The first PC laptops with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips arrived a few months ago, and even though they’re not perfect, they offer fantastic power efficiency and battery life. Qualcomm has now introduced a new chip for less expensive PCs: the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus.
Qualcomm just revealed the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core System-on-a-Chip (SoC), a new lower-end option in the company’s lineup of ARM-based chipsets. It sits below the existing 12-core Snapdragon X Elite and 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, which are used in laptops like theSurface Pro,Dell XPS 13,Surface Laptop, andYoga Slim 7x. The new chip is expected to be used in laptops that cost between $700 and $900.
There are actually two versions of the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus. The X1P-42-100 is the lowest-end option, with an 8-core Oryon CPU, a maximum multi-core clock speed of 3.2 GHz, an Adreno GPU with up to 2.1 TFLOPS. There’s also the slightly-better X1P-46-100, with a maximum clock speed of 3.4 GHz, and a GPU that can do 2.1 TFLOPS. The chips are otherwise mostly identical, with the same 45 NPU TOPS performance for AI tasks, maximum memory speed of 8448 MT/s, 8 CPU cores, and 30 MB CPU cache.
Qualcomm said in a press release, “An integrated GPU and support for up to three external monitors ensures exceptional graphics and immersive visual experiences. At the heart of the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core is a powerful 45 TOPS NPU of AI processing power and leading performance per watt which, paired with the platform’s significant advancements in connectivity, will push productivity to new heights in ultra-portable designs with incredible battery life.”
Several PC makers have already announced laptops with the new chip, such as theASUS Vivo S 15,Acer Swift Go 14, andASUS ProArt PZ132-in-1 convertible tablet. There will likely be more announced over the coming months, too. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like there are any (mainstream) desktop PCs with Snapdragon chips yet—a Snapdragon-powered mini PC could be a great low-power productivity desktop or home server.
