MediaTek Announced Two New Entry-Level Gaming Processors

• MediaTek is making a big move in the mid-range, launching two new processors. 
• The G70 and G80 are gaming-oriented chips that will equip sub-$200 devices. 
• MediaTek is finally bringing some real competition to Qualcomm, after years of depreciation.

MediaTek has announced two new powerful yet affordable gaming processors, namely the Helio G70 and Helio G80. These two mobile processing units are a slight downgrade of the last year's Helio G90. MediaTek is fighting for the mid-range territory where Qualcomm has also recently updated its offerings with three new 4G processors. The Taiwanese semiconductor company is closing the quality gap with competitor Qualcomm quickly now, and they will soon be ready to challenge them in all areas. Recently, we saw the company presenting its flagship chip, the "Dimensity 1000 5G", which surpassed the performance of the Snapdragon 855 Plus. That said, MediaTek is literally just one step behind Qualcomm right now.

In terms of what makes the new G70 and G80 "gaming" processors, they feature MediaTek's HyperEngine technology, which is basically an intelligent resource management system that ensures smooth gameplay combined with enhanced power and thermal efficiency. Moreover, the G-series of processors by MediaTek feature connectivity enhancements that minimize lags and connection drops. As for the clock speeds of the Cortex-A75 and A55 microcores that are used in the processor, these are boosted too, with the big cores going up to 2GHz and the smaller ones reaching 1.7GHz and 1.8GHz respectively. The story is the same for the ARM Mali-G52 graphics processor that can reach frequencies of up to 950Mhz.

Both processors are 64-bit octa-core (two A75 and six A55) units, are made on a 12 nm process, support up to 8GB of RAM at 1800Mhz, have a base frequency of 1.8 GHz, and sport 4G modems. Their difference lies in the boost of the six A55 micro-cores which brings another 100Mhz on each one. Also, in G80, The GPU goes up to 950MHz, while in G70 the frequency tops at 820MHz. Camera (48Mp), Bluetooth (5.0), screen resolution (2520x1080), and everything else remains identical between the two.

Considering that the Helio G90T is now powering smartphones that are sold for around $250, we expect the cost of devices that come with the G70 and G80 to be below the two hundred USD mark. That said, these processors should sell like fresh-baked butter cookies, as the market is in need of inexpensive gaming-oriented smartphones.

We have reached a point where second-grade processors are still able to run most games on the highest graphics settings, and that's absolutely fantastic for the average consumer. Of course, there's always a reason to step up to the G90 which features the A76 cores, Mali-G76 CPU, supports higher memory frequency, and can capture 4K video. Most people though couldn't care less for all that, so here come the G70 and G80 for them.