Snapdragon X: Qualcomm will offer four versions to dominate Windows laptops

Qualcomm is preparing to land with fanfare on Windows PCs with its Snapdragon X processors equipped with ARM architecture. If the mobile chip designer had previously been content to mention a single processor, there will ultimately be four versions: three Snapdragon X Elite processors with 12 Oryon cores and a Snapdragon X Plus with ten Oryon cores.

Three Snapdragon X Elites and one Snapdragon X Plus

Three Snapdragon X Elites will therefore be offered to integrators to equip their laptop PCs. The base remains the same, with 12 Oryon cores gathered in clusters of four cores. The difference between each model lies in the multithreading operating frequency (3.4 GHz or 3.8 GHz) as well as the presence of frequency boost on two cores: no boost, 4 GHz or 4.2 GHz. Thus the X1E-84-100, the most efficient version, has an Adreno GPU developing 4.6 TFLOPS instead of 3.8 TFLOPS for the X1E-80-100 and X1E-78-100.

Qualcomm adds a more affordable Snapdragon The latter takes all the characteristics of the X1E-78-100, while being deprived of two Oryon cores. Qualcomm confirmed to us that the Snapdragon X Plus uses the exact same die as the Snapdragon X Elite, with two Oryon cores disabled. Thus, the capacities of the NPU and GPU are identical to those of the two less well-endowed Snapdragon X Elites.

During our handling of the Qualcomm reference PC, we were able to check the difference between the two most efficient versions of Snapdragon X Elite. We provide you with Qualcomm’s results since our tests confirm the figures put forward.

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Snapdragon

The Snapdragon It is therefore, like its big brother, engraved in 4 nm at TSMC, has 10 identical Oryon cores clocked at 3.4 GHz and is equipped with 42 MB of cache.

Qualcomm has once again indulged in the game of comparisons with the Core Ultra 7 155H from Intel that we have often used. Thus, with equal consumption, the Snapdragon X Plus would be 37% more efficient and with equal performance, it would consume 54% less energy, all under GeekBench in multithreading. This comparison was not provided to us in single-core task, the latter probably being less to the advantage of the Snapdragon X Plus.

The GPU part is identical to the Snapdragon X Elite, with a theoretical power of 3.8 TFLOPS. It is thus 36% more efficient at equal consumption or 50% less energy intensive at equal performance than the Intel Arc graphics part of the Core Ultra 7 155H on the Wildlife Extreme benchmark.

In terms of features, the Snapdragon X Plus retains some good strengths. Internally, it can support a 4K display at 120 Hz with HDR compatibility, while externally, it is possible to connect three 4K displays at 60 Hz with HDR or two 5K displays at 60 Hz. Decoding support and AV1 encoding is obviously included. In terms of connectivity, wifi 7, 5G and Bluetooth 5.4 are also supported.

Obviously, AI is not left out, since the Snapdragon X Elite and Plus will be at the heart of the Surface to promote PC AI, Microsoft’s new fad. The Snapdragon X Plus has exactly the same NPU as its predecessor, with a processing capacity of 45 TOPS. This is good, because this is exactly the value requested by Microsoft to qualify for the IA PC label.

We provide you with the performance of the Snapdragon X Plus, which we were able to test in particularly controlled conditions, but which confirm the figures put forward by Qualcomm.

A price still unknown

We can’t wait to get our hands on laptops from Qualcomm’s partners with Snapdragon X Elite and Plus. A few models are starting to surface in data leaks like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 or Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, and Microsoft should also unveil its Snapdragon-equipped Surfaces by mid-May during an event dedicated to the future of Windows .

Finally, one last question concerns the price at which the “Snapdragon Edition” laptop PCs will be available, Qualcomm having refused to give us an idea. According to Kedar Kondap, SVP and GM of Compute and Gaming at Qualcomm, the price would depend on the chassis used by the partners and options such as the use of Oled panels.