Have Microsoft tamed the SnapDragon 810

[realwarder]

So I remembered hearing rumors about overheating on the early SD810 CPU used by phones so thought I'd investigate ahead of the XL release.

End of Denial: Another Snapdragon 810 Overheating

To me it sounds like many phones have tried using the SD810 and all or almost all have had serious issues with heat and it throttling (slowing down) to compensate.

I read about the so called v2.1 of the processor but all accounts indicate that production versions of all these phones now use that part and yet it still throttles.

The SD808 in contrast appears to run very well.

Now let's be real here and say that all phones throttle - the iPhone does over time - but if a processor innately runs so hot many mainstream cell phone companies have issues, it just makes me cautious. After all, polycarbonate is not the best heat conductor.

I was really thinking about getting the XL model for the larger screen but I'm having some doubts here. Hopefully we'll see some benchmarks before public release and can find out if this will be an issue.

 

[anon(5383410)]

Qualcomm has been working on fixing these overheating issues since early this year. It's not inconceivable to think they solved them by now.

 

[Joe Acerbic]

I wonder if the 810 would have been chosen for the just released Nexus 6 if the problem is not fixed.

 

[realwarder]

I wonder if the 810 would have been chosen for the just released Nexus 6 if the problem is not fixed.

It does appear there are few reports of the Nexus 6 having issues so perhaps the issues have been worked out now.

That is good news as I was looking forward to getting the bigger screen model

Edit: However looking there was an older Nexus 6 which had SD805 so reports are all likely on the old model...

 

[Zachary Boddy]

It does appear there are few reports of the Nexus 6 having issues so perhaps the issues have been worked out now.

That is good news as I was looking forward to getting the bigger screen model

Edit: However looking there was an older Nexus 6 which had SD805 so reports are all likely on the old model...

Is the older Nexus 6 you're talking about the Nexus 6 from last year? That had a Snapdragon 805 haha. I never heard any rumors of the Nexus 6P ever running an 805, it was always the 810 (early on there were a few rumors of the 820 as well).

 

[3earnhardt3]

There are flaws in the manufacturing of all microchips that result in increased heat generation and generally lower performance. Usually a chipmaker will underclock and sell these chips as a lower model. AMD is notorious for this. Qualcomm has been manufacturing these 810s for over a year now and I'm sure all of the kinks in manufacturing are gone. There will still be a few isolated chips, but the across the board overheating/throttling is not expected.

 

[Keith Wallace]

The SD810 inside the Lumia 950 XL is not the same as the one in the One (M9) and others. It's a v2.1 revision that's supposed to improve the issues, so we SHOULD see a device with better thermals. It'll depend on what we finally see tested, of course, but it shouldn't be as bad as it was 6 months ago. I guess that's the one saving grace of the 950's 808: if the XL runs like it's on fire, there's an alternative.

 

[realwarder]

The SD810 inside the Lumia 950 XL is not the same as the one in the One (M9) and others. It's a v2.1 revision that's supposed to improve the issues, so we SHOULD see a device with better thermals. It'll depend on what we finally see tested, of course, but it shouldn't be as bad as it was 6 months ago. I guess that's the one saving grace of the 950's 808: if the XL runs like it's on fire, there's an alternative.

As I said, most phones are using the v2.1 already, including the M9.. Latest version of Snapdragon 810 used in HTC One M9 - Android Community

 

[realwarder]

Is the older Nexus 6 you're talking about the Nexus 6 from last year? That had a Snapdragon 805 haha. I never heard any rumors of the Nexus 6P ever running an 805, it was always the 810 (early on there were a few rumors of the 820 as well).

Yes, the older Nexus 6 is different from the new Nexus 6. (What a stupid thing to do!) The Nexus 6 from 2014 is SD805. The Nexus 6 just released in 2015 is SD810. All data on the web is basically from the SD805 and so is a meaningless comparison for thermal comments.

 

[Dennis LOH]

The newly launched Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is reportedly having overheating issues. It uses the 810. Maybe & just maybe the Window OS is not so demanding as the Android & as such the 810 can get away with it. Only time will tell. I'll still go for the 950 which uses the 808 chipset. 808 is a proven chipset. I want a smart phone & not a phablet. Cheers mate!

 

[StevoPhilo]

Well I think that it was kind of answered today. I'm not sure if any new phones do this, but it sounds like Microsoft is using the same liquid cooling tech found in the SP3.

 

[Rick_Air]

Just made this comment elsewhere. If the liquid cooling in the XL keeps it from overheating is it only masking the problem? Could still be over processing or causing problems elsewhere because of the heat.

 

[Sedp23]

I hope so

 

[CosmicPoweR]

Is Lumia 950xl using the v2.1 chip? Cause I didn't notice them announce the version number on the event.

 

[Rick_Air]

Is Lumia 950xl using the v2.1 chip? Cause I didn't notice them announce the version number on the event.

Neither did I. Don't expect this to be a miracle fix anyway, from what I've seen v2.1 is just the same chip throttled back, therefore a 'lesser' version speed and processing wise.

 

[realwarder]

Qualcomm only ship v2.1 now. So only that is used.

And the liquid cooling is a nice answer to my question. It shouldn't throttle back anywhere the rate of other phones because the heat has somewhere to go. It is distributed throughout the phone rather than one hotspot causing throttling.

 

[pjm1891]

Isn't it a bit misleading to call it liquid cooling, when it by all certainty is a heat pipe. Same solution that is used by Sony on the Z5.

Good read on the subject.
A liquid cooled smartphone: an inevitable, and very smart move | Pocketnow

 

[imnotevenhererightnow]

Isn't it a bit misleading to call it liquid cooling, when it by all certainty is a heat pipe. Same solution that is used by Sony on the Z5.

Good read on the subject.
A liquid cooled smartphone: an inevitable, and very smart move | Pocketnow

No, it's not misleading. a heat pipe is simply just a phase change system where (in a typical PC build):

1. The minute amount of coolant inside the copper tubing evaporates up to the fins where:
2. It is cooled (either passively or actively) and
3. Returns to cpu to pull additional heat.

Check out the article on a vapor chamber on a flat heat pipe (such as the Sony Z5 and presumably the 950/XL): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pipe#Vapor_chamber_or_flat_heat_pipes