Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme sets a new performance bar for Windows PCs
www.windowscentral.com
From single-core speed to AI acceleration, Qualcomm’s new flagship outpaces Apple, Intel, and AMD — without sacrificing all-day battery life.

…In Geekbench 6.5 single-core, the X2 Elite Extreme posts a score of 4,080, edging out Apple’s M4 (3,872) and leaving AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (2,881) and Intel’s Core Ultra 9 288V (2,919) far behind…

…The multi-core story is even more dramatic. With a Geekbench 6.5 multi-core score of 23,491, the X2 Elite Extreme nearly doubles the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (11,386) and comfortably outpaces Apple’s M4 (15,146) and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 370 (15,443)…

…This isn’t just a speed play — Qualcomm is betting that its ARM-based design can deliver desktop-class performance at mobile-class power draw, enabling thin, fanless designs or ultra-light laptops with battery life measured in days, not hours.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is its memory‑in‑package design, a departure from the off‑package RAM used in other X2 Elite variants. Qualcomm is using a System‑in‑Package (SiP) approach here, integrating the RAM directly alongside the CPU, GPU, and NPU on the same substrate.

This proximity slashes latency and boosts bandwidth — up to 228 GB/s compared to 152 GB/s on the off‑package models — while also enabling a unified memory architecture similar in concept to Apple’s M‑series chips, where CPU and GPU share the same pool for faster, more efficient data access…

… the company notes the “first half” of 2026 for the new Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme…

  • Alphane Moon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    791·
    17 days ago

    Keep in mind the original X Elite benchmarks were never replicated in real world devices (not even close).

    They used a desktop style device (with intense cooling that is not possible with laptops) and “developed solely for benchmarking” version of Linux (to this day X Elite runs like shit in Linux).

    This is almost certainly a premeditated attempt at “legal false advertising”.

    Mark my words, you’ll never see 4,000 points in GB6 ST on any real products.

    • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      17 days ago

      I imagine things would be much closer if they put a giant heatsink that Ryzen 370 they’re comparing and ran it at its 54W configurable TDP instead of the default 28W.

    • tal@olio.cafeEnglish
      1·
      17 days ago

      Ah. Thanks for the context.

      Well, after they have product out, third parties will benchmark them, and we’ll see how they actually stack up.

    • SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org
      1·
      17 days ago

      I saw someone liquid cool an Arduino to push it to the max, but you couldn’t declare it to be a regular benchmark…

  • a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    37·
    17 days ago

    Let me know when these X elite chips have full Linux compatibility and then I’ll be interested. Until then, I’ll stick with Mac, it has the better hardware.

      • a_fancy_kiwi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        17 days ago

        I think I see what you’re saying. My gripe is that if I want a laptop/tablet with a great ARM chip, with long battery life, my options all force me to use one of two operating systems that I’d prefer not to use for ideological reasons. If I’m forced to use one, because I want an ARM device, I might as well use the one that has the best hardware. M5s are right around the corner and the MacBook Airs are really competitive.

        If I misinterpreted your question, then no, as far as I’m aware, none of the M series has FULL support. The M1s and M2s are pretty close though.

          • Siru@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
            3·
            17 days ago

            Absolutely ture, your comment being? I think they were simply referencing the fact that there is a lot more software out there that can be made to semi easily run on linux/unix based systems.

            • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
              4·
              17 days ago

              Also while Linux is not the same as UNIX, interacting with them is much more similar than, say, interacting with Windows. They use a lot of the same conventions and managing macOS can be a lot like managing Linux if you want it to be.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    17 days ago

    I’m going to call semi-bullshit here, or there is a major revisionist version or catch. If this were true, they’d be STUPID to not be working fast as hell to get full, unlocked Linux support upstreamed and start selling this as a datacenter competitor to what Amazon, Microsoft, and Amazon are offering, because it would be an entirely new class of performance. It could also dig into Nvidia and AMDs datacenter sales at scale if this efficient.

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      12·
      17 days ago

      They put desktop cooling on the testbench apparently.

      They’re also comparing to only the base M4 chip, not the Pro.

      Also the M5 could still come out this year. But it also might not so it’s still a fair comparison till then.

      Anyway if you’re looking for a Windows laptop specifically and don’t need anything that doesn’t run on ARM, it might be pretty damn good. I’d still wait for independent benchmarks.

    • jollyrogue@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      17 days ago

      Qualcomm is pretty dumb. Even if this were true, they’d still be leaving Linux support to the community.

  • commander@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    17 days ago

    How’s the GPU drivers though? Especially to me for Linux. These should be used in PC gaming handhelds but Qualcomm support is mediocre

    • fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      17 days ago

      If it’s anything like their windows driver support then also awful. Maybe things have improved in the last year or so, but has Qualcomm ever put real effort into making ARM Windows laptops good?