The AC8259 Processor

The MTK AC8259 processor is an overclocked version of the AC8257 chip, and a minor change deserves a slightly different chip name.

MTK AC8259 – similar to the Unisoc Tiger T618 and MTK AC8257 is
OCTA-CORE 2 Cortex A75 (2.0 GHz) + 6 Cortex A55 (1.8GHz)

AC8259 reports 2.5GHz clock

Typically configured with 4 GB RAM or more, this middle-of-the-road processor was designed for a low-end phone and has now made its way into the Android headunits in a 2.5GHz overclocked guise.

AC8259 Processor Answers

Is the AC8259 Processor a good processor for an Android head unit?

Yes. The AC8259 processor is modern and faster than many others.

Is the AC8259 considered a fast processor?

Yes. The AC8259 Processor is considered a fast processor, not the fastest, but it eclipses the speed of all the quad-core offerings.

Is the AC8259 a Quad-core processor ?

No. The AC8259 is an Octacore. It has 8 ARM Cores.

How much RAM will the AC8259 Android headunit have?

The AC8259 will have no less than 4 GB RAM and can have 6 GB or even 8 GB RAM fitted in the factory as an option.

Phone chip?

The MTK AC8259 has 8 cores, but only 2 are high-speed. The high-speed cores draw the most power from the phone battery and heat the handset. The other 6 cores are low-power, low-speed cores for times when the phone is not working hard, like playing games.

An Android headunit has a high current and steady voltage supplied by the car’s 12v system. Unlike with a phone, low battery drain and low power are not issues for an Android headunit.

Why use a phone chip for an Android headunit? Because the phone chips are cheap in volume, it is much cheaper to use an already mass-produced budget chip than to design a new one from the ground up.

Mid Range

The MTK AC8259 is a middle-of-the-road, budget-orientated SoC for running Android. Coupled with 4Gb, 6Gb, or even 8Gb, this is not a fast flagship processor.

AC8257/Unisoc Tiger T618

If the AC8259 is something you like the sound of to power your next Android headunit, also read our more in-depth AC8257 review, as they are very similar octa-core chips.

Cooling

As with any overclocked processor, cooling becomes more of an issue. While a stock clock can utilize passive cooling, an overclocked one may need active cooling, which involves a fan that can add more noise and another point of failure. These are important considerations when choosing the AC8259.

ARM

The ARM Cortex in the AC8259/AC8257 comprises two Cortex-A75 and six Cortex-A55 cores. These cores are based on the Armv8-A (Harvard) architecture, which provides 64-bit processing support.

Overall

The AC8259 offers minor improvements over the AC8257, and both chips perform acceptably. They are not quick, but they are much better than the quad cores in the bottom-end and often fake Android headunits.

YT5760b

yt5760b is synonymous with AC8257/AC8259. The YT5660b is the MCU that can carry either the AC8257 or AC8259 processor, with the options for different levels of RAM, less than the maximum that the procession core can handle.

Marshmallow
Marshmallow
I am an android-headunits.com staff blogger. I have been using Android on my devices for many years and have learned a lot about the features and best hardware to keep up with the latest Android versions. I also make the coffee ☕

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