Why some devices have two different processor speeds?

[ronfc]

Just curious. For example on the Exynos 8890 Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, we have 4x 2.3 GHz Mongoose and 4x 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53. The question is, what is lower clock speed for?

 

[mhinc]

Just curious. For example on the Exynos 8890 Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, we have 4x 2.3 GHz Mongoose and 4x 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53. The question is, what is lower clock speed for?

Usually one is a European Version and the other is North American version.

 

[Ben Hendrickx]

The 4 cores with the lower speeds are for easier tasks and the 4 with higher speeds are for more intensive tasks. In that way battery can be saved, as the cpu will never go too high for easy tasks as it's limited to in this case 1.6

 

[ronfc]

The 4 cores with the lower speeds are for easier tasks and the 4 with higher speeds are for more intensive tasks. In that way battery can be saved, as the cpu will never go too high for easy tasks as it's limited to in this case 1.6

Thanks, Ben! I finally found the answer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_big.LITTLE?wprov=sfla1

 

[blakeperez]

Seeing that its an Intel processor under use, it is nothing but Intel's Enhanced SpeedStep Technology that is working under the hood. This is a dynamic clock frequency mechanism to conserve battery and reduce heat dissipation. A similar technology is used in AMD as well called as Cool'NQuiet.

 

[ratsttam]

Seeing that its an Intel processor under use, it is nothing but Intel's Enhanced SpeedStep Technology that is working under the hood. This is a dynamic clock frequency mechanism to conserve battery and reduce heat dissipation. A similar technology is used in AMD as well called as Cool'NQuiet.

These are ARM based processors, and have nothing to do with either Intel or AMD.
In this case, the person has a 8 core cpu in the phone, with 4 cores clocked at a higher max speed than the other 4.
As mentioned, the lower of the 4 will be in use for background tasks or for things that don't require a lot of compute power or processor time. The higher powered cores will be active when needed. And with all 8 of those cores, they will only clock up to their max when called upon to do so.

 

[ratsttam]

Usually one is a European Version and the other is North American version.

In this case, all 8 cores are in the same device.

 

[brkyk94]

lower clock speed means longer battery life and slower task completion speed.