Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: A Revolutionary Chip for Laptops
Qualcomm's latest chip, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, is a game-changer for laptops. It's a powerful system-on-a-chip (SoC) that challenges high-end x86 silicon from Intel and AMD, as well as Apple's M-series. With 18 cores, an expanded cache, and an NPU that nearly doubles AI performance, it's a significant leap from Qualcomm's previous Snapdragon X1 chips.
The X2 Elite Extreme is a full reengineering, moving from a uniform core design to a high-performance hybrid model. This allows it to compete with high-wattage chips traditionally reserved for workstations. The chip is capable of boosting up to a 5GHz clock speed when necessary, making it a serious contender in the laptop market.
The Asus Zenbook A16, a 2.6-pound laptop built from magnesium-aluminum alloy, is a testament to the power of the X2 Elite Extreme. It features the top-tier X2E-96-100 chip with 48GB of LPDDR5X memory and a full array of ports. The Zenbook A16 offers solid performance in single-core Cinebench tests, surpassing its Intel and AMD competitors.
However, it's in the multi-core Cinebench results where the X2's 18 cores truly shine. The results outclass nearly everything on our comparison list, pulling well ahead of both MacBook Pros and beating Intel and AMD systems across the board. The only exception is the HP ZBook Ultra G1a 14, which uses a specialized AMD SoC that remains the 'heavy iron' of the group.
The X2 Elite Extreme also delivers impressive performance in graphics. Qualcomm re-architected the Adreno GPU, supporting DirectX 12.2 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. This new integrated graphics solution delivers a claimed 2.3x performance-per-watt improvement over the previous generation.
In early tests, the Zenbook A16 delivered strong performance in the 3DMark Wild Life test, securing the second-highest score in our comparison group. When we stepped up to Wild Life Extreme, the X2 Elite Extreme maintained its momentum. It remains one of the top performers in this category, outpaced only by the Apple MacBook Pro (M5) and the workstation-class HP ZBook Ultra G1a 14.
The X2 Elite Extreme has effectively erased the lead Intel and Apple once held in integrated graphics. It consistently outperformed nearly all its Intel and AMD rivals in the Steel Nomad and Steel Nomad Lite tests, suggesting a fundamental increase in shader throughput and memory bandwidth.
In the Solar Bay test, the Zenbook A16 actually edged ahead of the Apple M5 MacBook Pro. The only system to keep it at bay was, once again, the HP ZBook Ultra.
Overall, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme has successfully raised the ceiling for what we expect from a 2.6-pound laptop. It's a beast of a chip that challenges the industry's best, and Qualcomm has officially moved past the 'alternative' phase and into a 'serious challenger' position.
