Why is Qualcomm's top-tier Snapdragon X Elite processor so hard to find?
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When asked why the top-tier chip in the new Snapdragon X Elite series isn't in more laptops yet, Qualcomm's Sascha Segan offers an answer that might feel counterintuitive coming from a processor manufacturer: It's not all about the processor.
"[Laptop manufacturers] can create a bunch of very different laptops with the same processor. So, you need to look at more than the processor," Segan tells Laptop Mag.
Segan, a public relations manager for the San Diego-based chipmaker, points out that Qualcomm makes the chips, but design choices fall on device manufacturers. Laptop brands, like Lenovo or HP, decide how they want to integrate a chipmaker's processors into their laptops.
Amid dozens of exciting product announcements, the top-tier Snapdragon X Elite chip remains challenging to find in any laptop on the market. So where is it?
Qualcomm's latest laptop chips, the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chipsets, are at the core of the first wave of Copilot+ PCs, a new series of laptops featuring on-device AI that debuted in June.
These Snapdragon-powered laptops have been among 2024's biggest tech stories, but one SKU — the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100, the most powerful version of the Snapdragon X Elite — is still elusive.
Laptop Mag has already reviewed several new laptops with Snapdragon chipsets, with some emerging as shining stars while others don't quite live up to the hype.
So far, there are three confirmed versions of the Snapdragon X Elite processor:
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100
The first two versions, the X1E-78-100 and X1E-80-100, have already appeared in numerous Copilot+ PCs. However, the X1E-84-100, the most powerful version, is only in one laptop so far, Samsung's Galaxy Book4 Edge.
If you're not interested in a Samsung laptop or simply want different features or a different design, you may have a long wait.
So, if you're not interested in a Samsung laptop or simply want different features or a different design, you may have a long wait ahead of you before more laptops with the X1E-84-100 hit the market.
Is the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 worth waiting for? Does sheer CPU power make one laptop better than another? Conventional wisdom suggests yes, but Snapdragon-powered laptops might not be that simple. Here's why.
Where's the most powerful version of the Snapdragon X Elite chip?
The first round of Copilot+ PCs that launched earlier this year were mainly powered by the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 and X1E-78-100, the two mid-range offerings of the four Qualcomm chips in the line-up (including the Snapdragon X Plus).
One might expect Qualcomm to come out swinging by putting its most high-performance chip front and center, but the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 is only available in one laptop so far, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge.
Information about when more laptops with the chip could arrive has been scarce.
We know more Copilot+ PCs are launching later this year, but all those announced so far include the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 or X1E-80-100 (or don't have confirmed specs yet).
So, if you're considering buying a Snapdragon-powered laptop, you may wonder if more laptops with the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 are worth waiting for. However, more sheer processing power might not be a deal-breaker with Snapdragon-powered laptops.
Any laptop is quite literally the sum of its parts, so it's possible for a chip that's less powerful on paper to deliver stronger real-world performance in some areas than a more powerful chip, depending on the other components in the laptop.
You need to look at more than the processor.
Laptop Mag has benchmark results for several Snapdragon-powered laptops, so one can examine how different builds perform with different versions of the Snapdragon X Elite.
Those testing results offer some clues about the most powerful Snapdragon X Elite.
Is the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 worth waiting for?
The only laptop announced so far with the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 is the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge. So, unfortunately, we only have one laptop's benchmarks to compare the X1E-84-100 to the other versions of the Snapdragon X Elite.
However, even this limited sample size offers hints about whether the X1E-84-100 is significantly better than the other Snapdragon X Elite chips.
Laptop's benchmark results for a handful of the first Copilot+ PCs paint an intriguing picture of how the Snapdragon X Elite chips compare.
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge with the X1E-84-100 is the clear frontrunner across the board. It has the best scores in three main benchmark tests, but things get interesting when we compare those scores to the benchmark results for the lower-power versions of the Snapdragon X Elite.
For example, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 trailed the Galaxy Book4 Edge by just 122 points in the Geekbench 6 single-core test but lagged by 1,386 points in the multi-core test. That means the Galaxy Book4 Edge is about 4.3% faster in single-core performance and about 9.6% faster in multi-core performance.
Does the same gap between the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 and the X1E-78-100 show up? Not exactly.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x with a 78-100 chip scored 361 points lower than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 with an 80-100 chip in the Geekbench 6 single-core test, and 676 points lower in the multi-core test.
That means the Surface Laptop 7 is about 14.7% faster in single-core performance and about 4.9% faster in multi-core performance.
There's a much sharper single-core performance falloff between the X1E-80-100 and X1E-78-100
That difference is crucial since it's effectively the opposite of the performance gap between the X1E-80-100 and X1E-84-100.
Based on these results, there's a much sharper single-core performance falloff between the X1E-80-100 and X1E-78-100, although multi-core performance between configurations with both chips is fairly similar.
When we factor in the 3DMark Fire Strike graphics test scores for all five laptops, the Galaxy Book4 Edge unsurprisingly scored the highest, but the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x with the X1E-78-100 scored higher than both of the laptops with the X1E-80-100.
In fact, Laptop reviewers noticed this performance difference in hands-on reviews. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x offers a better gaming experience than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.
What's even more baffling is the chasm between the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x's scores and those of the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q. Both laptops have the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100, but the Yoga Slim 7x scored 3.2% higher on the Geekbench 6 single-core test and 8.1% higher on the multi-core test. The Yoga Slim 7x also scored 466 points higher on the 3DMark Fire Strike test.
That's a far bigger performance gap than the difference between the scores of the two laptops with the X1E-80-100, which were within 50 points of each other across the board.
Now the question is, based on these results, which Snapdragon-powered laptop should you buy?
Which Snapdragon-powered laptop should you buy?
The results that show a lower-tier chip perform better than its higher-specced sibling go back to Segan's comments about looking beyond the processor. They also highlight why the X1E-84-100 might not be sorely missed after all.
For instance, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x with a 78-100 chip delivers excellent performance and even outscores some more powerful competitors — despite having the lowest-power version of the Snapdragon X Elite.
If there's one thing to take away from these benchmark results, it's that Snapdragon-powered laptops are the sum of their parts. So, choosing the right one requires zooming out and looking at any laptop's trade-offs.
For example, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge might have the most potent Snapdragon chip in the first wave of Copilot+ PCs, but it also has the worst battery life test result. Equally ironic, the laptop with the best battery life in this group, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q, has some of the worst performance benchmark results.
If there's one thing to take away from these benchmark results, it's that Snapdragon-powered laptops are indeed the sum of their parts.
So, the Snapdragon-powered laptop that's the best deal is one in the "Goldilocks zone," where performance and battery life are all relatively strong.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is arguably the top candidate for that Goldilocks zone. It comes at a reasonable mid-range price, making it the best Snapdragon-powered laptop for most people — at least right now.
The Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 can undoubtedly outperform the other Snapdragon X Elite chips. We would love to see more laptops with this chip unveiled over the next year or so, which could give us a clearer picture of the chip's performance.
Why we don't know about more 84-100-powered laptops
Unfortunately, none of the major laptop brands have announced upcoming laptops with the X1E-84-100 as of mid-2024. Segan also noted that that decision is up to laptop manufacturers, so Qualcomm isn't at liberty to reveal specs for products before they're publicly announced.
So, if you're thinking about buying a Snapdragon-powered laptop, the long wait for more options with the X1E-84-100 might not be worthwhile. The benchmark results we have so far don't show a significant enough performance gap to warrant waiting, at least not for the average user.
If you're considering buying a laptop from the first round of Copilot+ PCs, your best bet may lie in the most well-rounded laptop, not necessarily the one with the most powerful processor.
