Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU is another stab in Intel burial

The Qualcomm batch emerging on computers now has a sequel chip that will put a tone for the expected machine -based machines to 2026. This year, Qualcomm only has the leading central treatment unit; She has two. I declared this Snapdragon summit In Hawaii (full disclosure: travel and housing was paid by Qualcomm, and Gizmodo did not guarantee any coverage as a condition for accepting the trip), Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon x2 Elite Extreme (name, if you say that, the radical guitar absorbent immediately) increases the performance that enhances its capabilities on graphics. Whether it will be good at graphics tasks, including games, it will depend on how Qualcomm can face the application of the application compatibility.

Qualcomm stands as a supplement for Snapdragon X processors last year. While you can find A lot of computers With Snapdragon x Elite, Snapdragon x plusAnd more modern Snapdragon xELite Elite and X2 ELITE EXTREME, “The Main Level”, even if Qualcomm is often focused on the performance of the most powerful processor and its most radical brands.

More energy for windows on the arm

X2 ELITE EXTREME 18 of the CPU ORYON in Qualcomm has a 3NM process with 53MB cache. Of the 18 cores, 12 “main cores” operating at 4.4 GHz or up to 5 GHz with a double -core batch. Six additional performance nuclei works at 3.6 GHz. Never tell the clock speeds the full story about the strength of the slide. It indicates that the processors will be very response, but for the processing of raw data, we need to know how to do it at work. Arm -based processors such as the processors made by Qualcomm are more efficient in energy than the structure of the other microscopic formula. New X2 Elite chips should provide 31 % better performance in the same power compared to X Elite.

The big surprise is the amount of work put in Qualcomm in the ADRNO graphics processing unit, or the graphics processing unit. The Chipmaker maker claims that the new GPU provides the best 2.3X performance per watt. Although the company implicitly we will get better frame rates, the new graphics processing unit must also support better beam tracking for the most realistic lighting effects in games. Of course, what matters most is if you can play all your favorite games in the first place.

Compatibility is still a mystery

The Snapdragon X series is the arm -based central processing units. This means that they use small architecture completely compared to the X86 used by Intel and AMD. This has led to compatibility problems with many applications. Certainly, Microsoft and Qualcomm tried to work with developers to enable applications on arm -based machines. Adobe’s Creative Suite works with ARM on Windows. In Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm said that Razer will improve its core clamp application at some point in the near future, while MAXON applications such as Zbrush will soon work with Snapdragon X laptops by early 2026. But some applications, such as the AutoCAD drafting tool, are still incompatible with ARM. The problem is that many applications cannot be transferred easily without much effort, especially games. Currently, Microsoft is trying to pay it Publishing emulator To allow some games on these systems. There are also rumors that Valve, which runs the game Marketplace Steam, is working on it Special arm compatibility layer.

At its conference, Qualcomm showed a list of games currently working on ARM or will be in the near future. This includes Fortnite Through Epic Online Services Anti-Cheat. The ongoing issue of the anti -fraud compatibility will still hinder other online addresses.

The Snapdragon X PC assortment was supposed to pushing the love from Microsoft to artificial intelligence. the First Copilot+ PCS The promised AI keys did not give us, as Microsoft suggested that it would do so, especially yet Snafu security with Automatic recovery feature. Qualcomm still pushes artificial intelligence with a more powerful NPU unit, or nerve treatment unit. It is a special part of the slide good enough to only deal with frequent or back artificial intelligence tasks. The new NPU presses Snapdragon X2 80 tops, or trillion operating per second, compared to 45 on the Snapdragon X collection. This may enable more AI on the device without increasing the download in the graphics processing unit, although someone will have to reach an advantage that makes a state of artificial intelligence models limited.

Qualcomm promises that we will get Snapdragon X2 ELITE devices with new extremist energy early in 2026. We expect CES 2026 to be filled with gills with arm light -based laptops. We can expect the offers to be the most installment, but with the tariffs that cause corruption on computer costs, it is difficult to predict what may be suitable for the X2 level.