MediaTek's Dimensity 8450 chipset is entering the upper mid-range Android segment and promising to deliver great performance and stability. Meanwhile, Qualcomm's 2023 flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 continues to hold its ground against newer processors. So to evaluate which processor offers better performance, we have compared the Dimensity 8450 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 across AnTuTu, Geekbench, CPU Throttling Test, 3DMark, and more.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: AnTuTu Score
| AnTuTu Benchmark | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| AnTuTu Score | 1,519,753 | 2,166,680 |
| CPU | 602,541 | 493,802 |
| GPU | 210,593 | 827,827 |
| Memory | 281,413 | 389,283 |
| UX | 425,206 | 455,768 |
Let's start with the latest AnTuTu V11 benchmark and compare the Dimensity 8450 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In the AnTuTu test, the Dimensity 8450 scored 1,519,753 points while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 got 2,166,680 points. Going by the combined score, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 appears 42% faster than the Dimensity 8450.
However, if we consider the individual scores, the 8-core CPU on the Dimensity 8450 has actually delivered 22% faster performance than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. And on the GPU side, the Dimensity 8450 has achieved abysmally low score for reasons unknown to us. Nevertheless, to find the actual performance gap, let's move to other benchmarks.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Geekbench Score
| Geekbench 6 CPU | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Single-core | 1,603 | 2,183 |
| Multi-core | 6,268 | 6,434 |
In the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Dimensity 8450 achieved 1,603 in single-threaded tasks and 6,268 in multi-threaded tasks. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scored 2,183 in single-core and 6,434 in multi-core. Thanks to the Cortex-X4 prime core, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 delivers 36% faster performance in single-core tasks. However, in multi-core, the performance difference is just 2.6%.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: CPU Throttling Test
| CPU Throttling Test | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Maximum Score | 264,702 GIPS | 397,971 GIPS |
| Average Score | 241,937 GIPS | 290,518 GIPS |
| Minimum Score | 193,232 GIPS | 249,129 GIPS |
| Throttling Percentage (Higher is better) | 77% | 64% |
Next, to see which chipset delivers better sustained CPU performance, we ran the 15-minute CPU Throttling Test. Here, the Dimensity 8450 did much better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The Dimensity 8450 throttled to 77% of its maximum performance while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 stood at 64%.
Within just 3 minutes, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 started throttling while the Dimensity 8450 maintained its peak performance for straight 6 minutes. It shows that in multi-core CPU workloads, the Dimensity 8450 is a better pick.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: 3DMark Score
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Best Loop Score | 4,004 | 5,060 |
| Lowest Loop Score | 2,854 | 2,742 |
| Stability | 71.3% | 54.2% |
After that, we ran the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test to evaluate the graphics performance. In this test, the Dimensity 8450 scored 4,004 points with 71.3% stability. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 achieved 5,060 points with 54.2% stability. Here, the Adreno 750 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 delivered 26% better graphics performance than the Dimensity 8450.
| 3DMark Solar Bay | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Overall Score | 6,589 | 8,686 |
| Average FPS | 25.05 FPS | 33.03 FPS |
In the 3DMark Solar Bay test which checks ray tracing performance, the Dimensity 8450 scored 6,589 with 25.05 FPS. And the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 achieved 8,686 points with 33.03 FPS. Again, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is around 32% faster in ray-traced games over the Dimensity 8450.
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Overall Score | 1,472 | 1,702 |
| Average FPS | 10.91 FPS | 12.61 FPS |
Next, in the graphics-intensive 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, the Dimensity 8450 scored 1,472 with 10.91 FPS. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, on the other hand, achieved 1,702 with 12.61 FPS. It's clear that the two-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 still has a more powerful GPU than the Dimensity 8450.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Speedometer 3.0 Score
Finally, coming to the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark, the Dimensity 8450 scored 13.9 points while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 achieved 8.22 points. It means that you will get a better web browsing experience on the Dimensity 8450. For a responsive and fluid experience while using browsers and web applications, the Dimensity 8450 is a better pick.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Benchmark Gallery
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3: Specs Comparison
| Specs | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Process Node | TSMC’s 4nm | TSMC’s 4nm |
| CPU | 8-core Arm Cortex CPU | 8-core Kryo CPU |
| CPU Cores | 1x Cortex-A725 (3.25GHz), 3x Cortex-A725 (3.0GHz), 4x Cortex-A725 (2.1GHz) | 1x Cortex-X4 (3.3GHz), 3x Cortex-A720 (3.2GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (3.0GHz), 2x Cortex-A520 (2.3GHz) |
| GPU | Arm Mali-G720 MC7 | Adreno 750 GPU |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 8533Mbps | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 4800MHz |
| NPU | MediaTek NPU 880 | Hexagon NPU, Run AI models up to 10B parameters |
| ISP | Imagiq 1080, Up to 320MP image, 4K60 video | Cognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs, Up to 200MP photo capture |
| Modem | MediaTek 5G R16 modem, Up to 5.17Gbps peak download speed | Snapdragon X75 5G modem, Peak Download Speed 10Gbps, Peak Upload Speed 3.5 Gbps |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE |
Verdict
To conclude, MediaTek's decision to not include a prime core inside the Dimensity 8450 results in slower single-core CPU performance, compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. However, thanks to the newer and more efficient Cortex-A725 core, it nearly matches the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in multi-core CPU performance.
On the graphics side, the Adreno 750 GPU packed inside the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 remains a powerhouse and beats the Dimensity 8450 by a considerable margin. All in all, I would say, the two-year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 still outranks many upper mid-range chipsets, and you can't go wrong with it.
