Comparison of Regular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 vs Overclocked Version in Galaxy S26 Ultra: Our Tests Show Up to 9% Speed Increase

Recently, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra underwent testing on Geekbench 6, showcasing its performance capabilities. This flagship model incorporates an overclocked variant of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon System on Chip (SoC), specifically the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This upgraded chipset boasts performance cores clocked at 4.74GHz, surpassing the standard 4.61GHz. Despite this increase in clock speed, our tests revealed intriguing results, raising questions about the genuine benefits of Samsung employing a slightly faster processor in their premium devices.

Active Cooling Solutions and Performance Trade-offs

In contrast to Samsung’s offering, the REDMAGIC 11 Pro enhances its performance with advanced liquid cooling complemented by an active fan. This combination may have provided a critical performance edge, allowing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 therein to surpass the overclocked version found in the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Galaxy S26 Ultra – Single-core score: 3, 601 / Multi-core score: 10, 686
REDMAGIC 11 Pro – Single-core score: 3, 696 (2.6% faster) / Multi-core score: 11, 654 (9.1% faster)

Performance comparison of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. REDMAGIC 11 Pro

Historically, Samsung’s flagship smartphones equipped with overclocked Snapdragon processors have displayed slower performance compared to their rivals. This leads to speculation regarding whether Samsung is intentionally following this strategy for marketing purposes, or if there are substantial technical reasons for offering the best hardware experience possible.

The benchmark results seem to indicate a commitment to quality, yet it’s crucial to recognize the limitations Samsung faces. As Qualcomm designs the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the scope for maximum optimization on Samsung’s part is constricted—especially in comparison to their in-house Exynos chips, like the upcoming Exynos 2600. Nevertheless, with its 2nm GAA manufacturing process relying on ARM’s CPU and GPU designs, it remains to be seen how competitive it will be against Qualcomm’s Oryon architecture.

Comparison of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scores in different devices

It’s essential to keep in mind that Geekbench 6 is just one of many benchmarking tools available. As the Galaxy S26 Ultra becomes available to consumers following Galaxy Unpacked, further evaluations will help clarify its overall performance. We remain optimistic for future updates and comparisons.

News Source: Geekbench 6

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