A few days ago, we told you about the new “processor” Qualcomm was planning to launch for notebook PCs in 2024. The ARM SoC manufacturer’s announcements made a few waves, but we have to admit that for the time being, it’s hard to get an idea of how this future chip, called X Elite, will actually behave. The reason is simple: we’re unlikely to see it in commercial use until mid-2024. However, a few elements posted online by Geekerwan enable us to refine our initial opinion of this Arm SoC. In “mobile” use, it does indeed seem to give the x86 chips of the moment a run for their money. The data presented here relates to content creation (Cinebench 2024) and gaming.
SnapDragon X Elite benchmarks
Cinebench is renowned for its intensive use of CPU capacity. So here we can get a particularly precise idea of how the Qualcomm SoC performs with single- and multithreaded benchmarks. Here, the Snapdragon Elite X outperforms the x86 competition. It significantly outperforms the Intel Core i7-13700H and AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS in both single- and multithreaded tests.
Under 3DMark Wildlife, we can see that the Elite X outperforms the graphics capabilities of the Ryzen 7 7840HS and Core i7-13700H. This is not the case with Apple’s M2 Max chip, found in high-end MacBook Pros and Mac Studio.
Under Control in 1080P, the SnapDgragon X Elite averages 53 FPS. It’s ahead of the Core i7-13700H but behind AMD’s Ryzen 7 7840HS. In 1440p, the Snapdragon Elite X averages 32 FPS, about the same as AMD’s 7840HS graphics unit.
SnapDragon X Elite: not bad, but too late?
These elements allow us to draw a few conclusions. Let’s start by stating the obvious: Intel Gen 13 graphics are just too late, but that’s no scoop. The SnapDragon X Elite easily manages to gain an advantage over the competition of the moment, without this being obvious for the AMD solution, whose graphics quality is well known. The fact remains that this advantage is there in the face of chips already on the market, while Qualcomm will not be present anywhere before the end of spring 2024. By then, Intel will have launched Meteor Lake, with graphics that are finally competitive, and will be ready to launch another version. AMD will also be moving forward. So it’s likely to come down to price for Qualcomm.
