MediaTek rebuts Dimensity 9300 throttling claims, calls test ‘flawed’

MediaTek has responded to the speculations that the Dimensity 9300 may be resorting to extensive performance throttling to manage temperatures. The concerns surfaced after a recent CPU Throttling Test where the chip throttled down to just 46 percent of its maximum performance within a few minutes to avoid overheating. The company has called the test “flawed,” adding that it doesn’t accurately represent real-world usage scenarios.

MediaTek says Dimensity 9300’s CPU throttling is normal

The Dimensity 9300 has an unusual CPU configuration. MediaTek has equipped the octa-core chip with four Cortex-X4 prime cores and four Cortex-A720 mid cores. There aren’t any power-efficient CPU cores here, which makes cooling the chipset a tough task when all the cores are running at full blast. YouTuber @KaroulSahil decided to put the new MediaTek processor through a stress test to check how it handles thermals.

The YouTuber ran the CPU Throttling Test on the Vivo X100 Pro, which is one of the first phones to feature the Dimensity 9300. The chip started throttling after just two minutes and lost more than half of its performance a few minutes later. One CPU core dropped to a frequency of just 0.60GHz, four to 1.20GHz, and the remaining three to 1.50GHz (the peak speed is 3.25GHz).

Since the CPU Throttling Test pushes chips to their limits, the Dimensity 9300 resorted to extreme throttling to keep the temperature in check. However, MediaTek says this is normal. “It is well known that all modern smartphones include thermal throttling to ensure the device temperature stays in an acceptable/safe range,” the company said in an emailed statement to Android Headlines.

It contends that the test was flawed. “A better way to use the CPU Throttle Test as a way to compare devices side by side would be to run the test with the same device case temperature,” the firm added. “With MediaTek’s big core CPU architecture, the Dimensity 9300 will achieve a much higher max & average score than the competitors if the testing is done correctly. In summary, the Dimensity 9300 will be able to deliver more computing performance across the span of the test.”

MediaTek is questioning the test conditions

MediaTek is correct when it says that all modern smartphones throttle performance to avoid overheating. However, a drop to just 46 percent of the maximum performance within just a few minutes is too much. For example, GSMArena found that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered Galaxy S23 Ultra ran at around 80 percent of its performance after more than 10 minutes of the same test.

That said, several other factors affect these tests. If the surrounding is hot and humid, the ambient temperature is higher and may result in quicker and more aggressive thermal throttling. The body or case temperature of the device before running the test is also a key metric to look into. The cooling system of the device is essential too. Devices with active cooling, like a fan, handle thermals better than passive cooling.

The Vivo X100 Pro has a vapor chamber, which is a passive cooling solution. All of this may have affected the performance of the Dimensity 9300 in this CPU Throttling Test. Unsurprisingly, MediaTek is questioning the test conditions. It says the chip is capable of delivering better results than what we saw here. A side-by-side comparison of the Dimensity 9300 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would give us a clearer picture. We are obtaining review devices for our own testing, so stay tuned.