Despite being announced in October 2023, the first “Qualcomm inside” notebooks using the new chips only started to reach store shelves in the middle of 2024. The initial Snapdragon X line-up consisted of four configurations (SKUs), split between the “Elite” and “Plus” branding, with a higher-end Elite model launching a few weeks later.
New model
The three new SKUs are part of the Plus range but feature a significantly different configuration compared to the original Plus model (retroactively suffixed “10-core”).
Snapdragon X family chips
| Family | Model | Oryon cores | Cache | Max dual-core boost | GPU TFLOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite | X1E-00-1DE | 12 @ 3.8 GHz | 42 MB | 4.3 GHz | 4.6 |
| X1E-84-100 | 12 @ 3.8 GHz | 42 MB | 4.2 GHz | 4.6 | |
| X1E-80-100 | 12 @ 3.4 GHz | 42 MB | 4.0 GHz | 3.8 | |
| X1E-78-100 | 12 @ 3.4 GHz | 42 MB | n/a | 3.8 | |
| Plus | X1P-66-100 (new) |
10 @ 3.4 GHz 4.0 GHz single-core boost |
42 MB | n/a | 3.8 |
| X1P-64-100 | 10 @ 3.4 GHz | 42 MB | n/a | 3.8 | |
| X1P-46-100 (new) |
8 @ 3.4GHz 4.0 GHz single-core boost |
30 MB | n/a | 2.1 | |
| X1P-42-100 (new) |
8 @ 3.2 GHz 3.4 GHz single-core boost |
30 MB | n/a | 1.7 |
While the original Snapdragon X Plus chip only had two Oryon CPU cores disabled compared to the base Elite chip (10 cores instead of 12), the new Snapdragon X Plus options feature both 10 and 8-core layouts at a multithread maximum frequency of either 3.4 or 3.2 GHz.
Other significant changes for the 8-core configuration are the reduction in total cache capacity: 30 MB instead of 42 MB, and an Adreno 741 GPU with less than half of the computing power, at 2.1 or 1.7 TFLOPS (versus 3.8 for the Plus 10-core SoC).
Other specifications were inherited from the more expensive chips, including the full 45 TOPS of AI processing required by Microsoft for its “Copilot+” branding, support for LPDDR5x-8448 RAM, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.
Different from what we originally expected, the new 8-core model is not a simple “die harvest” of partially functional 12-core chips that didn’t reach the original specifications. In a brief press demo, an Asus representative displayed both chips side by side, highlighting the smaller die on the new 8-core CPUs.
The radical GPU downgrade may initially seem like a significant sacrifice. However, given that gaming is already a major weakness of Windows on ARM laptops, we believe that the few games currently compatible with the Snapdragon X won’t suddenly become unplayable.
Different from the trickled release of the original chips, Qualcomm announced that laptops powered by the new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core chip should be launching globally today, from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. First in line is expected to be the Vivobook S 15 from Asus.
Have you tried the new Snapdragon laptops with Windows? What are your impressions so far? We expect to have some hands-on experience with a few models in the coming weeks, so sign up for our weekly newsletter and our browser notifications.
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