Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite vs. X Elite: How do the new ARM64 chips compare to the old?

I’m really excited about Qualcomm’s latest announcement from the Snapdragon Summit! They just unveiled their second-generation Snapdragon X2 Elite chips for laptops, and it’s fascinating to see how they’ve improved upon the original X Elite hardware. I’m eager to dive into the details and see what kind of performance gains we’re looking at.

For this comparison, I’ll be looking at the X2 Elite chips – specifically the X2E-88-100 and X2E-80-100 models – and the X Elite chips, which include the X1E-84-100, X1E-80-100, and X1E-78-100.

Qualcomm also revealed a more powerful X2 Elite Extreme version, but I need to see real performance data before I can compare it to the others. I’ve also left out the original X Elite chip (X1E-00-1DE) as it was only used for early developer versions.

To make it easier to compare the X2 Elite and X Elite, I’ve broken down the details into sections covering the processor, graphics card, AI processing unit, memory, storage, and other key features.

Qualcomm X2 Elite vs. X Elite: Oryon CPU

Qualcomm’s Systems-on-Chip, or SoCs, combine all the essential components of a computer onto a single, compact chip.

These chips combine a powerful Qualcomm Oryon processor, Qualcomm Adreno graphics, a Qualcomm Hexagon Neural Processing Unit for AI tasks, memory, and other essential components.

Let’s begin by comparing the Oryon CPU in the new Snapdragon X2 Elite to the one found in the original X Elite chips, and see how it’s improved.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processors, called Oryon CPUs, have 12 cores and 42MB of cache memory. They can reach speeds up to 3.8GHz, and the X1E-84-100 model can even boost up to 4.2GHz. These processors are built using a 4nm manufacturing process, which is very advanced.

Beyond the shift to a more efficient 3nm process – which improves performance and reduces power usage – the biggest upgrade in the X2 Elite is its new Oryon Prime cores.

They’re joined by Oryon Performance cores, which, despite the name, aren’t as powerful.

As a fan, what Qualcomm’s saying about their new processor cores really excites me! Basically, they’ve designed them to make everything feel super smooth and fast in everyday use – think scrolling, opening apps, and just generally using your phone. And the best part? They’ve done it all while being incredibly energy efficient, which means better battery life! It’s all about a great experience without draining your power.

The Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) is a high-performance processor with 18 cores total. It uses 12 main cores for demanding tasks and 6 efficiency cores for lighter workloads. These main cores can run at 4.0GHz, and temporarily boost up to 4.7GHz when handling single or dual tasks.

The main processing cores appear to run at a fixed speed, topping out at 3.4GHz when handling multiple tasks.

I’ve clearly explained the performance details for both versions of the Elite chips. I used the ‘Performance cores’ section of the table below to specify the core information for the first-generation X Elite.

The new Snapdragon X2 Elite boasts a much larger 53MB cache, a considerable increase over other chips. For comparison, even another version of the X2 Elite has a 34MB cache, which is less than the 42MB found in the original X Elite series.

With the new X2 Elite architecture, Qualcomm has shifted its focus from measuring multi-thread frequencies to multi-core frequencies.

Qualcomm claims their new X2 Elite platform is up to 31% faster and uses up to 43% less power compared to the previous generation.

Qualcomm X2 Elite vs. X Elite: Adreno GPU

Similar to the changes made with their Oryon CPU, Qualcomm has also updated the design of the Adreno GPU, which is built into their processors.

As an analyst, I’ve been looking closely at the Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88), and it’s interesting to note that it uses the same X2-90 GPU found in the higher-end X2 Elite Extreme. The main difference I’ve found is that the X2E-88’s GPU is clocked a bit slower – it runs at 1.70GHz, while the Extreme model reaches 1.85GHz.

The X2 Elite (X2E-80) uses an X2-85 graphics processor, which runs at the same speed – 1.7GHz – as the one found in the X2E-88 model.

Qualcomm hasn’t shared performance numbers (TFLOPS) for the new Adreno GPUs in the X2 Elite, but the much faster speeds suggest a considerable increase in processing power.

The original X Elite chips worked with DirectX 12. Now, the newer X2 chips support an expanded range of graphics technologies, including the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenCL 3.0.

You can now connect up to three 5K monitors running at 60Hz, or three 4K monitors at 144Hz. The previous generation X Elite could only handle three 4K monitors at 60Hz, or two 5K monitors at the same speed.

Qualcomm claims its latest Adreno GPU architecture is significantly more efficient, delivering 2.3 times the performance with the same amount of power compared to the previous version. However, this improvement might only apply to their top-of-the-line X2 Elite Extreme chip.

I’ll know more once we have raw performance numbers to look over.

Qualcomm X2 Elite vs. X Elite: Hexagon NPU

This chip includes a dedicated AI processor that handles tasks directly on the device, meaning you don’t always need an internet connection to use AI features.

As a researcher, I’ve been closely following the development of neural processing units (NPUs), and the original Snapdragon X Elite was a game-changer. It was the first chip with enough power – 45 TOPS, or Trillion Operations Per Second – to smoothly run the new Copilot+ AI features in Windows 11. Now, with the X2 Elite, we’re seeing that NPU performance pushed even further, making it, once again, the most powerful NPU available in a laptop.

Qualcomm significantly boosted the processing power of its new X2 Elite chips – including the X2 Elite Extreme – to 80 TOPS. This new level of performance is a major improvement over the previous generation and sets it apart from the competition.

Qualcomm says their new Neural Processing Unit (NPU) can handle several smart features at the same time, making them faster and more responsive. This improvement is likely due to its 64-bit design and better memory access.

For the best AI performance in a laptop – without relying on a dedicated graphics card – Qualcomm’s X2 Elite chips are currently the top choice.

Qualcomm X2 Elite vs. X Elite: Memory & storage

Memory support has been buffed in the X2 Elite chips.

The X2E-88 and X2E-80 both use fast LPDDR5x-9523MT/s RAM, offering a 128-bit bus width and a bandwidth of 152GB/s. They can now support up to 128GB of RAM.

The original X Elite processors all feature LPDDR5x-8448MT/s RAM, which is a bit slower and uses a 16-bit pathway. This setup provides a bandwidth of 135GB/s. The maximum RAM capacity for these first-generation chips is 64GB.

The latest X2 Elite chips offer improved storage capabilities compared to the original X Elite chips. While the first generation used NVMe storage with PCIe 4.0, the new chips now support two NVMe drives using the faster PCIe 5.0 standard.

Removable flash storage will continue to use UFS 4.0. The SD card standard has been updated to include both the new SDUC format with SD Express, and improvements to the existing SDXC format using UHS-I.

Qualcomm X2 Elite vs. X Elite: Everything else

I’ve focused mostly on how Qualcomm’s newest Elite chips differ from the previous generation, but many of the core features actually remain the same.

The X2 Elite chips still provide fast wireless connections with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Both versions utilize the Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 system to enable this.

Qualcomm has updated its cellular modem to the latest Snapdragon X75 5G technology. However, the fastest download speeds will still be 10Gbps, and upload speeds remain at 3.5Gbps.

USB capabilities haven’t changed, still offering USB4 support at speeds up to 40Gbps. Most computers will include up to three of these ports.

The X2 Elite now includes “Snapdragon Guardian Technology,” a new system that simplifies PC management for users. It uses a combination of hardware, software, and cloud services to allow control from almost any location.

As a researcher, I recommend following Windows Central on Google News. It’s a great way to stay updated with their latest news, insights, and features directly in your feed!

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2025-09-24 23:43