The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 might overwhelm smartphones due to its higher power requirements when running taxing workloads, but give it sufficient breathing room, complemented with proper cooling, and it’ll produce results that you wouldn’t believe possible.
In the latest comparison, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest SoC proves it can effortlessly take on AMD’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme and deliver equivalent framerates in games while utilizing nearly half the power and half the internal space. After looking at these results, you’d be convinced that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro can secure a spot in gaming handhelds, but there are other lurking problems, with performance being the least worrisome.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 can produce similar framerates as the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme while running at nearly half the power, and is found in an exceptionally thin tablet
A couple of tests were performed by the YouTube channel Dame Tech, comparing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the newly launched Android tablet, the REDMAGIC Astra 2, against the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme-powered ROG Xbox Ally X. You’d think that a gaming handheld with a bulkier chassis and powerful silicon would result in higher framerates, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 definitely surprised us.
For one thing, Qualcomm’s top-end SoC wasn’t tested in a smartphone, but in a tablet that not only has a bigger breathing room for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 to properly stretch its computing muscles, but REDMAGIC has also incorporated a liquid cooling solution similar to the ones found in its flagship smartphones to help dissipate heat faster and allow for better sustained performance.
In the video below, both GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 performed identically on both devices, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 achieves impressive framerates while consuming nearly half the power of the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme. What’s even more impressive is that the Astra 2 wasn’t playing any of these games natively, but through an emulation layer.
As the majority of you know, emulation causes some performance issues and dips, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 easily holds its own. While this should give you confidence that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro can easily find a spot in upcoming gaming handhelds, you’re probably not aware of the trade-offs that come with this move. The Android platform hardly has a large AAA gaming library, with only a handful of ports available.
The only way to play the majority of games on Android is through emulation software like Winlator and GameHub. Unfortunately, here’s another problem; to actually experience games through emulation, you’ll have to purchase the games through your Steam library beforehand, or else there’s no way to run them.
If that’s the case, you’re far better off buying a gaming laptop or a gaming handheld that can run these titles natively and enjoy them on a variety of platforms than going through a myriad of steps just to experience the same games on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. There’s also no guarantee that a new title will work flawlessly, as a multitude of software and driver upgrades are required for optimizations.
In short, Dame Tech has demonstrated that while gaming on Qualcomm’s smartphone SoCs is more than possible, to obtain the full non-diluted experience, games must arrive natively on Android.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech’s mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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