Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: Benchmarks Better Than Apple M2

At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm officially launched Snapdragon X Elite, a new processor for the PC market. According to Qualcomm’s introduction at the launch, the Snapdragon /AMD processor also performs better than the Apple M2 processor, which is also an ARM architecture.

After the release of the Snapdragon X Elite, we also had the opportunity to experience the Snapdragon X Elite in-depth and watched the benchmarking process of the PC reference platform based on the Snapdragon. How is the performance? What kind of PC experience upgrade will it bring in the future?

Snapdragon X Elite Features

Snapdragon X Elite is equipped with Qualcomm’s self-developed Oryon CPU, which uses a 4nm process. It has 12 cores with a main frequency of 3.8GHz and supports a dual-core turbo frequency of 4.3GHz. In terms of memory, Snapdragon X Elite supports LPDDR5x memory, with a memory bandwidth of 136GB/s and a total cache of 42MB. As for the GPU, Snapdragon X Elite integrates Adreno GPU and supports 4K, 120Hz, and HDR10 display output capabilities.

In terms of multi-monitor support, it can support three 4K 60Hz HDR10 displays or two 5K 60Hz displays, which is enough to meet daily screen expansion needs. Adreno GPU also supports driver updates to continuously optimize the experience through updates. Snapdragon X Elite is also equipped with an independent NPU, supporting INT4 and 45 TOPS. If combined with CPU, GPU, and NPU, Snapdragon X Elite can achieve 75 TOPS of computing power and can run generative AI models with more than 13 billion parameters on the terminal side. In Snapdragon X Elite devices, you can also check the running status of the NPU through the task manager.

Additionally, Snapdragon X Elite integrates a low-power Sensing Hub, which can run image sensors, and microphones and maintain network connections with extremely low power consumption for a long time, allowing it to be used right out of the box and online in real-time. Moreover, Snapdragon X Elite also supports Snapdragon imaging, Snapdragon Listen, Snapdragon connection, and Snapdragon security features, bringing the experience advantages of the Snapdragon mobile platform to the PC field.

Snapdragon X Elite Performance Test

At the Snapdragon Summit Flagship, we also participated in the actual testing session of the Snapdragon X Elite. Qualcomm brought two reference designs for Snapdragon, with some differences in body size, screen, and battery. This test mainly focuses on CPU performance, GPU performance, AI performance, and overall machine performance.

The first is the CPU test. The test software selected for the CPU is Cinebench 2024 and Geekbench V6.2. The specific test data is as follows:

The software used for GPU testing is GFXBench and 3DMark. The test data is as follows:

The AI test uses the UL Procyon AI test, and the data is as follows:

The high-performance version of Snapdragon X Elite has the same NPU as the standard version, so the AI performance of the two machines is also at the same level. The data difference in the test is a test error.

PCMark V10 test data is as follows:

Actual testing shows that the Snapdragon X Elite delivers excellent overall data performance, and increasing power consumption further improves its performance. The 23W Snapdragon X Elite also demonstrates strong performance, enabling its use in a wider range of devices.

Compared with competing products, what are the advantages of Snapdragon X Elite?

At the test site, Qualcomm also demonstrated the performance difference between Snapdragon X Elite and other processors.
In the single-core comparison with i9-13980HX, Geekbench V6.2 Linux, the single-core score of Snapdragon X Elite’s power consumption is reduced by 70%.
In the single-core test of Geekbench V6.2, the standard version of Snapdragon X Elite also performed better than competing products, with a 10% improvement in performance compared to M2.

In terms of multi-core testing, the performance of Snapdragon X Elite is also better than that of Apple M2, leading by nearly 50%. The 80W max version also surpasses the i7-13800H in terms of performance and has strong performance.

In the single-core test of Cinebench 2024, the Snapdragon X Elite’s results were ahead of the competition, and the 23W version was at the same level as the Apple M2.
In the multi-core test of Cinebench 2024, the Snapdragon X Elite outperformed competing products.
In terms of AI testing, Snapdragon X Elite can be said to be far ahead of competing products, achieving a 10-fold performance improvement.
In the GPU performance test, we can also see the performance advantages of Snapdragon X Elite.

Summary

Through this related test sharing of Snapdragon X Elite, we have seen the breakthrough performance brought by Snapdragon. Laptops can have longer battery life. In addition, it relies on Qualcomm’s leading experience on mobile platforms, Snapdragon experience. This will greatly change the current use of laptops and provide further convenience for mobile office work. Thanks to the powerful AI performance of Snapdragon AI functions for schedule planning and content generation. It is worth mentioning that these AI functions are all completed locally and rely on end-side AI calculations, so they have more advantages in security. AI will bring a new experience to the PC with Snapdragon X Elite.