Explanation of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus laptop chipsets
By Mark Knapp | Published: 2025-11-02 11:00:00 | Source: CNET
Qualcomm is one of the biggest names in mobile devices, producing the popular Snapdragon chipset that powers many of the best Android phones. Early attempts to bring Snapdragon chipsets to laptops Performance and compatibility issues are hampered. However, its renewed attempt to break into the PC market with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite chips has proven to be more successful.
Although they’re not completely without compatibility issues, these chips offer remarkable performance, efficiency, and AI-powered acceleration, along with great battery life. with The recent announcement of a new generation of Snapdragon X2 chipsetsIt’s a good time to review what the initial run of chips promised, how they were delivered to the computers that contained them, and what the next generation will offer.
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What are the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chipsets?
Snapdragon This is the common approach. Many Intel, AMD, and Apple chipsets also feature graphics processors, memory controllers, and more, all integrated on the same chip as the CPU. Recently, they also integrated Neural Processing Units (NPUs) into the chip.
What makes Snapdragon chips different is ARM-based architecturein contrast to almost universal x86 architecture Which have been used in computers for decades. That is until Apple introduced its own M-series chips built on Arm. One problem with previous Arm-based laptops is that many popular programs were not designed for Arm, but instead were coded for x86. This requires either a different low-level code or translation layer, such as Apple’s Rosetta, to run on Arm.
This has caused issues in previous Qualcomm-powered systems, like the Microsoft Surface Pro This time, Microsoft has put some effort into ensuring better compatibility and faster performance of hundreds of popular apps with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon They also use special An emulator called Prism To run non-native applications.
Here the current collapses Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus versions:
Snapdragon X specifications
| Orion CPU cores | Total CPU cache | Maximum multi-threaded CPU frequency | Dual-core CPU boost frequency | Adrenal GPU (TFLOPS) | Hexagonal NPU (TOPS) | Memory type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapdragon X Elite X1E-00-1DE | 12 | 42 MB | 3.8 GHz | 4.3GHz | 4.6 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.8 GHz | 4.2GHz | 4.6 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | no one | 3.8 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon XPlus X1P-66-100 | 10 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz (single core) | 3.8 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon XPlus X1P-64-100 | 10 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | no one | 3.8 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon XPlus X1P-46-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz (single core) | 2.1 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon XPlus X1P-42-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 3.2 GHz | 3.4 GHz (single core) | 1.7 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
| Snapdragon X1-26-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 2.956 GHz | 2.976 GHz (single core) | 1.7 | 45 | LPDDR5x-8448 |
Aside from the arm difference, the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chips have a lot in common with other modern laptop chips. It contains between 8 and 12 high-performance CPU cores (the current generation is Oryon). It supports fast, low-power LPDDR5x memory and includes an integrated GPU – currently Adreno. The aforementioned NPU, a feature of the latest chips from competitors as well, handles basic AI-driven tasks using less power than a CPU and GPU would use to run the same tasks.
Qualcomm has made a lot of hype about the performance of its components. She says The Hexagon NPU is “the world’s fastest NPU for mobile PCs” at 45 T/s, or Tops. It should be noted that discrete graphics processors available in laptops can provide higher TOPS, but with much higher power consumption. Using a low-power NPU for AI tasks improves battery life and overall performance. In the laptops we tested running on Qualcomm chips, like the Acer Swift 14 AI (SF14-11T-X3RZ) and Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441, the Hexagon NPU delivers extremely powerful performance that can outperform Intel Arc integrated GPUs and even the discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 mobile GPU.
The company also touted the performance of its Oryon CPU, which it said could outperform Apple’s M3 chip in the MacBook Pro in multi-threaded CPU performance by 28%. Our testing didn’t support this competition, but Qualcomm came out ahead in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench R24 multi-threaded performance.
Is it better than Intel and AMD?
At launch, Qualcomm also said its chips would be faster in single-threaded and multi-threaded performance than AMD’s Ryzen 9 7940HS and Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H when running at the same wattage; Our testing has seen some wins for Qualcomm’s silicon once again here. Since then, Apple, Intel, and AMD have moved to more powerful chips.
Perhaps the most important thing that the Snapdragon X chipset offers is efficiency. When the chips arrived in new laptops like the aforementioned models from Dell and Acer, they quickly became some of the longest-lasting laptops we’ve tested, even topping Apple’s MacBooks. A battery life that can stretch beyond 20 hours is a major achievement for Windows laptops, and the fact that you can get this without making major sacrifices to performance and decent software compatibility is a notable win for Qualcomm’s hardware.
What else comes with the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chipsets?
In addition to high-quality performance, this chipset also provides other technologies to enhance your laptop experience. the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus Provide support faster UFS 4.0 And PCIe 4.0 storage too SD 3.0 Media. It supports multi-monitor setups at up to 4K at 60Hz for up to three displays simultaneously. It also supports 4K HDR encoding and decoding and includes an image signal processor to support video recording at up to 4K resolution, in addition to dual 36-megapixel sensors or a single 64-megapixel sensor.
It also includes hardware for high-speed connectivity: up to three USB4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and 10Gbps cellular via the Snapdragon X65 modem. How many of these features your laptop will ultimately have depends on the hardware manufacturers and their hardware choices, which brings us to the next big question.
What kind of PCs have Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite chipsets?
Targeting high performance at low wattage, Qualcomm chipsets are designed for mobile productivity devices. We’ve largely seen it in laptops to handle modestly heavy workloads while still escaping a power outlet throughout an entire workday. Generally, these devices were thin and light laptops and 2-in-1 devices. The AI capabilities of these chips are also a key part of Microsoft’s Copilot Plus program.
Laptop manufacturers have integrated these chips into their various mid-range and premium models: Microsoft Surface Pro Eleventh Edition, Lenovo ThinkPad T14s 6th generation, Dell XPS 13 (9345), Asus VivoBook S15 (S5507), Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge, HP OmniBook and HP EliteBook Ultra G1q They all feature Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or X Plus chipsets. All of these laptops are designed for mobility (no bulky 17-inch machines here) and feature more premium designs and features. While some affordable laptops with Snapdragon chips have emerged, like the HP OmniBook 5, most cost upwards of $1,000.
What’s next?
Qualcomm has already revealed some details about what’s coming next. At Snapdragon Summit 2025, it announced several new Snapdragon X2 Elite chipsets that promise higher-performance CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs while offering lower power draw. This will likely be aided by the shift to a 3nm process node (marketing mainly talks about smaller, faster, more power-efficient chips across generations) and the introduction of a hybrid CPU architecture that combines different Oryon Prime and Performance cores. This should make for An interesting rivalry between the Snapdragon X and X2 chipsets.
This new generation of Snapdragon The same is true for Apple, which recently released MacBook Pro 14 inch and iPad Pro with its M5 silicon.
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