Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Review: Explore CPU Specs and Performance

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Let's talk about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, released in Q3/2016. This review covers all its specs and performance metrics, giving you a comprehensive overview. Feel free to dive into the details and compare it with other models. With its base clock frequency , core count , and memory support for LPDDR4-1866, this CPU packs a punch. It's compatible with Socket N/A motherboards and has a thermal design power (TDP) of .

Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 specs

Complete list of technical specifications

CPU generation and family

Information about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 segment (for desktops or laptops) and the CPU family, along with the sales starting date.

Specification Value
Name Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
Family Qualcomm Snapdragon
CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Segment Mobile
Generation 3
Predecessor --
Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Technical and quantitative specifications of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

Specification Value
CPU Cores / Threads 4 / 4
Core architecture hybrid (big.LITTLE)
A-Core 2x Kryo
B-Core 2x Kryo
Hyperthreading / SMT No
Overclocking No
A-Core Frequency 2.40 GHz
B-Core Frequency 1.60 GHz

Internal Graphics

Common specifications for the integrated graphics card in Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

Specification Value
GPU name Qualcomm Adreno 530
GPU frequency 0.62 GHz
GPU (Turbo) 0.62 GHz
Execution units 0
Shader 256
Max. GPU Memory --
Max. displays 0
Generation 5
Direct X 11,1
Technology 14 nm
Release date Q4/2015

Hardware codec support

List of video codecs supported by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

Specification Value
h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
h264 Decode
VP8 Decode
VP9 Decode
AV1 No
AVC No
VC-1 Decode
JPEG Decode

Memory & PCIe

Memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

Specification Value
Memory type LPDDR4-1866
Max. Memory
Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
Bandwidth --
ECC No
PCIe
AES-NI No

Thermal Management

Let's find out what TDP has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

Specification Value
TDP (PL1 / PBP)
TDP (PL2) --
TDP up --
TDP down --
Tjunction max. --

Technical details

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU along with a list of ISA extensions.

Specification Value
Technology 14 nm
Chip design Chiplet
Socket N/A
L2-Cache --
L3-Cache --
Architecture Kryo
Operating systems Android
Virtualization None
Instruction set (ISA) ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
ISA extensions
Release date Q3/2016
Release price --
Part Number MSM8996 Pro-AB
Documents --

Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 benchmarks

Real tests

Latest comparisons