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Snapdragon X (ARM chips for PC)

Pier

Pier

Senior Member
We're going to see a lot more news about this now so I guess why not start a new thread :)

Plenty of benchmarks in this article but it's looking great:

www.notebookcheck.net

News of the Snapdragon X Elite: Full steam ahead to laptop dominance over Intel, AMD and Apple M3 (video)

Only a few weeks to go until the first laptops with Qualcomms computing platform Snapdragon X Elite will be available. Time to check the current stand of things and compare Qualcomm's first real Windows-on-ARM opportunity against Intel, AMD and Apple in a benchmark test with the current high-end...
www.notebookcheck.net www.notebookcheck.net
Click to read more...
 
I have been following this for a while and I want to be optimistic about this. Not for the first generation of chips, but iterations on it. I'm also hoping for ARM offers from AMD and nvidia in the long run (even though I don't know if I like the direction Windows as a whole is taking right now).
 
Then Windows 12 will come with AI onboard and the performance will drop to 266MHz max 😉 I heard that even now, when AI in Windows 11 (beta tests) is in its early stage, it already affects negatively the performance of OS.
ARM for Windows will need an AI support and I doubt that it will be as energy efficient as Mx that doesn't require AI support (for now at least).
I feel that Windows 12 will be the "Vista 2.0 experience". It will be interesting to see how ARM architecture will handle the task. Especially for real time audio performance which I'm pretty sure they don't care about at all
 
Some tier 1 OEMs are unveiling laptops in the coming week.
I suspect the pricing is gonna screw these!
A MacBook Air M1 is still a decent choice for many and pretty cheap now, even the M2 is ~£900 on Amazon.
Those have been out long enough so that you know by now if your choice of software has been ported, while the Snapdragon X is still on the starting line.
Given how long it to took for AS to be supported by some large companies, I dread to think how long it will take for ARM on Windows.

Might be useful for business users who can benefit from what will presumably be excellent battery life, low noise & weight and 5G.
For DAW usage, see you in 2030!
 
When Apple released the ARM M1, it was a revolution.
Less expensive computers (for Apple this is an achievement) and more efficient.
For PCs it's rubbish, ARM is expensive and it's not efficient at all and I fear that the X Elite, even if it will be more powerful, will be extremely expensive,
and this power will come at the price of apparently doubtful compromises:



We will see if this is confirmed.
 
lychee said:
When Apple released the ARM M1, it was a revolution.
Less expensive computers (for Apple this is an achievement) and more efficient.
For PCs it's rubbish, ARM is expensive and it's not efficient at all and I fear that the X Elite, even if it will be more powerful, will be extremely expensive,
and this power will come at the price of apparently doubtful compromises:



We will see if this is confirmed.
Click to expand...

Dang, I was hoping for comparable Windows options in terms of thermals and noise when we need to get a new Windows laptop.
 
I was hoping for this to become more immediate competition for Apple, since that’s sorely needed, but it sure doesn’t seem to be a near term fully competitive answer for Windows. So we’ll continue to pay through the nose for Apple machinery. :sad:

But maybe meaningfully large improvements for some non-Android Linux use cases, since Linux on ARM seems quite a bit ahead in wider adoption.

I’m looking forward to some SBCs based on this chip, that might just find their way into my little homelab.
 
I'm guessing Qualcomm is testing the waters, so to speak. Right now they seem to be competing with the MBA and lower MBP.

Maybe they didn't want to invest more or maybe they want to iron out the kinks before going all in.
 
Pier said:
Maybe they didn't want to invest more or maybe they want to iron out the kinks before going all in.
Click to expand...
Isn’t this just a regular step in their product evolution? What’s their alternative to making this?

Looks to me less 4D chess and more like typical marketing over-hype with careful cherry picking of test results. Ironically not unlike Apple likes to do. :grin: Even their performance “charts” with carefully crafted label avoidance look like they could have been made by Apple’s marketing team.

As so often, the industry likes to copy Apple - even the bad ideas (Yes, I’m still angry about the headphone jack! :shaking-fist-at-cloud-emoji: )
 
Pier said:
I'm guessing Qualcomm is testing the waters, so to speak. Right now they seem to be competing with the MBA and lower MBP.
Maybe they didn't want to invest more or maybe they want to iron out the kinks before going all in.
Click to expand...
This is about their 3rd generation and they have or had an exclusivity deal with MS so no other chipsets were officially supported.
The earlier WoA/Qualcomm platforms were abysmal.
Maybe they both noticed how well AS has been received and decided to aim for some of that market!
With MS allegedly only making ARM versions of the next consumer Surface Pros, they clearly are both more serious this time.
There will seemingly be x86 versions for business users, although not sure if those will be available at retail too!

There needs to be a critical mass before WoA can take off, so aiming for the low to mid range by Apple's prices makes sense.
The sort of people that require more than that are probably often more immune to jumping on a new platform.
If you laptop is a work tool, then be cautious about making such a move, hence why there will be more x86 Surface Pros.

It seems as if these new chips use a 4nm class TSMC process, so they are behind Apple there.
I see these as a first serious attempt and if it meets their expectations, then there is a lot of room for development.
I remain doubtful but it comes down partially to performance and pricing, so let's see when they are actually released and reviewed in the summer.
 
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