Qualcomm has made a new line of Snapdragon 6xx series for those manufacturers that want something good at a low price tag. That’s why this category is known as super mid-range. The SND6xx series chips are capable of providing outstanding performance closer to high-end models but they cost way lower. MediaTek has been struggling against Qualcomm for ages. And if the latter could monopolize the top-end market, there was some competition in the low-end and mid-range markets. So what about the super mid-range market? None of its chips could make a tough competition to the mentioned SoC. So the Taiwanese manufacturer has decided to come in with a new chip named the MediaTek Helio P60.

Apart from the battle between two giants, the market changed drastically as well. A few years ago the mobile game developer released various games that won users’ hearts at first sight. But those games also put new requirements for the performance. In order to obtain a better gaming experience, more and more people begin to target the higher-priced segment when purchasing new phones. One of our protagonists was announced at MWC 2018 in February. It comes with a 12nm process node and is a great offer for those want to get a better gaming performance. But if the Snapdragon 660 can be found on myriads of phones such as the Xiaomi Mi 6X, the first phones powered by the Helio P60 appeared on the market just recently. So we can compare them to find out their advantages and disadvantages.

MediaTek Helio P60 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660: Parameters

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 uses its own Kryo 260 octa-core architecture. It integrates the Andreno 512 graphics. The chip also supports Cat12/13 LTE network, LPDDR4X memory, UFS2.0 flash storage, fast charge up to QC4, and it is based on Samsung’s 14nmFinFET process node. The MediaTek Helio P60 is based on TSMC’s latest 12nm manufacturing process, which was previously adapted from the widely used TSMC 16nm, offering higher transistor integration, better performance, and lower power consumption. As for the CPU, the MediaTek Helio P60 uses quad-core A73+ quad-core A53 design. It also comes with an ARM Mali G72 MP3 GPU, Cat 7 LTE network, LPDDR4X memory and UFS2.0 flash storage support.

To test these processors in real life, we choose the OPPO R15 and OPPO R15 Dream Edition that are currently sold at 2500-3500 yuan ($391-548). On the contrary, the OPPO A3 and Xiaomi Mi 6X were chosen as the next pair. However, these devices are priced at 1500 – 2500 yuan ($235-391). The OPPO R15 Dream Mirror and Xiaomi Mi 6X are packed with a Snapdragon 660, while the OPPO A3 and OPPO R15 run on the MediaTek Helio P60.

AnTuTu

As we know, AnTuTu tests the performance wholly. But there are scores concerning the CPU performance, GPU performance, and memory / UX performance separately.

All four models’ AnTuTu results exceed 130.000 points. But the lowest results belong to the Xiaomi Mi 6X (132.283), while the highest scores belong to the OPPO R15 Dream Edition. However, the same Mi 6X shows the best results in terms of UX. Its GPU performance is also good.

GeekBench

This benchmark tests the single-core and multi-core performance of the phones. The Xiaomi Mi 6X shows the worst results in multi-core test, but it outruns its rivals when it comes to the single-core test.

If making some initial conclusions in the base of these tests, we can say the MediaTek Helio P60’s performance is quite satisfactory and it is able of making a tough competition to the Snapdragon 660.

MediaTek Helio P60 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660: Gaming

Honestly, the benchmark test results shown above should make many users confused. So we have to take a look at their actual performance. The gaming tests were held by Honor of Kings and Jedi survival: To stimulate the battlefield. The gaming experience was monitored via Gamebench. It shows the real-time fluctuations in the frame rate, CPU utilization, memory utilization and other data.

In general, the higher and more stable the frame rate (FPS) in the game, the better the gaming experience. The stability of the frame rate can be directly seen through the curve higher: the smaller the curve fluctuation, the more stable the frame rate. From this point of view, the performance of the OPPO R15 and R15 Dream Edition is basically the same, and the curve fluctuation of the OPPO A3 equipped with the MediaTek Helio P60 is smaller than that of Xiaomi Mi 6X equipped with the Snapdragon 660. Moreover, the Xiaomi Mi 6X had large fluctuations in the middle and later stages.

However, the average frame rate of the Xiaomi Mi 6X is even better than the OPPO A3. The average frame rates of the OPPO R15 and R15 Dream Edition are as high as 60FPS. This is the highest frame rate Honor of Kings can achieve after the high frame rate mode is turned on. In other words, the three mobile phones of R15, R15 Dream Edition, and Xiaomi Mi 6X operate at a full frame rate, and the OPPO A3’s frame rate is slightly behind at 57 frames.

As a conclusion, all four phones showed great gaming experience. And if not looking at the data, users won’t feel any difference.

The second test was held by playing Jedi survival: To stimulate the battlefield. This game has more requirements for hardware. Moreover, the maximum frame rate can reach 30FPS only. Not accidentally, the OPPO R15 Dream Mirror Edition showed the best result, while the Xiaomi Mi 6X couldn’t provide a smooth gaming experience. Moreover, only the MI 6X couldn’t reach the maximum frame rate, while the rest three models could achieve 30FPS.

So we can say the gaming experience of the OPPO R15 and OPPO A3 is very smooth, while the same can’t be said about the next two models.

MediaTek Helio P60 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 660: Temperature Test

The temperature control is very important. After the temperature of the mobile phone increases during playing process, the system automatically adjusts the frequency of the CPU and the GPU to ensure that the temperature is maintained within a reasonable range. It will cause a behavior such as an unstable frame rate, game stalls, and so on.

After playing games for 1 hour, we measured the temperature of four phones.

The results of the test were very interesting. Among them, the OPPO R15 and Xiaomi Mi 6X performed best at 40.2°C, followed by the OPPO R15 with a temperature of 40.6°C and the OPPO A3 with a temperature of 41°C.

The reason why the best temperature control results belong to the OPPO R15 and Mi 6X is conditioned by a few options. First, the OPPO R15’s chip uses TSMC’s latest 12nm process node. Compared with the previous TSMC 16nm FinFET, the processor requires less due to a smaller transistor gate power. So there is less heat.

The reason why the Xiaomi Mi 6X can achieve the performance of OPPO R15 on heating is conditioned by the fact, in large part, it uses a metal body material. Compared with the glass body of the other three mobile phones, the thermal conductivity of metal material has more advantages.

Conclusion

Generally, all four phones provide quite satisfactory performance. In terms of testing and gaming, the Snapdragon 660 has had some advantages. But when it came to the temperature control, the MediaTek Helio P60 looks better. At last, we can write down MediaTek could make a super mid-range chip that provides a performance equal to the Snapdragon 660.

Source: xiaomitoday https://bit.ly/2LlU1T4