When you look at raw specs, the (up to 8 cores) seems formidable compared to the Mali-G31 MP2 (only 2 cores). But clock speed and core counts are dead metrics. Here’s the deep truth.
Released circa 2013, the Mali-450 is an evolution of the Mali-400. It is a vertex/fragment shader pipeline design.
| Feature | Mali-450 MP2 | Mali-G31 MP2 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Q2 2012 | Q1 2018 | | Architecture | Utgard (non-unified shaders) | Bifrost (unified shaders) | | Manufacturing Process | 28nm HPM | 28nm HPM | | Core/Execution Units | 2 (MP2) | 2 (MP2) | | Shading Units (Stream Processors) | 32 | 16 | | Maximum Clock Speed | 750 MHz | 650 MHz | | Pixel Fillrate (GPixels/s) | 0.65 GPixels/s | 0.43 GPixels/s | | Texture Fillrate (GTexels/s) | 35.5 GTexels/s | 10.4 GTexels/s | | L2 Cache | Configurable 8KB - 512KB | Configurable 32KB - 64KB | | API Support | OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0; OpenVG 1.1 | OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, 3.2 ; Vulkan 1.2 ; OpenCL 1.1, 1.2, 2.0 ; RenderScript | | Memory Compression | Minimal | Arm Frame Buffer Compression (AFBC) | malig31 mp2 vs mali450 hot
In our testing, we found that the Mali-450 MP4 does indeed consume less power than the Mali-G31 MP2, especially in less demanding applications. However, the Mali-G31 MP2's power efficiency has improved significantly compared to its predecessors, and it is able to maintain a reasonable level of power consumption even under heavy loads.
In terms of performance, the Mali-G31 MP2 generally outperforms the Mali-450 MP4 in various benchmarks: When you look at raw specs, the (up
is built on a smaller, more advanced semiconductor node (often paired with newer Cortex-A55 cores), it tends to run cooler during sustained tasks compared to the Mali-450, which works harder and gets hotter to perform significantly simpler tasks Summary Table Mali-G31 MP2 Architecture Utgard (Legacy) Bifrost (Modern) Vulkan Support Efficiency Low (Old tech) High (Ultra-efficient) Typical Usage Very old budget boxes Modern budget devices smartphone model that uses one of these chips?
The most critical difference between these GPUs lies in their underlying architecture, which dictates everything from performance to feature support. Released circa 2013, the Mali-450 is an evolution
If you play a game for one hour on a Mali-450 device, not only will your hand feel like it’s holding a coffee mug, but you will lose 25-30% battery. On a Mali-G31 device, you will lose roughly 15-18% battery, and the phone will remain lukewarm.
After dissecting the architectures, specifications, performance, and thermal behavior, the conclusion is clear. The ARM Mali-G31 MP2 emerges as the superior choice in this comparison. While the older Mali-450 MP4 has a slight edge in raw fillrate specifications, this advantage is rendered meaningless in the face of the G31's modern features and massive efficiency gains.
When shopping for budget Android TV boxes, streaming sticks, or low-cost smartphones, users frequently encounter two distinct graphics processing generations: the and the legacy Arm Mali-450 . A common point of confusion among consumers centers around performance differences, API support, and a highly discussed phenomenon—why some budget devices run remarkably hot or suffer from severe thermal throttling. Architectural Comparison: Two Eras of Silicon