In the upper mid-range smartphone segment, MediaTek's Dimensity 8450 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 promise to deliver near-flagship level performance at lower costs. Both chipsets are built on TSMC's 4nm process node, however, to see which one truly comes out on top, we have compared the Dimensity 8450 and Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. We have benchmarked both chipsets on AnTuTu, Geekbench, 3DMark, and more.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: AnTuTu Score
| AnTuTu V11 Benchmark | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| AnTuTu V11 Score | 1,519,753 | 2,420,441 |
| CPU | 602,541 | 696,993 |
| GPU | 210,593 | 801,878 |
| Memory | 281,413 | 426,982 |
| UX | 425,206 | 494,588 |
In the latest AnTuTu V11 benchmark, the Dimensity 8450 achieved 1,519,753 points while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 crossed the 2-million mark with a score of 2,420,441 points. If we go by the overall score, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is around 60% faster than the Dimensity 8450.
However, when we look at the CPU score, the Dimensity 8450 is only 15% behind. Strangely, the Dimensity 8450 GPU scores really low which puts it far behind the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. Nevertheless, to get a clearer picture on how the CPU and GPU perform, let's move to other tests.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Geekbench Score
| Geekbench 6 CPU | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| Single-core | 1,603 | 2,158 |
| Multi-core | 6,268 | 6,989 |
In the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Dimensity 8450 scored 1,603 in single-core tasks and 6,268 in multi-core tasks. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 got 2,158 in single-core and 6,989 in multi-core, delivering 35% and 11% faster performance, respectively.
Since the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 packs a powerful prime core (Cortex-X4), it posts substantially stronger performance. However, in multi-core, the Dimensity 8450 comes somewhat close to matching Qualcomm's processor.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: CPU Throttling Test
| CPU Throttling Test | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| Maximum Score | 264,702 GIPS | 549,579 GIPS |
| Average Score | 241,937 GIPS | 485,827 GIPS |
| Minimum Score | 193,232 GIPS | 414,382 GIPS |
| Throttling Percentage (Higher is better) | 77% | 80% |
Now to check the sustained performance of the CPU, we ran the 15-minute CPU Throttling Test. In this test, the Dimensity 8450 throttled to 77% of its maximum performance and the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 did slightly better with 80%. As far as heavy, multi-core CPU workload is concerned, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is clearly the better pick.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: 3DMark Score
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| Best Loop Score | 4,004 | 2,845 |
| Lowest Loop Score | 2,854 | 2,180 |
| Stability | 71.3% | 76.6% |
Now, in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test, the Arm Mali-G720 MC7 GPU inside the Dimensity 8450 got the best loop score of 4,004 points and the lowest loop score of 2,854 with 71.3% stability. Meanwhile, the Adreno 825 GPU inside the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 posted the best score of 2,845 and the lowest score of 2,180 with 76.6% stability.
In this test, the 7-core Mali-G720 MC7 GPU has clearly demonstrated superior graphics performance. In fact, its lowest score is higher than Adreno 825's highest performance. For gaming, the Dimensity 8450 is a better chipset than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4.
| 3DMark Solar Bay | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| Overall Score | 6,589 | 4,615 |
| Average FPS | 25.05 FPS | 17.55 FPS |
In 3DMark Solar Bay which evaluates ray-tracing performance, the Dimensity 8450 again performed better than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The Dimensity 8450 got 6,589 points with 25.05 average FPS while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 scored 4,615 with 17.55 average FPS.
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| Overall Score | 1,472 | 1,030 |
| Average FPS | 10.91 FPS | 7.64 FPS |
And in the intensive 3DMark Steel Nomad Light test, the Dimensity 8450 achieved 1,472 points whereas the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 scored 1,030 points. Overall, for sustained graphics performance, the Dimensity 8450 showcases stronger performance than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Speedometer 3.0 Score
We finally ran the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark to check how both processors perform on web browsers. In this test, the Dimensity 8450 did slightly better with a score of 13.9 points while the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 got 12.5 points. So for a responsive and fluid experience during web browsing, you should pick the Dimensity 8450.
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Benchmark Gallery
Dimensity 8450 vs Snapdragon 8s Gen 4: Specs Comparison
| Specs | Dimensity 8450 | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 |
| 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 (3.2GHz), 3x Cortex-A720 (3.0GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (2.8GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (2.0GHz) |
| GPU | Arm Mali-G720 MC7 | Adreno 825 GPU |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 8533Mbps | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 4800MHz |
| NPU | MediaTek NPU 880 | New Hexagon AI Engine, On-device multimodal AI support |
| ISP | Imagiq 1080, Up to 320MP image, 4K60 video | 18-bit Triple AI Spectra ISP, Up to 320MP photo capture, 4K HDR video at 60 FPS |
| Modem | MediaTek 5G R16 modem, Up to 5.17Gbps peak download speed | Snapdragon 5G modem (Sub-6 GHz only), Up to 4.2 Gbps Peak Download |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and UWB |
Verdict
To sum up, the Dimensity 8450 doesn't match the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 in single-core CPU performance, but comes really close in multi-core performance despite lacking a prime core. In the graphics department, the Dimensity 8450 is clearly better than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. Overall, if you are a gamer, you should choose the Dimensity 8450, but for general day-to-day usage, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is no slouch either.
