At the Snapdragon Summit 2025, Qualcomm finally launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, its flagship chipset featuring the 3rd-gen Oryon CPU and the Adreno 840 GPU. Qualcomm even went so far as to call it the “world’s fastest mobile CPU.” So to test the claim, we have benchmarked the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 on Geekbench, AnTuTu, 3DMark, CPU Throttling Test, and more. Now, let’s see how it stacks up.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 AnTuTu Score
| AnTuTu V11 Benchmark | Score |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 AnTuTu Score | 3,740,686 |
| CPU | 1,054,518 |
| GPU | 1,368,986 |
| Memory | 428,822 |
| UX | 888,360 |
In our first AnTuTu V11 benchmark, running on the iQOO 15, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scored a whopping 3,740,686 points. While it couldn't cross the 4-million mark, the 8-core Oryon v3 CPU itself scored 1,054,518 points and the Adreno 840 GPU achieved an astounding 1,368,986 points. For comparison, last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite scored 3,056,121 points on the latest AnTuTu V11 benchmark. Meanwhile, the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 managed to achieve 3,316,157 on AnTuTu V11.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Geekbench Score
| Geekbench 6 CPU | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Single-core | 3,588 |
| Multi-core | 10,207 |
On the Geekbench CPU test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 achieved a remarkable 3,588 points in single-core and 10,207 in multi-core. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is running two Oryon v3 prime cores at 4.60GHz and six Oryon v3 performance cores at 3.62GHz. It means that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is around 18% faster in single-core performance, and around 10% faster multi-core performance, compared to last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU Throttling Test
| CPU Throttling Test | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Maximum Score | 425,678 |
| Average Score | 293,717 |
| Minimum Score | 246,893 |
| Throttling Percentage (Higher is better) | 58% |
In the 15-minute CPU Throttling Test, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 throttled to 58% of its maximum performance. The Oryon v3 CPU maintained its peak performance for about three minutes before reducing the clock speeds and bringing the performance down to 60%. While the iQOO 15 comes with an improved thermal management system, due to the higher clock speeds, it can't maintain the thermal stability.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 3DMark Score
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Best Loop Score | 6,867 |
| Lowest Loop Score | 1,715 |
| Stability | 25% |
Next, to evaluate the graphics performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, we ran the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test. The powerful Adreno 840 GPU delivered the best loop score of 6,867, however, after 20 rounds, the score came down to 1,715 with a dismal stability of 25%. It means that the Adreno 840 GPU, while being capable, can't maintain its peak performance due to thermal instability.
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | 3DMark Solar Bay | 3DMark Steel Nomad Light |
| Overall Score | 12,472 | 2,789 |
| Average FPS | 47.42 | 20.66 |
In the 3DMark Solar Bay test which measures ray tracing performance, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scored 12,472 points with an average 47.42 FPS. Next, in the intensive 3DMark Steel Nomad Light test, the Adreno 840 GPU scored 2,789 points with 20.66 average FPS.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Gaming Performance
To test out real world gaming performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, I played Genshin Impact and CoD Mobile, and I am happy to report that the Adreno 840 GPU handled them really well. All the games operated under maximum graphics settings and there were no frame drops.
Sure, iQOO 15 got a bit warm, peaking around 42°C, but even after an hour of gaming, the temperature hovered around 38°C. To give you an overview, Genshin Impact ran at highest settings, delivering 60FPS. CoD Mobile also delivered 60FPS at the highest settings.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Speedometer 3.0 Score
Next, in the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark which measures performance on web browsers and web applications, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 got a commendable score of 28.9 points. You are going to get a smooth and fluid web experience on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phones.
Benchmark Gallery
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Specs
| Specs | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Process Node | TSMC's 3nm (N3P) |
| CPU | 8-core 3rd-gen Oryon CPU |
| CPU Cores | 2x 3rd-gen Oryon Prime (4.60GHz), 6x 3rd-gen Oryon Performance (3.62GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 840 GPU, Up to 1.2GHz, 18MB Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM) |
| NPU | New Hexagon NPU |
| ISP | Qualcomm Spectra 20-bit Triple ISP, Images up to 320 MP, Videos at 4K120FPS |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.1, LPDDR5X memory, Up to 5.3GHz, Up to 10.7 Gbps |
| Modem | Snapdragon X85 5G modem, Up to 12.5 Gbps Peak Download, Up to 3.7 Gbps Peak Upload |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, LE, and UWB |
Verdict
In my assessment, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is indeed a flagship beast, but that level of performance comes at a cost. In short bursts, the processor is blazing fast, but under sustained load, the chipset generates significant heat, leading to thermal throttling. When you stress test the chip over multiple rounds, it starts to lose performance rapidly.
Qualcomm has clocked the Oryon v3 CPU up to a mighty 4.60GHz, which appears unsustainable on passively cooled devices like smartphones. All in all, you should pick the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 if you want unbeatable performance, however, make sure the phone features a large vapour chamber and an advanced cooling system to maintain consistent performance.
