Gone are the days when the word MediaTek did not say anything to 99% of users, and for another 1% it was associated with eternally buggy Chinese phones. The Taiwanese company has grown stronger, increased the scale of its activities and learned how to make processors for smartphones that are able to fully compete in the market and are of interest to serious manufacturers. mobile devices. The Americans also did not sit idly by, and managed to tear off a tidbit of the market, pushing Texas Instruments out of the world of smartphones. Which processors for smartphones are better, from Qualcomm or MediaTek, let's try to figure it out.

Qualcomm and MediaTek are companies that develop processors for smartphones but don't manufacture them themselves. To do this, they use the help of silicon giants like TSMC, which own giant factories for the production of semiconductor chips. Also, both companies develop processors for smartphones of all price categories. Both products are based on the ARM processor architecture (dramatically different from the computer x86).

This is where the main similarities between the developers end. Although corporations are direct competitors and fight in the same field, their approaches to the development and promotion of products are fundamentally different.

Pros and cons of Qualcomm processors

Smartphone chips developed by the Americans have many advantages.

• Fine process technology. The American manufacturer is constantly striving to transfer existing architectures to a new process technology as soon as it becomes possible. First of all, processors for flagship smartphones are produced according to the best technological standards, and then more affordable products are transferred to new lines.
• Kernels of own development. Qualcomm developers, when creating their best SoCs for flagships, do not just take off-the-shelf ARM microarchitectures (which come out under the code names Cortex). They are refining them to improve performance and better optimize hardware resources.
• Own graphics subsystem. Qualcomm's smartphone chipsets use their own Adreno series GPUs to process graphics. The company is fully responsible for their creation, starting from the stage of engineering ideas and ending with the launch in a series. Thanks to this, the performance of flagship GPUs is better than that of rivals.
• Powerful cellular modules. Communication modems as part of Snapdragon chips better themes that are developed taking into account all the new trends in technology. For example, LTE support Cat. 12 they began to implement even before they began to provide it cellular operators. In addition, Qualcomm modems have a wider list of supported network standards (GSM, HSPA, CDMA, LTE) than MTK.
• Optimized power consumption. The company is working not only on performance, but also on energy efficiency, even within the same process technology. So, the transition from Snapdragon 820 to 821 accelerated the chips by a few percent, and reduced power consumption by the same few percent (although the architectural differences between the models are quite minimal).

However, they also have some disadvantages.

• High price. Using advanced technologies, the company (and its partners) has to spend money on their implementation and testing. Due to this, the cost best solutions Qualcomm is pretty high. Snapdragon 821, best processor in smartphones in 2016, at the time of launch, it cost about $ 70 to purchase.
• Complex bootloader structure. The bootloader (the mechanism responsible for starting the hardware and then the smartphone OS) in Snapdragon chips has a rather complex structure and operation algorithm. AT everyday use it does not matter, but when restoring the "brick" - it complicates the procedure.
• Few budget solutions. The company focuses on chips for expensive smartphones and strives to make them better, more powerful, more economical, but pays much less attention to budget solutions. Until recently for low-cost smartphones Qualcomm offered only 3 processor models: Snapdragon 200, 400 and 410. And the price of such processors is higher than for MTK counterparts, which can be better.

Pros and cons of MediaTek processors

Taiwanese chipsets also have some advantages.

• Low price. Since the company started with cheap solutions, it is best established in this niche. Even the top models of MTK processors are distinguished by a low price, the same Helio X20 is approximately on par with mid-range solutions from competitors.
• A large assortment. MediaTek is constantly working on improving their products, so they often update the lineup. The company cannot please with an abundance of chipsets for flagships, but for the middle and budget categories, it has many SoC models.
• "Stock" graphics. Most of their chips MediaTek use the basic variants of Mali graphics cores created by ARM Corporation. Due to the "reference" microarchitecture, it is often easier for developers to optimize games for it than for Adreno. In addition, it is the Mali graphics that are used in their Samsung chips, so for developers, adaptation to it is a priority. Thanks to optimization, Mali GPUs often perform better in games than their budget Adreno counterparts.

Cons MediaTek processors, alas, is also enough.

• Basic Cortex Cores. The company does not have the resources to improve the processor microarchitecture, so developers use standard cores in chips. At equal frequencies, they turn out to be weaker than custom microarchitectures from Qualcomm, Samsung, Apple.
• Configuration imbalance. Wanting to improve autonomy while maintaining the commercial appeal of products, MediaTek did not go the best way of development. Their processors for smartphones look very impressive on paper, but in practice they do not always live up to expectations. For example, in order to optimally consume the charge, in the Helio X20 series processors, engineers introduced three clusters of cores with different microarchitecture, frequency and TDP. They did this instead of working out a more elegant power-saving mechanism, and 10 cores are easier for marketers to advertise than 4, but highly efficient. Because of this, 10 cores in Helio X20 turned out to be slower than 4 in Snapdragon 820. The second negative in the balance of hardware is not the best choice graphics subsystem configuration. MediaTek, although they use the current Mali GPU models, do not choose their best options. For example, the top-end Helio X25 has a Mali T880 graphics accelerator, such as the Exynos 8890 in the Samsung S7. But Samsung used the T880 MP12 configuration, and MTK used the T880 MP4. This means that it contains three times fewer active blocks, respectively, and performance will be up to 3 times lower.
• Process backlog. Since MediaTek is used to saving money, they are in no hurry (and do not have significant resources) to invest in the development of the production of partner factories. Because of this, they get access to the best conveyor lines in the second place. As a result, MTK chipsets are produced according to a cruder and older process technology than Qualcomm. This is especially true for processors flagship smartphones(Americans are also in no hurry to update budget models).
• Mediocre developer support. Per last years the situation has improved markedly, but MediaTek still has problems with developer support. Because of them, smartphone manufacturers do not always receive (if at all) the latest drivers and developer libraries in time to make smartphones with new version OS, or release OS updates for legacy models. For example, for a cheap MT6580, there is a core of Android 6 (and Android 7 is also on the way), but for the flagship-2015 MT6795 (Helio X10) it is still not.

conclusions

Deciding which is better, Qualcomm or MediaTek, will definitely not work: both of them have both a number of pluses and minuses. To understand, it is advisable to group the processors for smartphones from both companies into categories: budget, mid-range and top.

In the budget price category there is no particular difference between the processors. Both developers create solutions that are sufficient for basic tasks, and there is parity between them. Devices on MTK are often cheaper, there are simply more of them, so the king of the budget niche is MediaTek.

Middle class the advantages of the Taiwanese company are partially leveled, since in the upper limit of this price segment, Qualcomm pleases with more powerful graphics and better optimization energy consumption. However, in terms of performance - and here is equality, since the Americans are in no hurry to introduce advanced solutions (like improved cores), and therefore almost nothing better.

Flagship processors- this is Qualcomm's native element, in which the company is a leader among Android smartphones. On the this moment MediaTek is unable to oppose a worthy competing solution. And even the release of Helio X30 / X35 will not change anything much. After all, the future SoC will use the PowerVR GT7400 graphics, and it is almost twice as slow in performance as the current Adreno 530.

More recently, MediaTek was associated by most users with buggy Chinese smartphones, the rest did not say anything. But time passed, the Taiwanese manufacturer became stronger, gained experience, and now their processors are already being installed in great amount smartphones from the most serious market players. But the American manufacturer Qualcomm did not stand still - their Snapdragon processors are recognized, occupying a huge percentage of the market. At one time, they even managed to oust such a giant as Texas Instruments. So on which processor is it better to choose a smartphone - on MTK or Snapdragon? We will try to give an answer in this article.

What do these companies have in common?

Both manufacturers, Qualcomm and MediaTek, are engaged only in the development of processors, and their final production is carried out at the facilities of TSMS factories. These are huge factories specializing in the production of crystals. Also, both companies develop processors for smartphones of all price niches, and the architecture of both ARMs (which is radically different from that used in personal computers x86). This is where the similarities end, which is remarkable, because companies are fighting in the same market, but they develop and promote their products to the masses in completely different ways.

Advantages and disadvantages of MediaTek

The Taiwanese company produces processors with a number of positive features:

• Huge amount of products. The company initially produced processors only for budget categories of smartphones, but the company is constantly working, which is why the lineup is expanding every month. True, there is still no wide choice in the flagship segment, but medium and budget models a huge amount is offered;
• Extremely low price. Digging is best entrenched in the budget segment, since the price of their processors made it possible to sell smartphones at ridiculous prices. The cost of even the most powerful processors Helio does not exceed the price of mid-range solutions from other manufacturers;
• Integrated graphics. Most often, most MTK chips are equipped with Mali graphics chips, which are manufactured by ARM. The architecture of graphics cores is a reference, thanks to which developers can easily optimize their games and applications for it, which is much more difficult to do with Adreno. By the way, Samsung also installs Mali graphics in its smartphones, so developers are trying to adapt games for it in the first place.

MTK processors also have a lot of disadvantages:

• Not the best configuration. In order to attract more buyers, while maintaining performance and autonomy at the proper level, the company has chosen a rather crooked path, which is why in practice the processors show far from the most brilliant results that are offered on paper. For example, the Helio processor uses 3 clusters of cores, the microarchitecture of which is different, as well as the clock frequency. 10 cores, of course, are easier to advertise, but in reality they turned out to be slower than the four energy efficient ones in the Snapdragon 820;
• Cortex cores. The company, for financial reasons, cannot improve the microarchitecture, which is why it is necessary to use standard cores in processors. This makes their products weaker than competitors from Qualcomm, Apple or Samsung;
• Hardware poorly balanced. For example, the Mali T880 MP4 video accelerator has three times fewer active blocks, which means three times less performance;
• Poor developer support. This situation has recently begun to improve, but with MTK processor support, developers still have a lot of problems. This leads to the fact that manufacturers receive the necessary drivers late, which makes it necessary to install old version Android or release updates on time;
• Outdated process. MediaTek doesn't have the ability to invest in process development, so they rarely get the chance to run state-of-the-art production lines. Because of this, the processors are produced using outdated technologies, which is especially true for flagship models.

Advantages and disadvantages of Qualcomm

American processors have more significant advantages over MediaTek:

• Using your own kernels. It is based on off-the-shelf Cortex cores, but Qualcomm specialists are doing their own refinement in order to improve performance and optimize power consumption;
• Own graphics. For graphics processing Qualcomm processors answers its own subsystem, called Adreno. Qualcomm is fully responsible for its creation, controlling the process from the first drawings to launching into serial production. This allows you to dock graphics and processor better than competitors do;
• More high performance autonomy. The manufacturer is trying to make its processors not only powerful, but also energy efficient, constantly working on this indicator with each new model. For example, after the 820 processor was replaced by the 821 version, it became a little faster, but at the same time began to consume less energy. This is especially interesting, because there are practically no differences in architecture;
• Work is also underway on the capacity of cellular modules. The modems used in Qualcomm processors are designed with the latest technology in mind. A prime example is LTE Cat. 12, which is supported by many modern smartphones, but cellular operators still do not have such technology. Also, American modems support far more cellular standards than their Taiwanese counterparts;
• Modern technical process. Manufacturer Qualcomm is trying to constantly improve production, all the time moving to more subtle technical processes. New technologies are first "run in" on the most expensive devices, after which more affordable products get into the new production.

But not without a fly in the ointment:

• A small number of solutions for the budget segment. The company is trying to produce high-quality processors mainly for flagship solutions, making them faster and more energy efficient, but budget smartphones is given much less attention. More recently, Qualcomm budget processors there were only three - 200, 400 and 410. By the way, their price significantly exceeds that of the Taiwanese manufacturer;
• High price. Since the company constantly uses modern technologies, improving production, they have to spend huge amounts of money on their implementation. Because of this, the price of processors is very high. For example, the Snapdragon 821 cost $70 in 2016;
• Complicated loader. The Snapdragon processor bootloader has a complex architecture. This does not affect during use, but restoring a smartphone from a “brick” state is much more difficult.

Results

It is difficult to finally decide which processors are better, both of them have a lot of advantages and disadvantages. For selection, it is better to group smartphones by price categories.

In the budget niche, the difference is difficult to find. Therefore, both manufacturers make good decisions that allow you to comfortably work with your smartphone. But the cost of devices on MTK is significantly lower. So the choice is clear here.

Middle class the advantages of Taiwanese processors fade into the background. Qualcomm is more energy efficient and has more powerful graphics. But in terms of performance, there is not much difference.

And in the flagship category, the choice is obvious - there is only Qualcomm, since it is he who is the leader in this segment on the Android smartphone market. MediaTek is still unable to provide proper resistance, even the top Helio model does not help. Moreover, the Helio X30 version will not use the most powerful PowerVR GT7400 graphics accelerator, which is almost twice as slow as the Adreno 530, which is more than relevant today.

An inexpensive, but at the same time quite productive processor solution based on 8 computing modules is the MTK6592. The characteristics of this silicon crystal, as well as its capabilities, will be discussed in detail later in the text. At launch, this CPU belonged to the premium segment, but now its specifications are already in line with mid-range smartphones.

Technical specifications

The first 8-core chip based on ARM architecture is MTK6592. Its characteristics even now, 2 years after the start of sales, are impressive and allow you to solve any problems today. This semiconductor crystal is manufactured according to the 28 nm process technology. This provides a high degree chip energy efficiency. In addition to this, each of the 8 computing modules is based on an architecture codenamed "Cortex-A7". Its advantages include low power consumption, but at the same time, it certainly cannot boast of a high level of performance. On the other hand, the presence of 8 cores that can work simultaneously compensates for the low level of computing capabilities of each separate module. It should also be added that Cortex-A7 is far from a new architecture and it is based on 32-bit computing. And in the foreseeable future, it is already planned to switch to 64-bit computing. Accordingly, the software that will be written for such calculations will not run on this chip. But this is not a matter of one day, and this process will take at least 2 years. The processor has an integrated 2-level cache. Its first level is divided into 2 parts, each of which is 32 kb. The second level is general and it can accommodate 1 MB of information. The capabilities of this semiconductor crystal are complemented by an integrated graphics accelerator - Mali 450-MP4. It consists of 4 computing modules, each of which operates at a frequency of 700 MHz. The only thing that is clearly missing in the specifications of this chip is support mobile networks 4th generation. Smartphones based on this processor solution can only work in GSM or 3G, although at the time the MTK6592 was released, support for LTE technology was already up to date.

Frequency formula

In the basic version maximum frequency MTK6592 can reach 2GHz. But some manufacturers limit this value to 1.7 GHz. This can be explained by the desire to save battery life, which is less intensively consumed in this mode. There is also a budget version of this chip - MTK6592M. It has a peak frequency generally limited to only 1.4 GHz.

Chip Capabilities

As noted earlier, tasks of any level of complexity can be solved without problems using a device based on the MTK6592. Characteristics technical plan allow this chip to display an image on the screen in the "1080p" format, take pictures with a resolution of 16 megapixels and record videos in the quality of "1080p" at a frequency of 30 frames per second. There is also support for all the most common wireless interfaces, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ZHPS. The only thing missing from the chip's specifications is support for 4th generation networks, or "LTE". As a result, maximum speed theoretically, data transfer for this CPU is several tens of Mbps, but this is enough for comfortable work on the global web.

Smartphones based on MTK6592

On the basis of this chipset, it is not so rare to find a Chinese phone. MTK6592 underlies Lenovo 939, UMI X2S, ZOPO ZP990+ and other mid-range devices. The screen diagonal in such smartphones is 5 inches or more, and its resolution is 1920x1080. An exception in this regard is Chinese copy iPhone. The MTK6592 is at the heart of its 5S counterpart. In this case, the diagonal of the device is reduced to 4 inches with a resolution of 1136x640. At the same time, their cost varies in the region of 100-120 dollars. It is due to such a modest price that such devices are beyond competition. But their performance level, if it loses to the same Snapdragon 800, is not so noticeable.

Results

Great for a mid-range smartphone is the MTK6592. Its characteristics make it possible to solve all the tasks without exception today. But the cost of such devices is more than democratic. All this makes the purchase of such gadgets very, very justified.

ARM processor is a mobile processor for smartphones and tablets.

This table lists all currently known ARM processors. The table of ARM processors will be supplemented and upgraded as new models appear. This table uses a conditional system for evaluating CPU and GPU performance. The performance data for ARM processors was taken from a variety of sources, mainly based on the results of such tests as: PassMark, Antutu, GFXBench.

We do not claim absolute accuracy. Absolutely accurate ranking and evaluate the performance of ARM processors impossible, for the simple reason that each of them, in some ways, has advantages, and in some ways lags behind other ARM processors. The table of ARM processors allows you to see, evaluate and, most importantly, compare different SoCs (System-On-Chip) solutions. Using our table, you can compare mobile cpu and find out exactly how the ARM-heart of your future (or present) smartphone or tablet is positioned.

Here we have compared ARM processors. We looked and compared CPU and GPU performance in various SoCs (System-on-Chip). But the reader may have a few questions: Where are ARM processors used? What is an ARM processor? What is the difference between ARM architecture and x86 processors? Let's try to understand all this without going into too much detail.

First, let's define terminology. ARM is the name of the architecture and at the same time the name of the company that develops it. The abbreviation ARM stands for (Advanced RISC Machine or Acorn RISC Machine), which can be translated as: advanced RISC machine. ARM architecture combines a family of both 32 and 64-bit microprocessor cores developed and licensed by ARM Limited. I would like to note right away that ARM Limited is purely engaged in the development of cores and tools for them (debugging tools, compilers, etc.), but not in the production of the processors themselves. Company ARM Limited sells licenses for the production of ARM processors to third parties. Here is a partial list of companies licensed to manufacture ARM processors today: AMD, Atmel, Altera, Cirrus Logic, Intel, Marvell, NXP, Samsung, LG, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, nVidia, Freescale ... and many more.

Some companies licensed to release ARM processors create their own variants of cores based on the ARM architecture. Examples include: DEC StrongARM, Freescale i.MX, Intel XScale, NVIDIA Tegra, ST-Ericsson Nomadik, Qualcomm Snapdragon, Texas Instruments OMAP, Samsung Hummingbird, LG H13, Apple A4/A5/A6 and HiSilicon K3.

On the basis of ARM processors today work virtually any electronics: PDA, Cell phones and smartphones, digital players, portable game consoles, calculators, external hard drives and routers. All of them contain an ARM core, so we can say that ARM - mobile processors for smartphones and tablets.

ARM processor represents a SoC, or "system on a chip". SoC system, or "system on a chip", can contain in one chip, in addition to the CPU itself, and other parts full-fledged computer. This is both a memory controller and an I / O port controller, and graphics core, and a geopositioning system (GPS). It can also contain a 3G module, as well as much more.

If we consider a separate family of ARM processors, say Cortex-A9 (or any other), we cannot say that all processors of the same family have the same performance or all are equipped with a GPS module. All these parameters strongly depend on the chip manufacturer and what and how he decided to implement in his product.

What is the difference between ARM and X86 processors? By itself, RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture implies a reduced set of instructions. Which accordingly leads to very moderate power consumption. Indeed, inside any ARM chip there are much fewer transistors than its counterpart from the x86 line. Do not forget that in the SoC system everything peripherals is located inside a single chip, which allows the ARM processor to be even more economical in terms of power consumption. The ARM architecture was originally designed to compute only integer operations, unlike x86, which can work with floating point or FPU calculations. It is impossible to unequivocally compare these two architectures. In some ways, the advantage will be for ARM. And somewhere and vice versa. If you try to answer the question in one sentence: what is the difference between ARM and X86 processors, then the answer will be this: the ARM processor does not know the number of commands that the x86 processor knows. And those that know, look much shorter. This has both pluses and minuses. Be that as it may, lately everything suggests that ARM processors are slowly but surely catching up, and in some ways even surpassing conventional x86 processors. Many openly declare that ARM processors will soon replace the x86 platform in the home PC segment. As we have already, in 2013, several world-famous companies have completely abandoned the further release of netbooks in favor of tablet PCs. Well, what will actually happen, time will tell.

We will track the processors already available on the ARM market.

There are many manufacturers of processors on the market. Mediatek, AMD, Intel, Texas Instruments. Each of them is trying to make their processors popular, to make the company and brand recognizable. Today we will talk about MediaTek. This brand is familiar to you, and for a number of reasons. In the mobile processor market MediaTek since 2009. And it was in the last two years that they managed to become popular and famous all over the world.

The company decided to develop middle segment- because they do not have enough licenses for something more - for Asia this is the right decision. Especially when at that time Qualcomm already occupied the leading role in the market.

MediaTek has become the favorite company of Chinese manufacturers. Per low price they received a relatively high-quality processor. And the reduction in the cost of smartphone components is still the key goal of more or less well-known manufacturers in the Chinese market.

Today MediaTek's strategy has not changed. They still keep releasing compromise solutions. For example, MT6592 was the first true 8-core processor in the world. It works on 8 cores Cortex A7 with a frequency of 2 GHz. The cores, of course, are not the best, but not bad for the first time. The architecture of all the company's processors is ARM. By the way, in Samsung S6, both the processor and the graphics accelerator are also made on the ARM architecture. This indicates a certain dependence on ARM, while Qualcomm itself creates its own cores today (Krait, for example), and Cryo is on its way. We mean that Qualcomm still has much more potential, so that none of you would think about the superiority of MediaTek. Yes, they are leaders in the middle segment, but they are still far from high victories.

Not so long ago, they showed the world their new Helio X10 and Helio X20 processors. The second, according to colleagues from androidauthority, is the world's first 10-core processor. Helio X20 is also the world's first three-cluster processor. In the first case, we have a budget solution that includes 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4 GHz. Helio X20 received two Cortex-A72 cores at 2.5 GHz, 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4 GHz.
For example, let's compare it with the Qualcomm 818, which has 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.2GHz, 2 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.6GHz, and four Cortex-A72 cores at 2GHz. In this case, Qualcomm's solution looks more attractive.

Memory is also a limiting factor. In the Helio series, this is still LPDDR3, while in the 818 it is modern technology LPDDR4.

CorePilot 2.0 technology is responsible for the simultaneous operation of all processors. Its essence lies in the smart allocation of resources. Also, its superiority is that if in other processors of the big.LITTLE architecture 4 powerful cores cannot simultaneously work with weak ones, or each works only in conjunction, then in the case of CorePilot, the cores can work independently of each other, including GPU. This saves up to 50 percent battery life and improves performance by 200%.

Thus, MediaTek is doing a good job in the middle segment, meeting the needs of the Chinese market. It is not known how Qualcomm will behave further, because in the event of its disappearance (acquisition by AMD or Intel), someone will have to take the leading position.