HiSilicon Kirin 960 vs MediaTek Dimensity 820

The HiSilicon Kirin 960 and the MediaTek Dimensity 820 are both powerful processors, but they have some differences in their specifications.

In terms of CPU cores and architecture, the Kirin 960 features four Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz. On the other hand, the Dimensity 820 has four Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.6 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. This means that the Dimensity 820 has a higher clock speed for its high-performance cores, which may provide better processing power.

Both processors have eight cores and support the ARMv8-A instruction set. However, the Dimensity 820 is based on the newer ARMv8.2-A instruction set, which may result in improved performance and efficiency compared to the Kirin 960.

In terms of manufacturing process, the Kirin 960 is built on a 16 nm lithography, while the Dimensity 820 is built on a more advanced 7 nm lithography. This means that the Dimensity 820 is likely to be more power-efficient and may generate less heat compared to the Kirin 960.

When it comes to power consumption, the Kirin 960 has a lower thermal design power (TDP) of 5 Watts, while the Dimensity 820 has a TDP of 10 Watts. This indicates that the Kirin 960 may be more power-efficient and suitable for devices where battery life is a significant consideration.

Additionally, the Dimensity 820 features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is designed to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) tasks. This can result in improved performance in AI-related applications compared to the Kirin 960.

Overall, the MediaTek Dimensity 820 appears to have a slight edge over the HiSilicon Kirin 960 in terms of performance, efficiency, and AI capabilities. However, the specific requirements and priorities of a device would determine which processor is better suited for a particular use-case.