latest C2-series cores. Its complete 2+3+3 setup includes 2x C2-Ultra prime cores at 4.55 GHz, 3x C2-Pro performance cores at 4.35 GHz, and 3x C2-Pro cores at 3.10 GHz.
In addition, MediaTek has equipped the Dimensity 9600 Pro with a massive 34.5MB of total cache. The CPU also integrates the new SME2 (Scalable Matrix Extension 2) instructions to accelerate on-device AI tasks.
Thanks to these architectural upgrades, MediaTek claims the new Arm C2-series CPU delivers a 17% jump in single-core performance and a 15% boost in multi-core performance compared to its predecessor.
In terms of efficiency, MediaTek claims the ultra-large cores on the Dimensity 9600 Pro consume 37% less power, while multi-core power consumption is reduced by 61% in comparison to their own previous-gen chip.
On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is running 2x 3rd-gen Oryon prime cores at 4.60GHz and 6x 3rd-gen Oryon performance cores at 3.62GHz. This 2+6 CPU setup gives Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 some serious heft, as the CPU cores are custom-made by Qualcomm.
| Geekbench 6 | Dimensity 9600 Pro (Claimed) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-core | 4,276 | 3,588 |
| Multi-core | 12,650 | 10,207 |
In our Geekbench 6 CPU test for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (on the iQOO 15), the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 achieved a 3,588 single-core score and a 10,207 multi-core score. These are great numbers, but MediaTek claims the Dimensity 9600 Pro surpasses them with its 4,276 single-core score and 12,650 multi-core score.
Furthermore, Dimensity 9600 Pro supports LPDDR6 memory, which is 33% faster than the LPDDR5X memory that is available on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The Dimensity 9600 Pro also has support for UFS 5.0 storage, which is twice as fast as the dual-channel UFS 4.0. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 supports UFS 4.1 storage.
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Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: GPU
Dimensity 9600 Pro includes the Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX MC12 GPU. This 12-core GPU is a gaming powerhouse, with an upgraded HyperEngine and improved hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
What makes the new Mali G2-Ultra NX GPU impressive is that it’s the first Mali GPU to build AI acceleration directly into the shader cores. MediaTek further brings its new Dimensity Neural Graphics Architecture, which divides heavy compute workloads between the GPU and the NPU for hardware-accelerated frame generation and AI upscaling.
According to MediaTek, the new GPU is 27% faster at peak performance and consumes 24% less power. Not to mention, it’s 18% faster at ray tracing and supports up to 180 FPS gaming. In addition, the Mali G2-Ultra NX scored an impressive 3,029 points in the demanding 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme test.
Given the fact that last year’s Dimensity 9500 outperformed Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, these numbers only highlight MediaTek’s growing lead against Qualcomm in terms of graphics.
In contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has the Adreno 840 GPU with a clock speed of 1.2GHz and a dedicated 18MB Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM). It also supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which makes it a highly capable graphics unit. However, it has a tendency of heating up, which throttles performance and lowers frame rate.
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Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Specs Comparison
| Specification | Dimensity 9600 Pro | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Process Node | TSMC’s 2nm (N2P) | TSMC’s 3nm (N3P) |
| CPU | 8-core Arm C2-series CPU | 8-core 3rd-gen Oryon CPU |
| CPU Cores | 2x C2-Ultra (4.55GHz), 3x C2-Pro (4.35GHz), 3x C2-Pro (3.10GHz) | 2x 3rd-gen Oryon Prime (4.60GHz), 6x 3rd-gen Oryon Performance (3.62GHz) |
| GPU | Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX MC12 | Adreno 840 GPU, up to 1.2 GHz, 18 MB Adreno HPM |
| NPU | MediaTek NPU 1090, Super Efficient NPU 2.0 | New Hexagon NPU |
| ISP | Imagiq 1290, 4K240FPS slow-motion video capture, 8K60FPS video capture, 4K60 AI True Colour Tone, 4K120 with EIS, 4K60 HDR with content-aware semantic processing | Qualcomm Spectra triple 20-bit ISPs, up to 320MP photo, videos at 4K120FPS |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 5.0, LPDDR6 memory | UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X up to 5300 MHz, up to 10.7 Gbps |
| Modem | 5G Advanced modem with support for 5CC carrier aggregation, up to 7.3 Gbps download speed | Snapdragon X85 5G Modem, up to 12.5 Gbps peak download, up to 3.7 Gbps peak upload |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.2 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, LE, and UWB |
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Dimensity 9600 Pro vs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Verdict
Qualcomm’s flagship chipset from last year does many things right. For gaming and heavy performance, it is one of the best chips that launched last year, better than the MediaTek Dimensity 9500. But when comparing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with this year’s MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro, the differences become apparent.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip doesn’t hold up as well as the 2nm-process Dimensity 9600 Pro chip, and the Geekbench 6 scores reflect that. That said, while the Dimensity 9600 Pro looks powerful, we will have to wait and see how it handles thermals under sustained load.
With advanced CPU setup, memory, storage, and camera support, MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro is a superior chip that takes advantage of all the cutting-edge technologies at its disposal. However, with the launch of Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 only a few days away, Qualcomm is expected to regain its superiority over MediaTek again.
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