Galaxy S24 Dilemma: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Exynos 2400

Hey there, if you’re part of the global squad snagging one of these shiny Galaxy S24 smartphones, you’re likely pondering the whole Qualcomm Snapdragon vs Samsung Exynos situation. So, here’s the lowdown: US buddies are rocking the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while the rest of the world gets cozy with Samsung’s Exynos 2400.

Oh, but wait! If you decide to go big and grab the Galaxy S24 Ultra, you’re in for a treat – it’s packing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, no matter where on this globe you call home. Now, you might be wondering if Qualcomm’s offering is the cream of the crop, leaving Exynos users yearning for more. Well, let’s talk about the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Exynos 2400 mystery and see what sets them apart, shall we?

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Exynos 2400 specs

What’s the difference between the two chipsets?

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of these chipsets, starting with the CPU setup. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 rolls with an octa-core (that’s 1+4+3), while the Exynos 2400 cranks it up a notch with a total of ten cores (1+5+4). Both are riding on the latest Arm cores, boasting a muscle-packed Cortex-X4, middleweight A720s, and power-savvy Cortex-A520s. Oh, and they’ve got this interesting split in their A720 configurations, probably to fine-tune that sweet spot between power and efficiency.

Now, let’s talk clock speeds. Qualcomm takes the lead here, offering a bit more oomph across all its cores, especially noticeable with those little A520 cores. While we’re still waiting for the benchmark results to roll in, this hints that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 might just inch ahead in single-core performance. But hey, we’re talking about a 100MHz difference – not exactly a game-changer for your day-to-day apps or gaming sessions. When it comes to multi-core performance, it’s a bit tricky to call the shots before the benchmarks drop. Exynos has the core count advantage, but Qualcomm’s higher clock speeds could give it a chance to catch up and close the gap. It’s a bit of a waiting game until we see those numbers!

Alright, let’s dive into the graphics game – this is where things start to differ. We’ve got Qualcomm’s in-house Adreno GPU squaring off against AMD’s RDNA3 architecture, doing its thing as the Xclipse 940. Both come with their ray-tracing hardware, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is flexing with a 50% boost in performance compared to its predecessor. Now, the Exynos 2200 from 2022 was already rocking the ray-tracing capabilities, so expectations are high for its successor. Samsung’s been a bit coy on the exact speed boost, just teasing us with “significant performance improvements.”

Now, on the bright side, the Xclipse 940 brings the party with AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution AI upscaling magic. It’s like the secret sauce to push out higher resolutions without breaking a sweat on performance. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 counters with its own Snapdragon Game Super Resolution tech, but let’s be real – AMD’s option is already a rockstar in the PC gaming world. Both GPUs throw in support for global illumination, so they’re on equal footing in the feature department. The real litmus test, though, is gonna be when we see how these babies perform in the wild – real-game scenarios will spill the beans on which one truly takes the cake!

Samsung Galaxy AI

AI is where Samsung is shouting about some serious improvements with the Exynos 2400, claiming a whopping 14.7x boost compared to its predecessor, the Exynos 2200. That’s like turning the dial up to eleven! Rumors are swirling about a similar 44TOPS performance, putting it neck-and-neck with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Hexagon NPU, which flaunts 45TOPS. Samsung’s keeping it a bit mysterious, not spilling the beans on compressed INT4 models or token-per-second stats for those big language models. But hey, word on the street is that both Snapdragon and Exynos versions are playing nice for Samsung’s current AI needs, powering up those offline Galaxy AI features.

Shifting gears to networking, both chipsets are waving the flag for sub-6GHz and mmWave connections. The Exynos crew claims a theoretical download speed of 12Gbps, a smidge more than Qualcomm’s 10Gbps on mmWave. But let’s be real – real-world speeds are more likely to do the limbo under your network conditions than what the modems are flexing. Now, Qualcomm takes the spotlight with Wi-Fi 7 support thanks to its FastConnect 7800 add-on, a feature that’s missing in action on Exynos. That’s why the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus max out at Wi-Fi 6E, while the Ultra gets to enjoy the Wi-Fi 7 fiesta.

Last but not least, these powerhouses are wrapped up in different processing packages. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 struts its stuff on TSMC’s 4nm process, while the Exynos 2400 gets its groove on at Samsung Foundries with their rival 4nm LPP+ process. Now, that could potentially stir up some performance and energy efficiency nuances, but the real test is gonna be putting these bad boys through their paces. Time for some hands-on action to see who comes out on top!

Head-to-head gaming test

And if you’re still itching for more, NL Tech has gone ahead and thrown the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Exynos 2400 on the Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra into the real-world gaming ring. Yep, they took these bad boys for a spin, putting them through the paces to see which one comes out on top. Time to grab your popcorn and see the gaming showdown unfold!

The results from the gaming face-off are turning out to be quite a surprise, to say the least. When NL Tech threw the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the Exynos 2400 into the gaming arena with Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends, and Fortnite, things got pretty interesting. Both champs kept it cool, maintaining around 60fps in Genshin, hitting a smooth 90fps in PUBG Mobile at the Smooth graphics settings, and cruising at a stable 90fps in Fortnite, with a minor dip to 70fps during combat.

Now, here’s where it gets spicy. NL Tech noticed a real showdown in Call of Duty: Mobile and War Thunder. In Call of Duty, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 rocked a steady 120fps, while the Exynos 2400 seemed to hit a roadblock at 60fps – a bit peculiar, right? But then, in War Thunder, the tables turned. The Exynos 2400 flaunted its stuff, hitting around 100fps, leaving the Snapdragon gasping at 40fps. Oh, and did I mention that War Thunder is rocking the ray-tracing magic? It seems like the Exynos’ Xclipse 940 GPU might be the ray-tracing maestro here.

A quick heads-up – these tests went down on pre-production units, and hey, we’re talking about two different phones. Rumor has it that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has some fancy cooling tricks up its sleeve with a larger heat sink.

I’m still torn about whether my Galaxy S24 gets an Exynos or Snapdragon

Alright, let’s break it down in simple terms. Are you missing out if you grab the Exynos version of the Galaxy S24 or S24 Plus? Not really. Samsung’s got your back, making sure you get the same goodies whether you roll with Exynos or Snapdragon. Whether it’s the slick Galaxy AI tools, Bluetooth wizardry, or Wi-Fi wonders, they’ve got it covered. And hey, the display, charging speed, and all those other key specs? Yep, they’re the same across the board.

Now, there’s a little twist in the tale. If you’re in the US, China, or South Korea, you’re stuck with Snapdragon – no Exynos love for you. But honestly, importing a phone just for a chip swap? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?

But hold up, there’s a longer answer to this story. We’ll only know the real scoop once we’ve had the chance to line up the Exynos and Snapdragon versions, side by side. There might be some tiny differences in the top-notch games, a smidge of variance in battery life, and perhaps a sprinkle of changes in networking performance – like we’ve seen in the Exynos vs Snapdragon showdowns of the past. If you’re a hardcore gamer or a performance nut, it might be worth holding off until we paint the full picture.

Oh, and a little tip: If you’re dead set on Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chip, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has got your back. It rocks the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, no matter where in the world you are. So, if that’s your jam, you know which model to snag!