Title: Unveiling the New Snapdragon X: Qualcomm's Ultralight ARM Processor for Desktops
Get ready to dive into the world of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips, set to make a splash in 2025. Known for revolutionizing the PC world with ARM architecture, Qualcomm is now eyeing the budget laptop or mini-PC market. The Snapdragon X doesn't aim for the high-end elite category but rather focuses on providing an ARM-based option for basic tasks like browsing and streaming.
The Snapdragon X, like its predecessors, packs an 8-core variant. However, it tones down the clock speed to 3 GHz, operating on the same 4nm processor node. It boasts a 135 MB cache and a memory bandwidth of 135 mb/s. It retains the 45 TOPS neural processor found in other Snapdragon PC CPUs.
The importance of the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) in the context of a limited onboard RAM device is debatable. However, the Snapdragon X is primarily geared to compete with others in the low-end CPU market, such as Intel's Core Ultra 5 120U. Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon X outperforms the 120U by almost 60% in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024, despite its focus on power efficiency for low-end PCs.
Claiming better power efficiency, Qualcomm asserts that Snapdragon X devices could deliver 157% more power efficiency at ISO power than the previous-gen Intel chip.
Recently, Intel has introduced new CPUs for its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake lineups, including a new U-series chip. However, direct benchmark comparisons are yet to be made. The Snapdragon X does offer some advantages, such as support for Bluetooth 5.4 and WiFi 7, enabling devices to capture 4K HDR video and deliver HiFi audio.
Enrichment Insights:
- In benchmark tests, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X outperforms Intel's Core 5 120U by a significant margin, up to 319% in GPU performance at the same power level, and offers 2.2X to 2.8X better performance per watt in various tasks.
- Qualcomm's Snapdragon X delivers 35-106% more battery life in various benchmarks compared to a Core 5 120U-equipped laptop.
- In AI tasks, the Snapdragon X leverages its power-efficient NPU for AI tasks, offering a 5.6X advantage in the Procyon AI Score compared to Intel's Core 5 120U.
- Qualcomm's chip exhibits superior power efficiency, requiring 240% less power to achieve the same level of performance as Intel's Core 5 120U, while maintaining performance at a lower power level.
The Snapdragon X, with its advanced technology, is poised to shape the future of budget laptops and mini-PCs, potentially surpassing Intel's Core Ultra 5 120U in performance while offering improved power efficiency. The use of Qualcomm's tech in these devices could pave the way for more energy-efficient devices in the tech industry's future.
