AMLogic S905X5M. Review and Comparison VS all SoCs

Today, we present the comparison and analysis of the new AMLogic S905X5M SoC vs. the rest of SoCs in the market. A very interesting processor manufactured in 6 nm.

The new AMLogic S905X5M SoC is a Quad Core with ARM Cortex-A55 cores and a Mali-G310 V2 GPU for graphics. In the video section it stands out for supporting native decoding of codecs such as AV1 with 4K@75fps support, it also includes support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos technologies. As system we have Android 14 by default, depending on the assembler we have Chromecast 4K and DRM certificates to view payment platforms such as Netflix, Max, Prime Video and the like.

Let’s see how it performs against other manufacturers such as Amlogic, Allwinner, Nvidia or Rockchip.

AMLogic S905X5M Specifications

The new AMLogic S905X5M SoC is manufactured in 6 nm and features four ARM Cortex-A55 cores with speed up to 2.5 GHz and mid-range Mali-G310 V2 GPU. It has native connection for HDMI 2.1a up to 4K@75fps video resolutions compatible with codecs up to AV1. It has USB 2.0 support and internal storage up to eMMC 5.1.

CPU

The AMLogic S905X5M has eight ARM Cortex-A55 cores, capable of reaching 2.5 GHz, a higher speed than its predecessors. The manufacturing process is only 6 nm, which places it in the mid-range of performance.

GPU, VPU and Multimedia

For the graphics section there is a Mali-G310 V2 GPU that can support Vulkan, but it depends on the firmware. In this SoC as we have seen, it supports AV1 codec and supports Dolby Vision / Atmos format and HDR 10 with resolutions up to 4K@75fps. It allows HDMI 2.1a video output. This SoC allows support for services with DRM for paid streaming, it is compatible with Netflix on Hailstorm compliant assemblers.

• Render: The system supports Android user environment in 4K resolution.
• Certificates Support: DRM / Netflix / Dolby / DTS
• HDMI: Game mode / Auto refresh change.

Android System

The system that we found the device we used in our analysis is based on Android 14 (API 34), the kernel that controls the system is the kernel 5.15.153, a fairly modern version.

• Firmware: Compatible only with 32 bit apps due to firmware limitations, ABI armeabi-v8a is not supported

Performance test

We run several performance tests with the AMLogic S905X5M SoC and compare it against processors such as Nvidia Tegra, Mediatek, Rockchip, Amlogic and previous generation Allwinner processors.

Test Hardware

For testing we use the new Xiaomi TV Box (3rd Gen) with the Quad Core Amlogic S905X5M processor. In this Box with 2 GB of RAM DDR4 and 32 GB of storage eMMc. It has all the necessary DRM certificates for streaming services such as Netflix, plus Dolby Vision decoding , HDR10 and DTS and Atmos Audio. It also has Bluetooth remote control and has Chromecast 4K.

• The Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen) can be purchased on AliExpress only for $67 with shipping included.

Geekbench

A test that gives us some high values in raw power, we can see the performance of the CPU in mono core and multi core thanks to its tests. As we can see, the results leave it much better than its previous version AMLogic S905X4 in mono core and multi core.

3DMark

This quintessential graphics performance test with a pretty solid continuity in terms of results, which helps us when comparing GPU performance historically. As we can see, the ARM Mali-G310 V2 GPU performs three times better than the S905X4.

PCMark

This test allows us to get an idea of the power of this chip in terms of desktop apps, performing tasks such as browsing, video editing, handling text or audio files. The result is influenced by the overall hardware components. As we can see, the data leaves it at a much higher level than the S905X4.

VPU and Sound

We test the video playback on the AMLogic S905X5M, we check the formats supported by the integrated VPU. As we can see, the results are good with h.265, VP9 and AV1 codecs up to 4K@75fps resolutions. We have good performance with 10bit color formats, we also have HDR10 , Dolby Vision and Atmos support. This is a SoC that does not offer good image quality, although it does not reach the quality of Realtek in this aspect.

• HDR: Supported Dolby Vision / HDR10 / HLG.
• Sound: Supports Dolby / DTS sound.
• HDMI: Game Mode / Auto Framerate / HDMI-CEC

Video and audio test results

• SW = does not have hardware acceleration and may have some occasional skipping on very large files.

Conclusions

The new AMLogic S905X5M SoC is an interesting evolution over the AMLogic S905X4, especially for its GPU, which is now three times more powerful. The performance of the SoC is sufficient to use streaming apps and move smoothly within the Google TV 14 environment. Being manufactured in efficient 6nm temperatures are under control at all times and does not fall in speed in normal use.

This processor gives us good results in terms of video playback thanks to its dedicated AVE-10 processor that as we have seen is compatible with AV1 codec up to 4K@75fps HDR resolutions. It also has support for DRM, Dolby Vision Atmos and DTS certificates and depending on the assembler we can have support for Netflix with its official app.

After testing the AMLogic S905X5M we have found that we are facing an efficient SOC with more graphics power than its predecessor S905X4. It will surely be an interesting platform for the future when apps like EmuELEC or powerful 3D emulators are adapted.