In the first part, the author has brought you theoretical performance score running and toaster test, while the second part is mainly about game measurement and decoding test.
Click《 Detailed Explanation of Dragon 855 (Part 1) 》View the content of previous periods.
Game measurement
In terms of games, NBA 2K19 and Crash 3, Xiaomi 9 (MIUI 10.2 based on Android P), One Plus 6T (hydrogen OS 9.0.12 based on Android P), Huawei Mate 20 Pro (EMUI 9.0.0 based on Android P) iPhone XR（iOS 12.1.4）。 Xiaomi 9 turns on the game mode, Mate 20 Pro turns on the performance mode, and 6T and iPhone XR do not turn on any mode.
NBA 2K19
Game frame rate
The first is NBA 2K19. The special effects are all adjusted to the highest level. The cloth simulation is enabled. The dynasty mode is selected for the audience. The game test lasts 40 minutes. The iPhone is absent from this link because the GameBench test only lasts 30 minutes, and other test items are used. Snapdragon 855 remained smooth throughout, with an average of 59 frames, and the average fluctuation was only 0.91 frames. Snapdragon 845 can also reach an average of 58 frames, but the frame rate fluctuates greatly, which is not as stable as Snapdragon 855. While Kirin 980 basically kept full frames in the first 15 minutes, the intermediate frame rate began to fluctuate significantly, resulting in an average of only 52 frames, with the highest average fluctuation of 8.99 frames.
Dispatching
Looking at the CPU scheduling, the frequency of the Snapdragon 855 core is basically below 1GHz, and the whole game process is smooth. It can be seen that the 855 core load is relatively high in the game, and the big core is basically fishing. The Snapdragon 855 can already run NBA 2K19 without pressure. The previous generation Snapdragon 845 core basically kept full frequency, while the small core fluctuated greatly, and the frame rate stability was not as good as 855. The scheduling of Kirin 980 reflects the changes in the number of game frames. In the first 15 minutes, the big core kept high frequency, and the game ran at full frames. After 15 minutes, the big core began to reduce the frequency, and the frame rate also dropped. The big core returned to high frequency and the game was smooth. Repeatedly, until the end of the game, there was still a gap between Kirin and Qualcomm in the game.
Avalanche
Game frame rate
IPhone XR frame rate
In the scene of the third avalanche, the moon wheel and two dogs were selected to single out the new abyss. Each mobile phone was tested for 30 minutes. The frame rate was recorded by Android, and the frame rate was recorded by GameBench for iOS. The Snapdragon 855 has an average of 51 frames, with an average fluctuation of 9.28 frames, slightly better than the Snapdragon 845's average of 49 frames, and far more than the Kirin 980, which has an average of only 34 frames. On the other hand, A12 Bionic is more powerful, with an average of 59 frames. The whole game is smooth, and the game experience is the loudest. There is no frame drop in either the fight scene or the character interface. A12 Bionic really runs faster than anyone else.
Processor scheduling
From the perspective of scheduling, the big core scheduling of Snapdragon 855 games is still not active enough. The big core has a higher load than when starting the NBA, but it does not remain in the high-frequency state. The middle core still has a larger load. The game frame rate has not improved much than the active Snapdragon 845. This achievement is also higher than the Kirin 980. I don't know where to go.
Theoretically, the game performance of Snapdragon 855 still has room for improvement. Summary of the game: Snapdragon 855 has improved compared with the previous generation of Snapdragon 845, but the improvement is not obvious from the game measurement, which should be closely related to the big core scheduling. The comprehensive game experience A12 Bionic>Snapdragon 855>Snapdragon 845>Kirin 980
Decoding test
Video decoding is divided into hardware decoding and software decoding. Hardware decoding: use the built-in hardware decoder of the processor to decode video. The advantage is that it saves power, but the disadvantage is that it lacks compatibility. Software decoding: use CPU resources for decoding. The advantage is high compatibility. As long as the CPU is strong, all videos can be decoded in theory. The disadvantage is high power consumption. 4K video decoding requires high CPU performance.
For mobile devices, the format supported by hardware decoding is more important because hardware decoding can greatly reduce CPU load and power consumption compared with software decoding. Decoding test: Android uses MX Player, version 1.10.44; IOS uses nPlayer, version 3.10.7.4.
Hardware decoding
Hard solution (it is recommended to see the large picture)
Green indicates perfect hard solution, blue indicates that hard solution is not fully supported, and red indicates that hard solution is not supported. Compared with 845, Snapdragon 855 has improved a lot. The 4K AVC 120FPS and 4K HEVC 10bit 120FPS hard solutions are perfect, and support for 8K VP9 30FPS format is also added. However, the hard solution level of the competitor Kirin 980 is still in the era of Snapdragon 845, and the supported hardware decoding format is the same as that of Snapdragon 845.
Apple A12 Bionic supports the same number of hard solutions as Snapdragon 855. Except that Google VP9 encoding format does not support hard solutions, all other encoding formats can complete hard solutions, even high specification videos such as 8K HEVC 10bit 24FPS. However, the lack of support for Google led VP9 encoding format is somewhat harmful. The VP9 is used for tubing video encoding. The hard solution video is Apple A12 Bionic and Snapdragon 855 leading Kirin 980.
Software decoding
Software decoding can be compatible with all encoding formats, but it has high requirements for CPU. When the processor does not support hard decoding video, soft decoding can be enabled. Soft solution can also reflect the performance of CPU to some extent.
Test the time required for each processor to soft solve the video. The closer the time is to the video length, the stronger the soft solution ability is. There is no pressure for processors to soft solve 1080P HEVC 60FPS video, and the whole process remains full. The 4K VP9 25FPS software solution also does not exert pressure on each processor, and can be played in full frames.
Finally, the 4K AVC 120FPS software solution was tested, which showed the gap between CPUs. The performance of Snapdragon 855 and Kirin 980 was the same level. The video frame loss was better than last year's Snapdragon 845. A12 Bionic, relying on its super powerful CPU performance, won the first place again, and the 120FPS software solution also kept the whole process smooth. It's amazing that the CPU performance of mobile phones is strong enough to soft understand 4K videos, and it's still 120FPS.
Summary of soft solution: Apple A12 Bionic>Snapdragon 855 ≈ Kirin 980
An interesting phenomenon is found when repeatedly testing the software solution. Mate 20 Pro will have an inexplicable schedule:
Open the screen for a period of time and then conduct the soft solution test, The CPU frequency will always be locked in the vicinity of 0.8GHz for six cores and 1.4GHz for two large cores. It will take three minutes to soft solve 4K AVC 120FPS at this frequency. What's more surprising is still to come. After the editor clicks the screen, the CPU will instantly full frequency, and then return to the frequency reduction situation after one second. Is this the arrogant 980 with a strong and arrogant attitude in general and standing out in specific situations?
Another GIF for everyone to see Aojiao 980
summary
Finally, let's sum up the flagship Snapdragon 855 of Qualcomm this year. The CPU has greatly improved after replacing the new architecture A76 of ARM. The single core performance has reached the level of Apple A10. The 1+3+4 architecture mode is used for the first time. Compared with the Kirin 980, there is no obvious difference in CPU. After all, Qualcomm uses the public architecture. Qualcomm has also castrated the second and third level caches.
The GPU Adreno 640 has no obvious improvement compared with the previous generation 630. It is a bit like squeezing toothpaste, better than the public version of Mali G76 used by Kirin 980, and still lags behind A12. The decoding has been improved. Compared with the Kirin 980, it supports more hardware decoding formats. Based on the improvement of CPU performance, the software decoding has also been improved to a certain extent. To sum up, Snapdragon 855 is still the SoC with the strongest comprehensive strength in Android camp at present, and it is also the SoC designated by Android game console.
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