Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960T vs Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064A

Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260

The Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260 is an entry level SoC for smartphones and tablets (mostly Android based). It contains two Scorpion cores (enhanced ARM Cortex-A8) clocked at up to 1.5 GHz, a Adreno 220 graphics card and radio elements. Compared to the similar MSM8660, the 8260 does not include support for CDMA2000.

The similar named MSM8260A already contains the faster Krait cores and the slightly faster Adreno 225 graphics card.

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MSM8960T

The Qualcomm MSM8960T (Snapdragon S4 Pro) is a fast ARM SoC, which is mainly used in smartphones. It integrates a Krait-based dual-core processor and an Adreno 320 graphics card. Furthermore it features an integrated LPDDR2 memory controller (dual channel, max. 500 MHz) as well as various radio standards including LTE. The chip is fabricated at TSMC in a 28nm LP process.

Unlike older Qualcomm SoCs, which are still based on slower Scorpion cores, the MSM8960T uses the modern Krait architecture. The Krait design is significantly faster than the Cortex-A5, Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A9 architecture from ARM and just behind the high-end Cortex-A15. The two cores are clocked at 1.7 GHz and offer a performance, which is even above some older quad-cores like Nvidia's Tegra 3 or the Samsung Exynos 4412.

The Adreno 320 graphics card is the same as found in the Snapdragon 600 and one of the fastest mobile GPUs in mid-2013. The GPU is clocked at 400 MHz and offers enough performance for demanding games and high resolution screens.

Since the MSM8960T only has two CPU cores, the power consumption should be somewhat below quad-cores like the Snapdragon 600. The chip can therefore be used in compact smartphones with a smaller battery.

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064A

The Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064A is a high-end SoC for Android smartphones and tablets, which was introduced in 2012. The chip integrates 4 CPU cores, which are based on the ARMv7-compatible, but by Qualcomm designed Krait architecture. This provides a much higher per-MHz performance than Cortex-A9 chips such as Nvidia's Tegra 3 or the Exynos 4412 from Samsung, but does not quite reach the performance of the Cortex-A15 (for example in the Tegra 4). The memory is accessed via 2 x 32 bit LPDDR2 at up to 533 MHz, which offers a bandwidth of 8.5 GB/s.

Thanks to a dedicated decoder, the SoC can accelerate 1080p video playback up to a frame rate of 30 fps. 3D photos are possible up to a resolution of 20 megapixels. In addition, the chip also integrates a wireless module with Bluetooth 4.0 and WLAN 802.11ac/a/b/g/n. Produced by TSMC in 28 nm (LP), the power consumption should be around 4 watts (estimated, depending on the clock speed).