The first laptops equipped with the second generation of Snapdragon X Elite processors from Qualcomm are available since last week we have already had the opportunity to test two of these new mobile processors. We got access to the high-end Snapdragon X2 Elite models in the updated Asus Zenbook A14 as well as the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme in the all-new Asus Zenbook A16.
Qualcomm managed to further improve performance and clearly beat its competitors AMD (Zen 5) and Intel (Panther Lake) in both single-core and multi-core scenarios. More interesting than the maximum multicore performance, however, is the performance at lower power limits in our opinion, which is the case when using the mode Whisper on both Zenbooks. The fans remain very quiet (only ~30 dB(A) under load), but multi-core performance in this mode (where the long-term power limit is less than 20W) is still superior to rivals from AMD or Intel in this mode. Haute Performance. For your daily activities this means you get a very quiet device, but you can obviously use all the performance if necessary.
Graphics performance wasn’t great for the first generation, but Qualcomm improved the iGPUs significantly. While previous Adreno GPUs were much slower than their counterparts from AMD and Intel, they are now much more competitive and gaming performance is much better as well. Some limitations remain compared to typical x86 laptops, which is also the case for applications in general. However, the situation has improved considerably over the past two years.
Overall, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips put increased pressure on AMD and Intel, and both companies need to be careful not to lose too much ground. For more information and benchmarking results of the new Snapdragon models, please see our in-depth analysis article.
