Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon X2 Elite CPUs for next-gen Windows PCs
Snapdragon cranks its newest CPUs to 5GHz to deliver premium-tier Windows PC performance
Qualcomm has just unveiled a new generation of Snapdragon CPUs for premium PCs. With the Snapdragon X2 Elite series, Qualcomm has promised huge increases in CPU, GPU, and AI performance, all while delivering greater power efficiency than competing devices.
With these new processors, Qualcomm are promising users a “multi-day battery life” and “groundbreaking AI”. Qualcomm claims that these are the most powerful and efficient CPUs for Windows PCs.
Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU performance
CPU-wise, Qualcomm’s flagship X2 Elite Extreme CPU features 18 CPU cores with 12 “Prime” cores and 6 “Performance” cores. Dual-core boost clocks can reach 5 GHz. Overall, Qualcomm claims to have increased its single-threaded CPU performance by up to 39%. Multi-threaded CPU performance has been boosted by up to 50%.
Qualcomm claims that its new CPUs can deliver up to 44% more CPU performance at the same ISO power levels. This is compared with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285H CPU and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX370 CPUs. Qualcomm’s new CPU uses TSMC’s 3nm lithography node, placing it a generation ahead of current-generation AMD and Intel mobile CPUs.
GPU and NPU performance
GPU-wise, Qualcomm claims that its new “custom” graphics chip is 2.3X faster than its last-generation GPU. It is DirectX 12.2 Ultimate Compliant and features improved ray tracing performance and an “enhanced GMEM” (Graphics Memory). Gaming performance and compatibility were significant issues for older Qualcomm chips, so it will be interesting to see if Qualcomm has delivered improvements in this area.
Qualcomm has also promised 80 TOPS of AI performance with its new NPU, making it 78% faster than the company’s last-generation NPU. Qualcomm claims that this is the fastest NPU available for laptops. This makes this NPU ideal for Microsoft Copilot+ PCs. That said, NPUs remains largely useless for general PC users.
Overall, Qualcomm has promised significant improvements in CPU, GPU, and NPU performance with its latest Snapdragon chips. We expect to see laptops using these new CPUs in 2026. Since AMD and Intel have not unveiled their 2026 laptop lineups, it remains to be seen how these CPUs will compare with next-gen Intel and AMD offerings. Can Intel’s Panther Lake deliver large enough gains to undermine Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite series?
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