1. The Snapdragon X2 Elite offers significant CPU performance improvements over previous chips, outperforming rival Intel and AMD offerings in benchmarks.
2. Graphics performance has notably improved, with the Snapdragon X2 Elite achieving near-identical scores to Intel’s latest chips, though still lacking compared to high-end dedicated GPUs.
3. Real-world gaming tests show the Snapdragon X2 Elite can deliver playable frame rates on demanding titles, with performance enhanced by features like Windows Auto SR and FSR 3.1.
Performance Improvements of the Snapdragon X2 Elite
Recently, a tech reviewer tested the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100, which is used in the latest Asus Zenbook A14, and predicted that this chip is a strong upgrade over the older versions. It performed notably better than its rivals like Intel’s Panther Lake and AMD’s Zen 5 chips, especially in CPU benchmarks where it showed its strength. The chip is quite promising for those looking for powerful mobile processor options.
Graphics Capabilities and Benchmarks
in the past, Snapdragon X Elite chips had a major downside, which was their weak Graphics performance. The older version scored just 5,560 points in the 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics test, but the new X2 Elite scored 9,974 points. For comparison, the current Snapdragon chip for Windows scored about 9,956 points, making the X2 Elite very close in graphics performance. These benchmarks are good, but they don’t always tell the full story about how games actually run on these processors.
Gaming Performance on the Snapdragon X2 Elite
Beyond numbers, the real test was how games performed on the Asus Zenbook A14 powered by Snapdragon X2 Elite, which the YouTuber ETA Prime demonstrated. They played heavy games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2, showing how well the chip can handle gaming. Cyberpunk 2077 at 1920 × 1200 resolution on High settings ran at around 52 FPS, but when using Windows’ auto scaling feature, the game was internally rendered at 1280 × 800 and then upscaled, resulting in a higher 72 FPS. Just shows how software tricks can improve gameplay.
Optimizing Game Performance
The laptop was in Performance Mode during testing, which used a constant 45W TDP to push the GPU. The YouTuber also mentioned that applying FSR 3.1 with a Balanced setting made the game run smoother than standard scaling. In Spider-Man 2 at 1200p with Medium settings, they saw the performance jump from 40-50 FPS to over 70-80 FPS when FSR Frame Generation was enabled. While some stuttering and ghosting issues were observed, overall, the game ran quite well.
Additional Gaming Outcomes and Future Potential
In the final part, the YouTuber tested Red Dead Redemption 2 at the same resolution and settings, and it managed a steady 66 FPS in various areas. These tests give a glimpse of the chips true potential, but it’s worth noting that the version tested was not the fastest available, which is the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100. ETA Prime also hinted that they plan to test even more powerful versions of the X2 Elite soon, so expect improvements in future tests.
