The race for laptop supremacy is heating up, and Qualcomm has just thrown a serious punch. The long-rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme system-on-a-chip (SoC) for Windows laptops is now official, and if early independent benchmarks are to be believed, it’s a force to be reckoned with. Boasting an 18-core CPU and a next-generation GPU, Qualcomm isn't just aiming to beat its previous generation; it's setting its sights on the very best from Apple and Intel.
But as with any launch, the question remains: do the real-world performance numbers live up to the hype? Newly released third-party testing provides our clearest answer yet.
The Specs: A Powerhouse on Paper
First, let's break down what makes the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme so formidable on paper:
- CPU: 18x 3rd-gen Oryon CPU cores with boost clocks up to 5.0 GHz.
- GPU: A new Adreno X2-90 integrated GPU with a boost clock of 1.8 GHz.
This spec sheet positions the X2 Elite Extreme as a direct competitor to top-tier x86 processors from Intel and AMD, as well as Apple’s acclaimed M4 series. Qualcomm's own benchmarks, which we covered previously, painted a picture of staggering performance. However, first-party benchmarks are often optimized to show a product in its best light.
Thankfully, we now have a more independent perspective.
Independent Testing Reveals a New Single-Core King
Ryan Shrout of Signal65 managed to get hands-on time with a reference laptop powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. He ran a suite of industry-standard benchmarks, including Geekbench 6.5 and Cinebench 2024, and shared the results publicly.
The findings are eye-opening. According to Shrout, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme currently contains "the fastest laptop CPU core" that Signal65 has ever tested. The 3rd-gen Oryon core demonstrates a massive generational leap, being around 40% faster than the first-gen Oryon cores in the Snapdragon X Elite in Geekbench 6.5.
When pitted against the competition, the story gets even more interesting. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme reportedly dominates Intel's latest Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs in single-core performance, with leads of up to 40%.
But what about Apple? The battle is incredibly tight. The Snapdragon chip holds a slim ~4% lead over the Apple M4 Pro in Geekbench 6.5 single-core. However, the M4 Pro fights back, reclaiming a 9% lead in the Cinebench 2024 single-core test. This indicates a fiercely competitive landscape at the very top.
Multi-Core Performance: A 50%+ Uplift and Beyond
Where the 18-core design of the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme truly flexes its muscles is in multi-core workloads. The generational improvement is nothing short of monumental.
Signal65's testing shows the new chip is twice as fast (100% faster) as the Snapdragon X Elite in Cinebench 2024 multi-core. In Geekbench 6.5, the multi-core uplift is still a very impressive 52%.
Against the Apple M4 Pro, the Snapdragon holds its own. It performs on par in Geekbench multi-core and appears to secure a 13% advantage in Cinebench 2024. Intel's top-tier Arrow Lake chip shows a performance delta similar to the old Snapdragon X Elite, while the Lunar Lake part falls significantly behind.
GPU: A Solid Step Forward, But Apple Still Leads
While the CPU performance is headline-grabbing, the story for the integrated Adreno X2-90 GPU is more nuanced. As we noted in our initial coverage, the GPU, while much faster than the previous generation, doesn't quite match the sheer dominance of the CPU.
Signal65's data confirms this. The Apple M4 Pro's GPU outperforms the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme by a significant margin—31% in 3DMark Solar Bay and 39% in 3DMark Steel Nomad.
However, context is key. For Windows users, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is a game-changer. It is reportedly 2.4x faster than the Snapdragon X Elite and a staggering 85% faster than the Intel Arc iGPU found in Lunar Lake processors. This establishes Qualcomm as the clear integrated graphics leader within the Windows on Arm ecosystem.
The Bottom Line: A Paper Tiger or a Real-World Game-Changer?
On paper, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is shaping up to be a genuine powerhouse, representing a giant leap over its predecessor in both CPU and GPU performance. Its single-core prowess is arguably best-in-class, and its multi-core capabilities are transformative for the platform.
However, the ultimate test lies beyond synthetic benchmarks. The initial reaction to the first Snapdragon X Elite was also positive, but the hype cooled when real-world laptops hit the market, facing challenges with app compatibility and sustained performance.
Therefore, for the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme to be a true success, the laptops housing it must be marked improvements in every way: from raw power and battery efficiency to seamless software emulation and broad native app support. If Qualcomm and its partners can deliver on that promise, the laptop landscape is about to get a lot more interesting.
Want to be one of the first to experience this new level of performance? The first laptops featuring Snapdragon X-series chips are already available.
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