MediaTek Dimensity 9300 has eight high-performance CPU cores
While the Dimensity 9300 hasn't been announced yet, some of its specifications have leaked already. It is expected to be a 4nm chip (fabricated by TSMC) that has a peculiar CPU configuration. While all other smartphone chips use a combination of high-performance and power-efficient CPU cores based on ARM's architecture, the Dimensitry 9300 uses only high-performance CPU cores. According to previous leaks, the Dimensity 9300 has four Cortex-X4 CPU cores (one clocked at 3.25GHz and three clocked at 2.85GHz) and four Cortex-A720 CPU cores clocked at 2GHz. It also features Immortalis G720 MC12 GPU.
The Exynos 2400 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 have just one Cortex-X4 CPU core. That's three fewer Cortex-X4 CPU cores than the Dimensity 9300. This, in theory, could mean that the Dimensity 9300 could throttle a lot faster than the rival chips, so it will be quite interesting to see how MediaTek is planning to tame its ultra-powerful chip. Other features of the chip could include mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G, multi-band GPS, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and USB 3.2 Type-C. It could support high-resolution and high-refresh-rate screens and Hi-Res Audio in wireless and wired modes.
Leaked benchmarks of a Dimensity 9300-equipped phone revealed that its performance is similar to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and higher than the Exynos 2400, but all chips are quite fast, and the efficiency will determine which one among them will be the winner.
Author's Note: Cortex-X4 is designed to be a ‘prime' CPU core meant for high-performance tasks, but it consumes a lot of power. Cortex-A720 is designed to be a high-performance core, too, but it consumes a lot less power than the Cortex-X4. ARM designed Cortex-A520 CPU cores to be used with the Cortex-X4 and the Cortex-A720 for a balance of power and efficiency. However, MediaTek seems to have decided to use only high-performance CPU cores in the Dimensity 9300. It could lead to higher power consumption compared to other chips that use power-efficient CPU cores. So, the Dimensity 9300 powered phones could have shorted battery life in comparison.
Despite featuring only high-performance CPU cores, leaked benchmarks of the Dimensity 9300 don't show a credible improvement in performance over the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. And that could be a huge issue for the Dimensity 9300.
