We Got To See Snapdragon X2 Elite PCs In Action And They Look Impressive
by
Chris Harper
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Wednesday, September 24, 2025, 04:32 PM EDT
At Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit 2025, which is currently underway is Maui, we got to see the company's newest high-performance chip for PCs, the Snapdragon X2 Elite, running in a couple of different form factors right on the show floor. Like last year, Qualcomm is determined to show how much its custom Arm-based PC processor architecture has evolved with Windows 11, including its ability to tackle games and applications originally intended for x86 architecture systems. In some ways, it's similar to what Valve does with the Linux-based Steam Deck and the Proton compatibility layer, but it's arguably even more impressive, since the Steam Deck is still an x86 machine. For x86 software to run so well on Snapdragon, an entirely different type of emulation solution is required.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite With On-Package Memory
That said, there's more and more Arm native software available for Windows on Snapdragon everyday and the Snapdragon X2 Elite looks like it'll build on the momentum of its predecessor. Independent testing will have to wait until we have the hardware in our own hands, but the demos we were shown seemed quite promising.
The compact, mobile-friendly, fanless designs also struck us as impressive, especially considering the Snapdragon X2 Elite an 18-core chip, featuring a third-gen Qualcomm Oryon CPU complex running at up to 5 GHz, a first for ARM64 architectures. It's also outfitted with up to 48GB of RAM, spread across 3 compact 16GB modules (pictured above). Reportedly, the new Qualcomm Adreno iGPU will also offer "a 2.3X increase in performance per watt and power efficiency over the previous generation." Last year's Windows on Snapdragon PCs from Qualcomm were already quite power efficient, and the next-gen seems poised to continue the trend.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Prototype Laptop
Gaming and graphics seem to be a key focus this time around. Qualcomm showcased a demo with Fortnite running on a 3840×1080 external monitor, running at 60 FPS, albeit on Medium settings. Qualcomm claimed that there was still headroom to take these settings higher and it could go higher than 60 FPS on battery, but we'll wait run more exhaustive benchmarks to determine the Snapdragon X2 Elite's true gaming horsepower.
Qualcomm also states it has been more directly collaborating with anti-cheat providers to improve compatibility for multiplayer games, with Fortnite and its Easy Anti Cheat being the main demonstration.
Another major focus of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite was the chips' potent, power-efficient local AI capabilities. Thanks to the onboard 80 TOPS Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, the Snapdragon X2 Elite has almost double the previous generation's 45 TOPS of local AI performance. We were shown three AI-enhanced productivity demos on the show floor, running locally on of the integrated NPU and according to Qualcomm, without tapping on the CPU and GPU or connecting to the cloud. If Windows Copilot or other AI assist features are fundamental to your workflow, the new NPU does seem quite impressive.
Considering all of the CPU, CPU, and NPU enhancements coming with the Snapdragon X2 Elite, we are eager to see how well it handles Microsoft's Auto SR or Qualcomm's own "Game Super Resolution 2". In game performance data provided at Summit shows some massive GPU performance gains.
If Qualcomm's next-gen hardware lives up to its claims, future Snapdragon X2 Elite based machines will be thin and light and potentially offer multi-day battery life with no-compromise performance. We look forward to getting more hands-on with these devices next year.
