Which processor is best for mobile gaming?

Looking to buy a new gaming phone and feeling confused by all the talk about processors and chipsets? You’re not alone. Mobile gaming has exploded in popularity, becoming the go-to choice for many. With so many smartphone options fitted with different chipsets (or processors) available, picking the right one for a smooth and powerful gaming experience can be tricky.

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A powerful processor is at the heart of a great mobile gaming experience, ensuring smooth gameplay, stunning visuals, and the ability to run even the most demanding games without lag or frame rate drops. Choosing the right processor can open up a whole world of awesome gaming experiences on your phone. So, in this guide, we’ll help you figure out which processor is best for gaming on your mobile, helping you choose a phone that delivers the ultimate on-the-go gaming experience.

Which processor is best for mobile gaming?

For Android gamers, the current kings of mobile processing are the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chips. These are the latest and greatest chips, packing serious power and incredible graphical capabilities. Both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 are built using the most advanced 4nm manufacturing process, which means they’re super efficient and use less power than older chips.

That means you get smoother gameplay and longer battery life, even when you’re gaming for hours on end. Plus, their strong GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) deliver exceptional graphics rendering, lending mobile games closer to console-like visuals.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 features a 1+3+4 CPU core configuration, packing one ultra-fast Cortex-X4 core clocked at 3.3GHz for demanding tasks, alongside three mid-range Cortex-A720 cores for smooth multitasking, and four low-power Cortex-A520 cores for efficient background stuff. This mix makes sure your phone stays responsive and manages power well, even during long gaming sessions.

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The chipset has the Snapdragon Elite Gaming feature, enabling support for smartphones with displays featuring refresh rates up to a staggering 240Hz and even allowing games to potentially reach 240 fps for a smoother experience. Additionally, it supports hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing with Global Illumination, powered by Snapdragon’s industry-first mobile support for Unreal Engine 5.2.

MediaTek Dimensity 9300

The Dimensity 9300 takes a different approach with a unique “all big core” design, featuring four Cortex-X4 cores reaching up to 3.25GHz each and four additional Cortex-A720 cores up to 2.0GHz each. What makes the chipset even more special is the world’s first hardware-based Generative AI Engine, designed to accelerate custom algorithms by up to eight times.

So, when you’re gaming, it can boost graphics quality, optimise settings for smoother performance, and even predict user behaviour to pre-load resources, making your gaming experience seamless and personalised. And that’s not all, it also supports some fancy stuff like Ray Tracing and high refresh rate displays.

When it comes to graphics, both processors come equipped with powerful GPUs – the Adreno 750 in the Snapdragon and the Immortalis G720 in the Dimensity.

Apple A17 Pro SoC

Of course, if you’re an iPhone user, Apple’s A17 Pro SoC takes the crown for mobile gaming supremacy. Found in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models, the A17 Pro gets a significant performance jump over its predecessor, with faster speeds and a wider design that makes games and processes run smoother and faster. The A17 Pro has a 64-bit six-core CPU with two high-performance cores running at 3.78GHz, and four energy-efficient cores running at 2.11GHz.

This new chipset features not only 8GB of RAM but also a revolutionary 6-core GPU. This marks the biggest leap in Apple’s GPU design, bringing features like hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing and Mesh Shading, which means games look way more realistic than ever before.

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Now that you know which processors offer the best gaming experience, choose your next phone accordingly. Let the games begin!