Key Takeaways
1. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 shows strong performance in benchmarks, narrowing the gap with Apple in mobile devices.
2. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 features an eighteen-core CPU and a single-core boost clock of 5.0 GHz, marking significant advancements over the previous generation.
3. In Geekbench tests, the Snapdragon chip outperforms Apple’s M4 Max and AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Strix Halo but faces tougher competition in Cinebench 2024.
4. The Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-96-100 demonstrates up to a 50% increase in multi-core performance compared to its predecessor, indicating strong potential.
5. The Adreno X2-90 GPU still trails behind Apple’s higher-end models, limiting Qualcomm’s competitiveness in gaming and graphics performance.
Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has made a strong entrance in both first-party and independent benchmark tests, effectively narrowing the gap between Apple and Android devices. This raises the question: does this advancement extend to laptops? Qualcomm’s own benchmarks for the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 present a mix of results, yet overall, it shows promise. With an eighteen-core CPU, Qualcomm holds an edge in raw power this time around. Furthermore, its single-core boost clock now hits 5.0 GHz, a significant leap from the previous generation, which peaked at 4.3 GHz.
Performance Insights
In Geekbench’s single and multi-core assessments, the Qualcomm chip surpasses Apple’s M4 Max, even taking a notable lead over AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Strix Halo chip. However, in Cinebench 2024, competition tightens, with Apple’s M4 Pro and M4 Max reclaiming their dominance in both single and multi-core performance.
Improvements Over Previous Models
When compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100, the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-96-100 boasts an impressive up to 50% boost in multi-core performance, attributable to the increased core count. Overall, it is positioning itself as a strong contender. Although these figures come from Qualcomm’s internal data, they are likely to reflect real-world performance closely.
GPU Performance Challenges
Regrettably, the Adreno X2-90 GPU integrated into the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-96-100 still lags behind Apple’s offerings. While it does surpass the standard Apple M4, the Apple M4 Pro and M4 Max maintain a substantial edge. Nevertheless, it does provide over a 100% performance increase compared to the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 in 3DMark Steel Nomad.
The GPU remains a weak point for Qualcomm’s laptop solutions. Although some of the underwhelming performance can be linked to immature drivers, the limited compute unit count makes it less competitive against dedicated GPUs, rendering it not the best choice for gaming.
