Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon X chip in Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025. The new chip is the fourth addition to Snapdragon X series from Windows on hand PC chips. The processor is aimed at “students, freelance workers and consumers on a budget,” and laptops start at $600.
The Snapdragon X chip (X1-26-100) is slightly toned down. Snapdragon X Plus design with the same number of 8 cores, but with a maximum frequency of 3.0 GHz (CPU) without boost and 1.7 teraflops (GPU). Meanwhile, the Snapdragon X Plus series has clock speeds ranging from 3.2 to 3.4 GHz, up to 4.0 GHz per SKU, and GPU performance ranging from 1.7 to 3.8 teraflops.
However, the new Snapdragon X chip boasts the same 45 TOPS neural processor (NPU), which makes it complete Co-pilot+ PC And I have a computer with access to advanced artificial intelligence features.
Since Qualcomm first announced its Snapdragon X Elite chipI noted that this platform is not a single processor, meaning the company can scale up or down based on the number of cores and clock speeds. Qualcomm will be focusing on the latter at CES 2025, and it’s a great move. Windows laptops under $800 typically suffer from terrible performance due to the poor performance of Intel and AMD in this range.
Apart from the 3.0GHz octa-core processor, the Snapdragon X also comes with additional features. 5G support, WiFi 7fast 8448 MT/s LPDDR5x RAM, a “touch hub” that offers human presence detection, USB4 (40Gbps) and Bluetooth 5.4 are advanced features typically found in more expensive Windows laptops.
How is Snapdragon X different from other Snapdragon X chips?
The Snapdragon X Plus comes in four versions ranging from 8 to 10 cores and varies in speed with a short boost. The new Snapdragon X chip has 8 cores, a slightly lower clock speed and no burst load. Its GPU matches the lower end of the Snapdragon X Plus (XIP-42-100).
In my limited hands-on time with the Snapdragon X, Windows 11 felt very responsive and was certainly a big step up from some of Intel’s older budget chips.
| Platform | Part number | Cores | Shared cache | Max. multi-core | Dual-core acceleration | teraflops | NPU TOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapdragon X Elite | X1E-84-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 4.6 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Elite | Х1Э-80-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Elite | X1E-78-100 | 12 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | Nobody | 3.8 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Plus | Х1П-66-100 | 10 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Plus | Х1П-64-100 | 10 | 42 MB | 3.4 GHz | Nobody | 3.8 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Plus | Х1П-46-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz (single core) | 2.1 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X Plus | Х1П-42-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 3.02 GHz | 3.4 GHz (single core) | 1.7 | 45 |
| Snapdragon X (NEW) | X1-26-100 | 8 | 30 MB | 3.0 GHz | Nobody | 1.7 | 45 |
In the table above you can see all eight chips of the Snapdragon X computer platform and how they compare with each other (the new Snapdragon X (X1-26-100) is below.
How is Snapdragon X different from Intel?
While I need to do my own tests, Qualcomm compared its Snapdragon X chip (X1-26-100) with an early 2024 Intel Core 5 120U processor (10 cores, up to 5 GHz).
Qualcomm used a reference design laptop for its chips and Intel’s Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (7440), which costs $750 and has 8GB of RAM.
In short, Snapdragon X looks 2x faster. more better performance than Intel Core 5 processor of the same class when using 2x less power.
Qualcomm claims its chip is 163% faster (at iso power) in the Geekbench 6.2 single-core test and 157% faster (at iso power) in multi-core mode. Moreover, Qualcomm notes that the Intel Core chip requires 168% (single-core) and 240% (multi-core) more power for iso performance compared to the new Snapdragon X.
Likewise, the Qualcomm GPU is claimed to be 319% faster at iso-power than the Intel GPU, which also requires 258% more power (at iso-performance) compared to the Snapdragon X.
Qualcomm also notes that the budget Intel Core 5 120U and AMD Ryzen 5 7540U processors have zero NPU support, while the Snapdragon X 45 TOPS processor makes it a true AI PC.
The company also shared some other tests, noting that in Google Chrome the Snapdragon X chip gets 2.2x performance per watt compared to Core 5 and 2.8x higher performance per watt in Microsoft Office.
Why is Snapdragon X so important?
While many Windows 11 laptops cost between $600 and $700, their performance has always been poor due to Intel’s non-aggressive strategy in this market segment. Battery life has also never been a strong point.
Moreover, despite the tech media’s focus on laptops priced at $1,000 and up (oh, the bling!), the vast majority of laptops sold annually are consistently in the $600 to $800 range. Indeed, according to Grand View Research“The $501 to $1,000 segment held a market share of 35.8% in 2022 and is expected to dominate the market by 2030.“
Cause? A group of “consumers looking for laptops suitable for personal and professional use.” Windows 10 support has endedAnd, as you might have guessed, processors in this range are getting better, allowing people to do more without spending more.
Moreover, the fact that Co-pilot+ PC will not only be for “premium” users, it will help greatly expand the capabilities of artificial intelligence in PC software for ordinary users. The AI revolution will be for everyone; forget trickle down.
When choosing an Arm-based laptop running Snapdragon X, consumers should get satisfactory performance, especially when compared to Intel and AMD options.
Likewise, battery life should be noticeably better with little or no fan noise.
In short, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X will at least cause some disruption in the budget PC market, which could lead to more competition from Intel or AMD. This is always good for consumers.
Which PC makers are switching to Snapdragon X?
Still, Acer, Asus, Dell Technologies, HPAnd Lenovo Everyone is releasing Snapdragon X series laptops (including Plus and Elite), but we’ll have to wait until the end of this week to see which companies are announcing new Snapdragon X laptops on CES 2025.
(Spoiler: Possibly “Windows Central’s Best Windows Laptop at CES 2025” also features Snapdragon X.)
Overall, Qualcomm notes that “the Snapdragon X series continues to gain momentum, with more than 60 projects currently in production or development, with more than 100 coming from leading OEMs by 2026…”
Who is Snapdragon X for?
Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X is ideal for “students, freelancers and budget-conscious consumers.”
When will Snapdragon X Windows laptops be available?
You won’t have to wait long as some Snapdragon X laptops will start going on sale. January 2025.
How many external displays does Snapdragon X support?
Adreno Snapdragon X GPU supports up to 3 external UHD displays (3840 x 2160)simultaneously with a refresh rate of 60 Hz.
Could Microsoft use Snapdragon X in its Surface Go line?
While we can’t confirm or deny whether this is happening, Microsoft could definitely use Snapdragon X in its more affordable Surface Go 4 and Surface Laptop Go 4 in 2025, assuming Microsoft intends to produce these PCs.
The performance jump between previous models and the Snapdragon X will be huge.
Surface Go 3 the Intel Core i3-10100Y was used (from 2021), and the Surface Laptop Go 3 was based on an Intel Core i5-1235U (from 2022). None of them had great performance (though the Surface Laptop Go 3 started to approach normal performance).
Personally, I’d love to see this Qualcomm chip in the Surface Go series. This will be a game changer for these outstanding computers.
Will Snapdragon X laptops have a fan?
As always, OEMs have full control over the Snapdragon X’s power profile and can design systems that require a fan to cool, a fanless system (but with ventilation, i.e. passive cooling), or a sealed system without a fan. Such decisions depend on how aggressively the OEM wants to improve the performance of its laptop.
What’s next?
Expect to hear more about Snapdragon X this week on CES 2025 as we take a deep dive into Qualcomm and get hands-on experience with the new laptops powered by the silicon.