Back in October 2023, Qualcomm introduced the highly anticipated Snapdragon X Elite, positioning it as a faster alternative to the Apple M2 Max chipset. Recently, the gaming capabilities of this chipset were showcased as it successfully ran Baldur’s Gate 3.
Snapdragon X Elite’s Gaming Performance
Qualcomm assured users that the Snapdragon X Elite would not necessitate the porting of x86-based games, as they would seamlessly operate on the ARM chipset. This new processor is set to feature in the upcoming generation of laptops, with an official announcement confirming its compatibility with most games found on Windows PCs. Developers looking to run their games on the ARM processor can choose to run natively on ARM64, run hybrid on ARM64EC, or opt for x64 based emulation.
GPU Capabilities and Performance
The Adreno GPU within the Snapdragon X Elite boasts a capacity to deliver 4.6TFLOPs and supports DX12, DX11, Vulkan, OpenGL, as well as offering legacy support for DX9 and OpenGL 4.6. Early tests have shown an impressive 80 percent performance boost compared to the AMD Radeon 780M iGPU.
In a demonstration shared by Devin Arthur, the Snapdragon X Elite was exhibited running Baldur’s Gate 3 smoothly at 1080p resolution, maintaining a framerate of approximately 30 frames per second. While details on specific graphics settings remain undisclosed, this demonstration hints at promising gaming experiences on laptops powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip. While Qualcomm isn't branding this chip as a gaming powerhouse, ongoing optimizations and driver updates are likely to enhance its gaming performance gradually.
Here's a demo of Baulders Gate 3 running at 1080p hovering around 30FPS, which is perfectly playable!
