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Qualcomm's Dual-core cpu inferior to others?

So I visited www.phonearena.com yesterday and saw the news about the HTC Pyramid.At first I thought wow,Qualcomm and HTC won't only get left behind but will have about the same technology and will run at higher frequencies.
But then I remembered something that troubled me.I remember reading somewhere that Qualcomm's dual-core CPUs will be based on the current-gen Cortex-A8 by ARM,while others,like Samsung's Orion,will be using the next-gen Cortex-A9 that is superior in both perfrormance and consumption,while being designed especially for dual-core CPUs,unlike the A8.
What's your take on this guys?

No one?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Strongly agree

i hope this isn't true. tegra 2 outperformed old cpu's with only one core running! that's because it's Cortex-A9. now, if it was Cortex-A8, i don't think there would be much of a difference.

In fact i think it is superior to the tegra 2 or Orion plat form despite being an cortex A8 architecture, but it is not a long term solution point proven as Qualcomm is developing it A9 counterpart the MSM 89xx
How it is superior? Well between A8 and A9 architecture to my knowledge there isn't much of a difference, the major one is enhanced soc and the capability to use DDR3 ram instead of being limited to ddr2
But how these two doesn't matter in the short term, well the first one is obvious because Qualcomm doesn't use just a Normal Cortex A8 architecture ( was used on the first gen of snapdragon) as the second generation MSM8255 used on the desire HD for exemple has an enhanced soc and cach point proven when compared to a lets say Omap 3 or hummingbird in every cpu benchmark i believe the MSM comes on top(correct me if i m wrong).
The second point which is about Ram, i don't believe we will be seeing DDR3 ram on smartphone anytime soon so at this it is a kinda useless advantage.
Now add to that if the rumors are correct that one cpu can be switched off if the charge is low then while the on tegra 2 which use a dual core architecture and not a dual cpu architecture.
Edit: this is true + Asynchronis clocking for each core!
Also in terms of graphics, the MSM8x60 comes with adreno 220 which is definitly faster than the adreno 205 almost as fast as the SGX540 and which is rumored to be faster than the GPU in tegra 2, the geforce, as for the Orion is believed to get the SGX543mp2 but Orion is not coming anytime soon, and probably will hit the market once tegra3 and MSM89XX is almost there (which comes with Adreno 300)
Hopefully this does help you, i know that not everything i mentioned is accurate, but i ll invite you to watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVw9uBIr5I

But how these two doesn't matter in the short term, well the first one is obvious because Qualcomm doesn't use just a Normal Cortex A8 architecture ( was used on the first gen of snapdragon) as the second generation MSM8255 used on the desire HD for exemple has an enhanced soc and cach point proven when compared to a lets say Omap 3 or hummingbird in every cpu benchmark i believe the MSM comes on top(correct me if i m wrong).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Synthetic benchmarks like that though don't gauge real life performance though.

vbetts said:
Synthetic benchmarks like that though don't gauge real life performance though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do agree with you, but they do give a scal for the performance especially when there are different types that relies on a different system to test the perfomance.
In real world you have to agree that MSM8255 is the fastest CPU out there atm just look at how the Desire HD is a screamer! or even the G2/Desire Z with the same CPU but clocked 800mhz does a pretty great job even compared to the latest omap3/hummingbird phones.

Definitely, the MSM8255 45nm matches the old MSM8250 65nm even when the stock clock in the Z/G2 is only 800 mhz, versus that extra 200 mhz. The gpu is lacking compared to others.

vbetts said:
Definitely, the MSM8255 45nm matches the old MSM8250 65nm even when the stock clock in the Z/G2 is only 800 mhz, versus that extra 200 mhz. The gpu is lacking compared to others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No,the GPU of the Desire Z/HD only lacks against the SGX540 of the Galaxy S!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

kurolife said:
In fact i think it is superior to the tegra 2 or Orion plat form despite being an cortex A8 architecture, but it is not a long term solution point proven as Qualcomm is developing it A9 counterpart the MSM 89xx
How it is superior? Well between A8 and A9 architecture to my knowledge there isn't much of a difference, the major one is enhanced soc and the capability to use DDR3 ram instead of being limited to ddr2
But how these two doesn't matter in the short term, well the first one is obvious because Qualcomm doesn't use just a Normal Cortex A8 architecture ( was used on the first gen of snapdragon) as the second generation MSM8255 used on the desire HD for exemple has an enhanced soc and cach point proven when compared to a lets say Omap 3 or hummingbird in every cpu benchmark i believe the MSM comes on top(correct me if i m wrong).
The second point which is about Ram, i don't believe we will be seeing DDR3 ram on smartphone anytime soon so at this it is a kinda useless advantage.
Now add to that if the rumors are correct that one cpu can be switched off if the charge is low then while the on tegra 2 which use a dual core architecture and not a dual cpu architecture.
Edit: this is true + Asynchronis clocking for each core!
Also in terms of graphics, the MSM8x60 comes with adreno 220 which is definitly faster than the adreno 205 almost as fast as the SGX540 and which is rumored to be faster than the GPU in tegra 2, the geforce, as for the Orion is believed to get the SGX543mp2 but Orion is not coming anytime soon, and probably will hit the market once tegra3 and MSM89XX is almost there (which comes with Adreno 300)
Hopefully this does help you, i know that not everything i mentioned is accurate, but i ll invite you to watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVw9uBIr5I
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok,you convinced me!I'll be buyinh htc again!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

vbetts said:
Definitely, the MSM8255 45nm matches the old MSM8250 65nm even when the stock clock in the Z/G2 is only 800 mhz, versus that extra 200 mhz. The gpu is lacking compared to others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As lotis said the only GPU that is faster than the Adreno 205 is the SGX540 and by a very slight marging in 3D while the Adreno wins in terms of 2D. The thing with Adreno GPUs is that they are clocked with the CPU and i believe the comparaisons were done with a G2 vs SGS + lagfix and froyo , i believe the GPU on the Desire HD does have a higher clock than the one on the G2 and thus perform better but again is this a fact or just another rumor if someone could confirm this..
But for a fact we all know that a stock G2 on pure android does 1600-1800 Quadrant score and a pure desire HD does a 1900-2100 on Android + sense out of the box

tolis626 said:
Ok,you convinced me!I'll be buyinh htc again!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i m looking forward to the pyramid hopefully HTC will show it on the MWC (but im afraid there is a chance that they won't because they've just released the desire HD counter part in the US aka thunderbolt and inspire 4G) or else i might be tempted by the Motorola Atrix

whats up with all the fear and worries ? quandrant for tegra2 is a mere 1911 . it will get its a** kicked by anthing qcom makes in 2011 .
that said , there is a low possibility quandrant only runs single core enabled on quadrant , but what makes u sure that other apps will run dual core then ?

souljaboy said:
whats up with all the fear and worries ? quandrant for tegra2 is a mere 1911 . it will get its a** kicked by anthing qcom makes in 2011 .
that said , there is a low possibility quandrant only runs single core enabled on quadrant , but what makes u sure that other apps will run dual core then ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing!That's the thing!
At the moment there is no software that takes advantage of both cores.I think that Gingerbread also has problems.So we have yet to see the performance gains by dual-cores.

kurolife said:
In fact i think it is superior to the tegra 2 or Orion plat form despite being an cortex A8 architecture, but it is not a long term solution point proven as Qualcomm is developing it A9 counterpart the MSM 89xx
How it is superior? Well between A8 and A9 architecture to my knowledge there isn't much of a difference, the major one is enhanced soc and the capability to use DDR3 ram instead of being limited to ddr2
But how these two doesn't matter in the short term, well the first one is obvious because Qualcomm doesn't use just a Normal Cortex A8 architecture ( was used on the first gen of snapdragon) as the second generation MSM8255 used on the desire HD for exemple has an enhanced soc and cach point proven when compared to a lets say Omap 3 or hummingbird in every cpu benchmark i believe the MSM comes on top(correct me if i m wrong).
The second point which is about Ram, i don't believe we will be seeing DDR3 ram on smartphone anytime soon so at this it is a kinda useless advantage.
Now add to that if the rumors are correct that one cpu can be switched off if the charge is low then while the on tegra 2 which use a dual core architecture and not a dual cpu architecture.
Edit: this is true + Asynchronis clocking for each core!
Also in terms of graphics, the MSM8x60 comes with adreno 220 which is definitly faster than the adreno 205 almost as fast as the SGX540 and which is rumored to be faster than the GPU in tegra 2, the geforce, as for the Orion is believed to get the SGX543mp2 but Orion is not coming anytime soon, and probably will hit the market once tegra3 and MSM89XX is almost there (which comes with Adreno 300)
Hopefully this does help you, i know that not everything i mentioned is accurate, but i ll invite you to watch this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVw9uBIr5I
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you're right!!

I didn't think it was possible for an A8 to be dual core

The dual core cortex a8 qualcomm is building is a heavily customized version. It has features from a9 built into the cpu.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

hey what do you say about the net quad core processors from nvidia.. ? smart phones will become computers and our laptops will be just a notebook..for music and bigger games

alexandru.j91 said:
hey what do you say about the net quad core processors from nvidia.. ? smart phones will become computers and our laptops will be just a notebook..for music and bigger games
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My laptop already is for surfing the net only because I prefer the large keyboard(it's a 17 incher after all ).Everything else I do with my smartphone,which has a 25% share of my gaming time.I also have a ps3!
Now,quad-core CPUs will first be for tablets(August 2011) and then for smartphones(Fall 2011?Maybe).These will pack some things like 12-core GPUs etc.Tests have already shown that they beat many dual-core x86 CPUs.What's next?Dunno,but I surely wanna see!

The next computers is possible, but relatively weak computers per say. But can any of our phones run crysis or crysis 2? Are they even remotely capable of generating over 10fps of it? Even the MALI 400MP, Tegra 2, adreno 220 or power vr SGX543 can't manage that. I don't think we'll be seeing any SoC's with that sort of power until maybe two years?
Point being, phones will never hold the same amount of power a computer can output. So computers will stay. Who's to say computer SoC's haven't been improving? sandybridge, quantum processing, six cores core i9, 48 cores? No one cares for computer news anymore?
Anyways onto the topic, looking at the new gpu benchmarks posted of the dual core snapdragon, 1.5ghz. They're making the other cpu's look bad. So maybe the SoC isn't that bad after all. looks like it was a prototype also so the finished product could be even better. Source:
http://blog.gsmarena.com/the-new-1-...sm8660-got-benchmarked-meet-the-new-champion/

[Q] please introduce today's phones' CPU and GPU

Many people told me that samsung's CPU is the best,qualcomm's and TI's is not good,why? And I also want to know,what different from kinds of GPU?Is there GPU can called"The Best"?I am a Chinese student,my English is bad....Please don't care...

If you re looking at the dual core cpu's and you want benchmark "best" then the snapdragon whips the latest qualcom cpu in the sensation without some serious overclocking... to be fair though the sensation is still an amazingly fast handset so its hard to tell..

小刷同学 said:
Many people told me that samsung's CPU is the best,qualcomm's and TI's is not good,why? And I also want to know,what different from kinds of GPU?Is there GPU can called"The Best"?I am a Chinese student,my English is bad....Please don't care...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well technically speaking the iPad 2 has the best GPU on the market (by a long shot), but we're probably talking about Android here so:
The best is the Adreno 220 in the dual core Snapdragons. (ie...HTC Sensation, MyTouch 4G Slide), (Any Qualcomm chip ending in 8x60). The Mali400MP in the Galaxy S II is supposed to be amazing, but the benchmark performance is rather disappointing. Either it's clocked very low or comes with a terrible OpenGL stack or driver.
As for CPU performance. They're all fairly close. They're all using dual core ARM Cortex-A9s. The differences come from L2 cache amounts, pipelines, RAM type, etc. I don't think you would find any noticable in every day usage going from the Tegra 2 to the 3rd gen Snapdragons to the Exynos, etc.
If you're buying a single core phone the only ones to look at are Hummingbird based ones and 2nd gen snapdragons (ending in 8x55).

Exynos 5250 and Tegra 4

Yes I've used the search tool and the last post in the last Exynos 5250 thread was at december 2011 and I can't find any rules about reviving old threads so I don't want to fiddle with it since I might get an infraction or worse a ban and and the last Tegra 4 thread wasn't coherent enough for me.
I don't know all the details but I would like to start talking about the supposed new Exynos 5250 and Tegra 4 development so please bear with me, I need all of those who has reliable information to add in the discussion. I'd like to start things with how will it fare against this year's smartphones and tablets? specifically the Samsung Galaxy S3 (1.4 ghz Quad ARM Cortex-A9 + Exynos 4412 & 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait + Snapdragon S4 MSM8960) and HTC one X ( 1.5 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 + Nvidia Tegra 3 & 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait + Snapdragon S4 MSM8960) since they are currently the top Phones out there in the market performance wise.
Further into the topic will the new Exynos and Tegra make their predecessors completely obsolete once they come out? or is the performance leap going to be minimal at best? due to various factors perhaps you can't fully utilize their potential due to the limiting software apps out there? What I want you guys to elaborate for the community is how better will it be in terms of CPU and GPU benchmark performance. Please do share your Ideas and any reliable information about the said topic at hand.
P.S. I just got an SGS3 my very first smartphone and android, did I make a huge mistake by buying it or should have I gone for a cheaper Galaxy Nexus and waited for the new Exynos to come out?

Itadakiimasu said:
Yes I've used the search tool and the last post in the last Exynos 5250 thread was at december 2011 and I can't find any rules about reviving old threads so I don't want to fiddle with it since I might get an infraction or worse a ban and and the last Tegra 4 thread wasn't coherent enough for me.
I don't know all the details but I would like to start talking about the supposed new Exynos 5250 and Tegra 4 development so please bear with me, I need all of those who has reliable information to add in the discussion. I'd like to start things with how will it fare against this year's smartphones and tablets? specifically the Samsung Galaxy S3 (1.4 ghz Quad ARM Cortex-A9 + Exynos 4412 & 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait + Snapdragon S4 MSM8960) and HTC one X ( 1.5 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 + Nvidia Tegra 3 & 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Krait + Snapdragon S4 MSM8960) since they are currently the top Phones out there in the market performance wise.
Further into the topic will the new Exynos and Tegra make their predecessors completely obsolete once they come out? or is the performance leap going to be minimal at best? due to various factors perhaps you can't fully utilize their potential due to the limiting software apps out there? What I want you guys to elaborate for the community is how better will it be in terms of CPU and GPU benchmark performance. Please do share your Ideas and any reliable information about the said topic at hand.
P.S. I just got an SGS3 my very first smartphone and android, did I make a huge mistake by buying it or should have I gone for a cheaper Galaxy Nexus and waited for the new Exynos to come out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what better than Nvidia Tegra 3

First off, let's talk processors:
Your phone, the SGS3 i9300 is packing the Quad-Core Exynos 4412, rather than the dual-core Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) for North American versions of the SGS3. The international version of the HTC One X has the 1.5GHz Tegra 3 vs the North American version which has the S4 as well.
Performance wise, these processors are all pretty on-par. Benchmark scores are close, with the Tegra 3 gaining the upper hand graphics-wise with its 12-core GPU. The processor to look out out of these 3 would be the S4, considering it's the first processor to (kinda) take advantage of the A15 cortex.
...The reason I say kind of, is because there is some discussion on the S4 being a hybrid between the A9 cortex (Tegra 3, Exynos 4) and the beastly A15. Qualcomm is a rebel, and doesn't follow ARM's chip designs like the others do. But I digress...
A15 is going to be a HUGE improvement over A9. HUGE performance gains, higher resolution displays, USB 3.0,OpenGL ES 3.0 (depending on the GPU) and much much more. The dual-core Exynos 5250 is going to be based off the A15 cortex, and it's going to blow even the quad core A9's out of the water. Tegra 4 will almost definitely be based off A15 as well, and it's going to be a sight to see. As for the Snapragon S5, who knows? I'm sure Qualcomm has some cool stuff up it's sleeve.
To answer your question, yes the new Exynos and Tegra processors are going to make older generation processors obsolete, but that doesn't mean you made a bad choice. The SGS3 is a great phone, and as such has tons of developers making custom roms, kernals, and other fun hacks to keep you occupied for the months to come hack away!
hope that helped!

You didn't make a mistake as at present android is not able to push current quadcore devices to their limits and there is a scope for lot more improvement
So even though next gen processors will be lot more powerful, your phone will still be able to handle next android releases so Don't worry and enjoy your S3
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

vivek_bhoj said:
You didn't make a mistake as at present android is not able to push current quadcore devices to their limits and there is a scope for lot more improvement
So even though next gen processors will be lot more powerful, your phone will still be able to handle next android releases so Don't worry and enjoy your S3
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android already has full multi core support. The only thing holding back multi cores is the fact that many apps still don't make use of them.
Also, that other guy made some great points but forgot to mention S4 Pro, which we already know a good deal about and is very impressive. It sets the bar high for the next tegra and for exynos 5250.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda app-developers app

Itadakiimasu said:
Further into the topic will the new Exynos and Tegra make their predecessors completely obsolete once they come out? or is the performance leap going to be minimal at best?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They're not going to be "completely obsolete" (even GN and SG2, for example, are still good phones despite being "last year") but there is going to be a large performance increase to A15.
There's always a next big thing coming out, but generally it's not worth waiting for unless you're on the cusp. Even if the generation you shop is relatively old, the competitive market (unlike, say, that of a fruity company) helps to compensate you by providing discounts of the previous tech.
S3, in particular, is a darn good phone no matter how you look at it (except that it has hardware buttons, but I digress..)

Question: Why better graphics processing in US Stock Marshmalow ROM vs CM 13?

I have been comparing ROMs today. I have a back up on my Moto G 2015 of the US stock ROM (6) Marshmallow and of Dominion ROM which is a nice version of CM13 with some awesome tweaks, which btw I love. I did however notice a signifigant difference in 3d graphics processing ability on the US Retail version of Marshmallow, the graphics processing is signifigantly better than the Cyanagen ROM, various versions. I am suprised at this, and dont get me wrong, I prefer to use Cyanogen ROMS for many applications. Anyhow, I was suprised at this and I am wondering why. Is it just a matter of proprietary graphics drivers? Does anyone know why?
Thanks

You have posted in the wrong section.
Anyways, yes, it most likely is a matter of proprietary drivers, similar to how Samsung devices lose camera quality when installing a custom ROM.

^^^ This
As more and more manufacturers use highly refined and optimized code that is not open source (they only have to release kernel source), and proprietary binaries, performance of things like camera, graphics, and other things will suffer on purely open source ROMs like Cyanogen and AOSP based ROMs.
This is also why most people report less battery life on third-party ROMs over stock in the Moto G... Moto just tweaked it right and has the proper proprietary code and settings to make it work.

Thank you for the replies
That makes sense. Helps me to understand it a bit better.
Thankyou

Could be because Motorola changed the maximum GPU frequency in Marshmallow to 465 MHz. Was previously limited at 400 MHz in Lollipop, which is an underclock for the Snapdragon 410 SoC. This is using my app Sys-I that is in my signature. Check it out in CM, not sure what they set the max frequency at.

I Checked it out
The Maximum Frequency in Marshmallow is set to 1363 mhz.
quakeaz said:
Could be because Motorola changed the maximum GPU frequency in Marshmallow to 465 MHz. Was previously limited at 400 MHz in Lollipop, which is an underclock for the Snapdragon 410 SoC. This is using my app Sys-I that is in my signature. Check it out in CM, not sure what they set the max frequency at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

firefoxjds said:
The Maximum Frequency in Marshmallow is set to 1363 mhz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the CPU, look at the GPU.

Ill check it in cyanogen rom after
I have to flash the cm rom, the stock rom is currently running.
firefoxjds said:
The Maximum Frequency in Marshmallow is set to 1363 mhz.
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Click to collapse

CAF vs NON CAF ?

So i've got my phone like lets say 5months running thought 30non-caf roms..
But is there any difference at all between caf and non ? and what are the wins and lose against those 2 things ?
can someone explain in a short story ? and how do i flash for example CAF on a non caf phone?

Kcetin20 said:
So i've got my phone like lets say 5months running thought 30non-caf roms..
But is there any difference at all between caf and non ? and what are the wins and lose against those 2 things ?
can someone explain in a short story ? and how do i flash for example CAF on a non caf phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bless your heart, I found out what the difference between hammerhead and hammerheadcaf by doing a Google search on my phone. It's something that I was wondering about myself because I had been seeing both the CAF and non-CAF versions of ROMs. If you have CPU-Z installed on your phone, you can find out which version you have when you run it. If you don't have it installed, go to the Google Play Store and get it. Just put CPU-Z in the search field and it should bring it up. It's a free download and a very helpful app to have on your phone. Just a word to the wise, flashing hammerheadcaf ROMs on a hammerhead phone is not a good idea at all unless you want to deal with unexpected issues with your phone.
Hammerhead phones have a Qualcomm processor. Hammerheadcaf phones have a Snapdragon processor.
I hope that I was able to help you out here.
Cindy
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

cindylike24 said:
Bless your heart, I found out what the difference between hammerhead and hammerheadcaf by doing a Google search on my phone. It's something that I was wondering about myself because I had been seeing both the CAF and non-CAF versions of ROMs. If you have CPU-Z installed on your phone, you can find out which version you have when you run it. If you don't have it installed, go to the Google Play Store and get it. Just put CPU-Z in the search field and it should bring it up. It's a free download and a very helpful app to have on your phone. Just a word to the wise, flashing hammerheadcaf ROMs on a hammerhead phone is not a good idea at all unless you want to deal with unexpected issues with your phone.
Hammerhead phones have a Qualcomm processor. Hammerheadcaf phones have a Snapdragon processor.
I hope that I was able to help you out here.
Cindy
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are annoyingly wrong!!! Snapdragon is the SOC lineup of Qualcomm!

cindylike24 said:
Bless your heart, I found out what the difference between hammerhead and hammerheadcaf by doing a Google search on my phone. It's something that I was wondering about myself because I had been seeing both the CAF and non-CAF versions of ROMs. If you have CPU-Z installed on your phone, you can find out which version you have when you run it. If you don't have it installed, go to the Google Play Store and get it. Just put CPU-Z in the search field and it should bring it up. It's a free download and a very helpful app to have on your phone. Just a word to the wise, flashing hammerheadcaf ROMs on a hammerhead phone is not a good idea at all unless you want to deal with unexpected issues with your phone.
Hammerhead phones have a Qualcomm processor. Hammerheadcaf phones have a Snapdragon processor.
I hope that I was able to help you out here.
Cindy
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can totally understand that you just wanted to help, but....duuuuuude, I'm so sorry, but do you even google?
To clarify a few things here (and get that topic done): I will try to stay clear and simple (probably even oversimplifying, but whatever)
1. Qualcomm Inc. makes (mobile) processors based on designs by ARM. They have certain lineups, with Snapdragon Processors being their consumer-grade line of mobile processors.
The SoC (system on a chip, meaning CPU, GPU and co-processors being combined on one chip) in the Nexus 5 is a Snapdragon 800. It's got 4 Krait-400 Cores as it's main processing cores (CPU), an Adreno 330 GPU (graphics processor) and a Hexagon DSP (digital signal processor, enables, amongst other things, audio processing from digital to analogue). Furthermore you have things like an ISP (image signal processor) and certain modems, but that's rather unrelevant.
So every single Nexus 5 in the world runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. No difference.
2. To get to the OP's question:
To explain the difference between CAF and non-CAF, you first have to understand what CAF even means.
CAF stand for Code Aurora Project. It is a consortium which acts as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project. It has a widespread range of projects, of which Android for MSM being a part of those projects. "MSM" is basically Qualcomms way of labeling it's Snapdragon Processors (the Snapdragon 800 is codenamed MSM8974).
Android for MSM concentrates on bringing enhancements specifically made for Qualcomms Processors to the Linux Kernel. Whenever a manufacturer decides to use a Snapdragon Processor in his Phone/Tablet/Whatever, he forks from the Android Open Source Project and then uses the Code Aurora Forum to get the processor-specific code. So, whenever you have a Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor in you device, it will have at least some parts of code sourced from Android for MSM, and therefore the Code Aurora Forum.
Now, whenever a developer decides to build a ROM for a certain device, he will also fork from the Android Open Source Project. To build a kernel, he will most likely use the kernel source from the manufacturer (if available). As for the Nexus 5, we have AOSP and Google's own kernel source specifically for the Nexus 5. To build it's kernel, Google uses patches from CAF, as they are processor-specific and optimized.
Most ROMs for the Nexus 5 are based on AOSP and Google's kernel source. (A few are based on factory images, but we can neglect that for now).
CAF ROMs however are (mostly) based on the code from CAF. This means it may be better optimized, since the code is very processor-specific, but it's also more on the bleeding-edge-side, since it gets constantly updated (and therefore can contain some bugs here and there). Google only uses parts of it's code from CAF and carefully selects those parts, so it's more on the stable-proofed side.
I hope that kind of answers the question(s) in this thread.
Mods: please close if you think everything is answered and done.

9h0s7 said:
lmfao this thread is pure gold. gotta be trolling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm definitely not trolling on the forum. I was trying to help the OP out with his question.
milestone2mod said:
I can totally understand that you just wanted to help, but....duuuuuude, I'm so sorry, but do you even google?
To clarify a few things here (and get that topic done): I will try to stay clear and simple (probably even oversimplifying, but whatever)
1. Qualcomm Inc. makes (mobile) processors based on designs by ARM. They have certain lineups, with Snapdragon Processors being their consumer-grade line of mobile processors.
The SoC (system on a chip, meaning CPU, GPU and co-processors being combined on one chip) in the Nexus 5 is a Snapdragon 800. It's got 4 Krait-400 Cores as it's main processing cores (CPU), an Adreno 330 GPU (graphics processor) and a Hexagon DSP (digital signal processor, enables, amongst other things, audio processing from digital to analogue). Furthermore you have things like an ISP (image signal processor) and certain modems, but that's rather unrelevant.
So every single Nexus 5 in the world runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. No difference.
2. To get to the OP's question:
To explain the difference between CAF and non-CAF, you first have to understand what CAF even means.
CAF stand for Code Aurora Project. It is a consortium which acts as a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project. It has a widespread range of projects, of which Android for MSM being a part of those projects. "MSM" is basically Qualcomms way of labeling it's Snapdragon Processors (the Snapdragon 800 is codenamed MSM8974).
Android for MSM concentrates on bringing enhancements specifically made for Qualcomms Processors to the Linux Kernel. Whenever a manufacturer decides to use a Snapdragon Processor in his Phone/Tablet/Whatever, he forks from the Android Open Source Project and then uses the Code Aurora Forum to get the processor-specific code. So, whenever you have a Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor in you device, it will have at least some parts of code sourced from Android for MSM, and therefore the Code Aurora Forum.
Now, whenever a developer decides to build a ROM for a certain device, he will also fork from the Android Open Source Project. To build a kernel, he will most likely use the kernel source from the manufacturer (if available). As for the Nexus 5, we have AOSP and Google's own kernel source specifically for the Nexus 5. To build it's kernel, Google uses patches from CAF, as they are processor-specific and optimized.
Most ROMs for the Nexus 5 are based on AOSP and Google's kernel source. (A few are based on factory images, but we can neglect that for now).
CAF ROMs however are (mostly) based on the code from CAF. This means it may be better optimized, since the code is very processor-specific, but it's also more on the bleeding-edge-side, since it gets constantly updated (and therefore can contain some bugs here and there). Google only uses parts of it's code from CAF and carefully selects those parts, so it's more on the stable-proofed side.
I hope that kind of answers the question(s) in this thread.
Mods: please close if you think everything is answered and done.
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I'm a lady not a dude here. Yes I did use Google to try and answer the OP's question. I just didn't want to go into the detail that you went into in your post. I was trying to keep it as simple and to the point as I possibly could. Thank you for going into detail on this. Maybe someone will glean something useful out of this in the future.
Mods: Please close this thread if you feel like everything has been answered for this OP.

I've read, that CAF means that this special hammerhead is a chinese clone of the original LG hammerhead. So NEVER flash a hammerheadcaf-rom an a hammerhead-device or vice versa - it could brick your device totally.
But how to find out if i have an original hammerhead or just a chinese hammerheadcaf? What if i accidently flash the wrong rom? I'm scared of what i just found out!!
lol

cindylike24 said:
I'm definitely not trolling on the forum. I was trying to help the OP out with his question.
I'm a lady not a dude here. Yes I did use Google to try and answer the OP's question. I just didn't want to go into the detail that you went into in your post. I was trying to keep it as simple and to the point as I possibly could. Thank you for going into detail on this. Maybe someone will glean something useful out of this in the future.
Mods: Please close this thread if you feel like everything has been answered for this OP.
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I'm sorry, didn't want to offend you
But, and again, I'm really sorry, but your statement was just completely wrong:
. Just a word to the wise, flashing hammerheadcaf ROMs on a hammerhead phone is not a good idea at all unless you want to deal with unexpected issues with your phone.
Hammerhead phones have a Qualcomm processor. Hammerheadcaf phones have a Snapdragon processor.
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EVERY Nexus 5 is a "hammerhead" device, since hammerhead is just Google's internal codename for this device (such as volantis for Nexus 9 (volantisg for Nexus 9 4G), shamu for Nexus 6, angler for Nexus 6P, bullhead for Nexus 5X and so on...)
So every "hammerhead" phone (read: every Nexus 5) has got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. No difference, again.
CyanogenMOD uses hammerhead as their main ROM-branch and hammerheadcaf as the codename for their CAF-based ROM. So whenever you see "hammerheadcaf" it just means that this ROM is based mainly on code from the Code Aurora Forum.
Of course you can flash such a ROM on every Nexus 5, you would just need a CAF-Recovery. So for most people I'd recommend to just stick with "regular" ROMs, if you don't exactly know what you're doing.
I can understand that you wanted to keep it simple, but it wasn't simple, just wrong, I'm afraid. Again, I'm trying not to be rude (and apologies for the dude, mylady). I just don't want false statements floating around here.
---------- Post added at 06:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:56 PM ----------
McFlypants said:
I've read, that CAF means that this special hammerhead is a chinese clone of the original LG hammerhead. So NEVER flash a hammerheadcaf-rom an a hammerhead-device or vice versa - it could brick your device totally.
But how to find out if i have an original hammerhead or just a chinese hammerheadcaf? What if i accidently flash the wrong rom? I'm scared of what i just found out!!
lol
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Absolutley wrong, my friend. EVERY Nexus 5 is a "hammerhead". Read my posts above: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65995231&postcount=7
There is no special chinese clone of the Nexus 5. Please don't spread false statements.

If CAF roms were for some special clone they would never get posted on the N5 forums of XDA. I live in China and have seen many clones, but none that resemble a nexus 5. The phone is cheap enough no one would bother cloning it. They like to clone samsungs and iphones.

Wowwww. Awesome. Informatie. Lol. I'm just reading this thread with using hammerheads rom. Just felling guilty with Nexus 5.
Thanks. All tacky. Guys. Newer try to use hammerheadcaf. Moving to hammerhead right now ....?????
Sent from my Nexus 5 CAF using XDA-Developers mobile app

milestone2mod said:
1. Qualcomm Inc. makes (mobile) processors based on designs by ARM. They have certain lineups, with Snapdragon Processors being their consumer-grade line of mobile processors.
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Don't want to Split the hair a lot here. But just to clarify.
Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) is a Architecture for CPUs similar to Intel's P Series Architecture. This is owned by the Corporation of the same name and licensed to All the manufacturers. Qualcomm and Samsung are one of them. Allwinner, RockChip and AMLogic are some of the others based in China.
milestone2mod said:
"MSM" is basically Qualcomms way of labeling it's Snapdragon Processors (the Snapdragon 800 is codenamed MSM8974).
Android for MSM concentrates on bringing enhancements specifically made for Qualcomms Processors to the Linux Kernel. Whenever a manufacturer decides to use a Snapdragon Processor in his Phone/Tablet/Whatever, he forks from the Android Open Source Project and then uses the Code Aurora Forum to get the processor-specific code. So, whenever you have a Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor in you device, it will have at least some parts of code sourced from Android for MSM, and therefore the Code Aurora Forum.
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Phone Makers tend to use Google's Mainline Kernel from the AOSP Codebase per Agreement. AOSP is a Project sponsored primarily by Google and they do use that for all Nexus platforms. This is a Fork of Linux.
CAF on the other hand, is a Qualcomm's own Fork and is heavily customized with specific Drivers and Middle layer Code that takes advantage of the CPU's features. Of Course this will not work on Non-Qualcomm SoCs.
FOOTNOTE - I have done some light cleaning in this thread. Thread remains open as this legitimate question does baffle many people. And Alas Google isn't good help unless you know what you're looking for. Please don't make personal Attacks. Thank you.

What a load of nonsense about chinese nockoffs?!?!
ROMs for "hammerhead" are AOSP-based
ROMs for "hammerheadcaf" use code specifically optimized for the Nexus 5 SoC from Code Aurora

Perseus said:
Don't want to Split the hair a lot here. But just to clarify.
Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) is a Architecture for CPUs similar to Intel's P Series Architecture. This is owned by the Corporation of the same name and licensed to All the manufacturers. Qualcomm and Samsung are one of them. Allwinner, RockChip and AMLogic are some of the others based in China.
Phone Makers tend to use Google's Mainline Kernel from the AOSP Codebase per Agreement. AOSP is a Project sponsored primarily by Google and they do use that for all Nexus platforms. This is a Fork of Linux.
CAF on the other hand, is a Qualcomm's own Fork and is heavily customized with specific Drivers and Middle layer Code that takes advantage of the CPU's features. Of Course this will not work on Non-Qualcomm SoCs.
FOOTNOTE - I have done some light cleaning in this thread. Thread remains open as this legitimate question does baffle many people. And Alas Google isn't good help unless you know what you're looking for. Please don't make personal Attacks. Thank you.
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Pretty much Amen.
Perhaps you should do a sticky with all that information (my posts plus your additions) as a go-to source for any interested forum members. This could hold the chance to clarify questions before they're asked (again).

I tested CM14.1 for several days both versions (hammerhead and hammerheadcaf). I didn't notice any difference. Neither in battery life, nor in performance. Am I missing something?

focus-pocus said:
I tested CM14.1 for several days both versions (hammerhead and hammerheadcaf). I didn't notice any difference. Neither in battery life, nor in performance. Am I missing something?
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How did you switch between the caf- and non-caf version of CM14.1?
From what I've googled and deduced so far, you'd first need to flash the appropriate caf- oder non-caf version of TWRP-recovery, boot into the new recovery and wipe system, data and cache and then flash the matching caf- oder non-caf version of CM14.1. Right?

i have a question on this topic.
so on the security side of things, one of the problems using the nexus 5 with an up to date (security-patched) custom rom is that qualcomm does not update the drivers for their old chips anymore. so even if the open source part (aosp) is patched, there will still be bugs in those proprietary drivers which aren't fixed. does the code aurora project help with this problem?
@ kintrupf -- the newest version of twrp for the nexus 5 supports caf as well as standard roms!

kintrupf said:
How did you switch between the caf- and non-caf version of CM14.1?
From what I've googled and deduced so far, you'd first need to flash the appropriate caf- oder non-caf version of TWRP-recovery, boot into the new recovery and wipe system, data and cache and then flash the matching caf- oder non-caf version of CM14.1. Right?
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On latest caf builds (any of it) don't need hammerheadcaf TWRP, it installs now normally on hammerhead recovery.

cindylike24 said:
Hammerhead phones have a Qualcomm processor. Hammerheadcaf phones have a Snapdragon processor.
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I fkined loled hard. Thanks dude. xD

fr3quency said:
I fkined loled hard. Thanks dude. xD
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I'm a lady not a dude.
Cindy
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Labs

cindylike24 said:
I'm a lady not a dude.
Cindy
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I think it's cool that you're into this kinda stuff. Hobbies like this are usually sausage parties.
Regardless, like the others have said, Snapdragon is a brand owned by Qualcomm. There are no hammerheadcaf devices, just hammerhead devices. There are, however, hammerheadcaf recoveries, kernels, and ROMs, and then there are regular hammerhead recoveries, kernels, and ROMs. The problem is that is that the parts aren't interchangeable: You need to go everything-CAF or nothing-CAF.
Probably better to just own the mistake, and to ignore that people are speaking to you as if you were a guy (although 'dude' can be a unisex term).

Does no one have a link to a performance test comparing CAF to AOSP? So far, everything I've read has been either subjective or speculative. It's exhausting.