Qualcomm unveiled its flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor in 2023 with a Kryo CPU and an Adreno GPU. It was touted as the best mobile processor in 2023, but how does it stack up in 2025? Well, to find out, we have benchmarked the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset on several benchmarks like AnTuTu, Geekbench, 3DMark, and more. On that note, let's check out the findings.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 AnTuTu Score
| AnTuTu Benchmark | Score |
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 AnTuTu Score | 2,087,159 |
| CPU | 440,975 |
| GPU | 860,385 |
| Memory | 427,798 |
| UX | 358,001 |
In the AnTuTu benchmark, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scored 2.08M points, crossing the 2-million mark. Its 8-core Kryo CPU achieved 440.9K and the Adreno 750 GPU stood at 860.3K points. Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was released in 2023, it still delivers impressive performance, especially on the GPU front.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Geekbench Score
| Geekbench 6 CPU | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Single-core | 2,183 |
| Multi-core | 6,434 |
Next, in the Geekbench 6 CPU test, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scored 2.18K in single-core tasks, and 6.43K in multi-core tasks. In my assessment, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's 8-core Kryo CPU is capable enough to drive any kind of CPU-bound workload. However, with the arrival of the Oryon CPU, the performance margin has substantially increased, and the newer CPU cores are posting about 20 to 30% better performance.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU Throttling Test
| CPU Throttling Test | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Maximum Score | 397,971 GIPS |
| Average Score | 290,518 GIPS |
| Minimum Score | 249,129 GIPS |
| Throttling Percentage (Higher is better) | 64% |
We ran the 15-minute CPU Throttling Test to check the sustained performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. In this test, the CPU didn't do well, throttling to 64% of its maximum performance. The CPU throttled after a minute of running the test and then stabilised the performance for another two minutes. But then it dropped the performance again. Overall, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside the OnePlus 13R couldn't sustain its peak CPU performance over an extended period.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 3DMark Score
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Best Loop Score | 5,060 |
| Lowest Loop Score | 2,742 |
| Stability | 54.2% |
Now, talking about the graphics performance, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 got the best loop score of 5.06K in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress test. Its stability stood at a respectable 54.2%, with the lowest loop score of 2.74K. While the GPU is powerful, it seems to throttle itself to minimize overheating.
| Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | 3DMark Solar Bay | 3DMark Steel Nomad Light |
| Overall Score | 8,686 | 1,702 |
| Average FPS | 22.02 FPS | 12.61 FPS |
And in the 3DMark Solar Bay test which evaluates the Ray Tracing capability, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 did pretty well. It scored 8.68K with an average FPS of 22.02. Finally, in the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light test, it achieved 1.7K points with an average of 12.61 FPS.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Speedometer 3.0 Score
In our final Speedometer 3.0 test, which is designed to evaluate the CPU in web applications, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scored 8.22 points. The Kryo CPU should offer a reasonably good experience while using web apps, but it's not the best, as the Snapdragon 8 Elite scores more than double.
Benchmark Gallery
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Specs
| Specs | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Process Node | TSMC’s 4nm |
| CPU | 8-core Kryo CPU |
| CPU Cores | 1x Cortex-X4 (3.3GHz), 3x Cortex-A720 (3.2GHz), 2x Cortex-A720 (3.0GHz), 2x Cortex-A520 (2.3GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 750 GPU |
| Storage and Memory | UFS 4.0, LPDDR5X memory, up to 4800MHz |
| NPU | Hexagon NPU, Run AI models up to 10B parameters |
| ISP | Cognitive ISP, Triple 18-bit ISPs, Up to 200MP photo capture |
| Modem | Snapdragon X75 5G modem, Peak Download Speed 10Gbps, Peak Upload Speed 3.5 Gbps |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, LE |
Verdict
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was released in 2023 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is about to arrive in September this year. In that sense, the 8 Gen 3 is already two years old, and its performance doesn't match the current flagships like the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Dimensity 9400, or the Apple A18 Pro.
That said, it's a capable chipset and should offer a smooth experience, be it for gaming or general tasks. My only concern is that it throttles the CPU and GPU under extreme workload, which you should keep in mind if you wish to buy a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphone in 2025.
