Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite X SoC for Laptop Leaks: 12 Cores, LPDDR5X Memory, and WiFi7

[AleksandarK]

Thanks to the information from Windows Report, we have received numerous details regarding Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon Elite X chip for laptops. The Snapdragon Elite X SoC is built on top of Nuvia-derived Oryon cores, which Qualcomm put 12 off in the SoC. While we don't know their base frequencies, the all-core boost reaches 3.8 GHz. The SoC can reach up to 4.3 GHz on single and dual-core boosting. However, the slide notes that this is all pure "big" core configuration of the SoC, so no big.LITTLE design is done. The GPU part of Snapdragon Elite X is still based on Qualcomm's Adreno IP; however, the performance figures are up significantly to reach 4.6 TeraFLOPS of supposedly FP32 single-precision power. Accompanying the CPU and GPU, there are dedicated AI and image processing accelerators, like Hexagon Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which can process 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS). For the camera, the Spectra Image Sensor Processor (ISP) is there to support up to 4K HDR video capture on a dual 36 MP or a single 64 MP camera setup.

The SoC supports LPDDR5X memory running at 8533 MT/s and a maximum capacity of 64 GB. Apparently, the memory controller is an 8-channel one with a 16-bit width and a maximum bandwidth of 136 GB/s. Snapdragon Elite X has PCIe 4.0 and supports UFS 4.0 for outside connection. All of this is packed on a die manufactured by TSMC on a 4 nm node. In addition to marketing excellent performance compared to x86 solutions, Qualcomm also advertises the SoC as power efficient. The slide notes that it uses 1/3 of the power at the same peak PC performance of x86 offerings. It is also interesting to note that the package will support WiFi7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Officially coming in 2024, the Snapdragon Elite X will have to compete with Intel's Meteor Lake and/or Arrow Lake, in addition to AMD Strix Point.




Additionally, we have previously reported that Qualcomm is insisting on integrating its own PMICs (Power Management Integrated Circuits), which are inherently designed for cell phones, causing significant compatibility and efficiency issues in the deployment of this new Snapdragon Elite X processor. Also, the company advertises the SoC as capable of running 13 billion-parameter models, as well as 7B models at 70 tokens per second. This means that local LLM inference will be very efficient. To learn more, we still have to wait for any official reviews coming next year. Below, you can see the complete specification table, courtesy of Windows Report.


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[TumbleGeorge]

With this memory speed is possible high GPU performance than 4.6TF I think.

 

[dj-electric]

That's cool. Now lets discuss the situation Windows is in, in regards to ARM workflow.
Oh, we're doing Linux?

 

[TumbleGeorge]

That's cool. Now lets discuss the situation Windows is in, in regards to ARM workflow.
Oh, we're doing Linux?

Needs of some time before work directly (2027 maybe ready for use). Now just use emulation.

 

[Denver]

Despite the robust specs for an iGPU and bandwidth, I bet this loses to vega 7. it's still an ARM chip, with all built-in incompatibilities

 

[watzupken]

Unfortunately, if this is paired with a bloated Windows OS, it will kill most of the performance. When Qualcomm went down this path, I do hope they considered that the OS and compatibility is going to be a problem. Apple have a significant advantage of being in control of both software and hardware, which really allowed the M1 to shine. Though Apple also holds the platform back by deliberately limiting performance or functionality.

 

[Daven]

Despite the robust specs for an iGPU and bandwidth, I bet this loses to vega 7. it's still an ARM chip, with all built-in incompatibilities

This is why we need robust open compute standards so that developers are not overwhelmed with 20 different APIs and architectures to optimize as well as prevent a single company’s proprietary IP (*cough*Nvidia*cough*) from dominating.

 

[stimpy88]

Can't see the point in this, other than for coding and debugging purposes.

 

[Daven]

Can't see the point in this, other than for coding and debugging purposes.

What exactly do you not see the point?

 

[Deleted member 185088]

They should focus on cheap long battery life laptops/Chromebooks, ARM based stuff (besides MacOS, as Apple is designing their OS around their SOC) doesn't make sense if it's expensive while not running x86 natively.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

They should focus on cheap long battery life laptops/Chromebooks, ARM based stuff (besides MacOS, as Apple is designing their OS around their SOC) doesn't make sense if it's expensive while not running x86 natively.

We already have that. What we need is a linux/windows based M2 competitor.

Actually, what we really need is MS to get off of their hind quarters and release a rosetta 2 competitor already. What they have now isnt enough.

 

[Daven]

More things to ponder for those who ‘don’t see the point’.

NVIDIA and AMD reportedly working on ARM-based processors for PCs - VideoCardz.com

NVIDIA’s push into the consumer CPU market NVIDIA, as reported by Reuters, is discreetly in the process of designing new chips tailored for personal computers, with the aim of challenging the well-established CPU market. Sources familiar with the matter have informed Reuters that NVIDIA is...

videocardz.com

 

[Minus Infinity]

If this could run Linux and that be offered as an OS choice I would consider it very seriously. Windoze on ARM, not thanks. iPad OS no thanks. I want a powerful tablet that can run a real OS and has several USB ports, and supports mouse and keyboard. iPad Pro is a waste of hardware at this stage.

 

[lexluthermiester]

As long as Android is an option for this laptop, I'm in. No Android? No thank you.

 

[stimpy88]

What exactly do you not see the point?

Where is the need for it, outside of what I already stated? Is ARM Windows usable for the average PC user? Will it ever be?

This is just for very niche or mobile/tablet applications only.

 

[alwayssts]

With this memory speed is possible high GPU performance than 4.6TF I think.

Meh. Probably something like 1280sp @ 1.8ghz, which would make sense given they're going for efficiency on the process, the competition is similar, and the fact Adreno 740 was the same unit count. If it were AMD, they'd probably rate it at 6TF+ (which if all the bw/cache were devoted to the GPU it could theoretically achieve)...but the reality is that the CPU needs some of that bw/cache and also certain unit ratios/clocks just make the most efficient sense. If it is indeed (1280 @) 1.8ghz, that is a little low (I think threshold voltage on 5nm allows for roughly 2.1ghz and this is n4p iirc), but it might also help yields substantially. They may also refresh the chip down the line or create a premium variant (like they have for Asus/Samsung in the past); always gotta have that in the back pocket in JIC. You can pretty much get threshold voltage by taking cpu/2 = gpu clock. The base clock of a 7500f/7900 is 3700mhz, so 1850mhz; not that far off. Still weird they chose 3.8-4.3 for the cpu, which would insinuate 1900-2150mhz is feasible at threshold, or very close to it. Perhaps they think most people will pair it with slower ram?

I also think the point of damn near everything (this go-round) is they want parity to a (ps4pro/)XSS in GPU grunt.

Perhaps they lose ~.6TF (13%), give or take arch differences to RDNA2, to an abstraction layer?

IIRC that's around the difference between SteamOS and Windows.

Probably more-likely they wanted parity with AMD (Phoenix is 768 @ up to 2900mhz; 4.4544TF) and Intel (Meteor Lake is 1024 @ 2200mhz iirc; 4.505TF), and 4.6 is bigger than 4.5. Bigger number better.

 

[Daven]

Where is the need for it, outside of what I already stated? Is ARM Windows usable for the average PC user? Will it ever be?

This is just for very niche or mobile/tablet applications only.

On behalf of the 8 billion people on the planet from Argentina to the Philippines to Lithuania, we will make our own computer choices based on our own needs. But thank you anyway for pushing your narrow constraints of what a computer must be on ALL of us.

 

[stimpy88]

On behalf of the 8 billion people on the planet from Argentina to the Philippines to Lithuania, we will make our own computer choices based on our own needs. But thank you anyway for pushing your narrow constraints of what a computer must be on ALL of us.

Erm, ok then... What exactly are you getting with this that you would not be getting from a low end x86 system? Is this only a cost thing? You do realise that low-cost PC options exist, right? Or are you saying that these laptops will cost $100 and the lowest priced PC costs $300? That would be the only circumstance I would imagine that you would want to compromise/limit your PC experience for, unless you are a developer, or need a mobile phone in a laptop case running Android? What about the extra costs for support etc? What about the lack of industry standard software?

I'm no expert, but I do know that you can buy an HP laptop with Chrome OS using an AMD x86 CPU brand new for $169... Is this going to be cheaper than that?

 

[Daven]

Erm, ok then... What exactly are you getting with this that you would not be getting from a low end x86 system? Is this only a cost thing? You do realise that low-cost PC options exist, right? Or are you saying that these laptops will cost $100 and the lowest priced PC costs $300? That would be the only circumstance I would imagine that you would want to compromise/limit your PC experience for, unless you are a developer, or need a mobile phone in a laptop case running Android? What about the extra cost for support etc?

Sorry for being so blunt, but this is why we are constantly having to deal with monopolies, security issues, increasing prices, tech stagnation, price fixing, cartels, etc. Computer enthusiasts get it into their minds that we can only have one type of this and only one type of that. Coincidentally the limits are always defined by what that enthusiast decided to buy. Go figure.

We need multiple sources of hardware while pushing open source software so that developers do not have to code dozens of different optimized apps. We need OSes to talk to many types of hardware and optimize on different implementations of that hardware.

What we don’t need is 100% Windows on x86 in ANY market segment no matter how niche or how big. Diversity brings ideas, single minded tech brings stagnation.

 

[stimpy88]

Sorry for being so blunt, but this is why we are constantly having to deal with monopolies, security issues, increasing prices, tech stagnation, etc. Computer enthusiasts get it into their minds that we can only have one type of this and only one type of that. Coincidentally the limits are always defined by what that enthusiast decided to buy. Go figure.

We need multiple sources of hardware while pushing open source software so that developers do not have to code dozens of different optimized apps. We need OSes to talk to many types of hardware and optimize on different implementations of that hardware.

What we don’t need is 100% Windows on x86 in ANY market segment no matter how niche or how big. Diversity brings ideas, single minded tech brings stagnation.

I agree with you, be blunt, lets thrash this out!

This is exactly the same argument for Linux, and nobody uses it outside of the IT department, just a handful of the same types that swear by Android over iOS because "the man" or "I can do what I want with it", or something, which is fine if you know what your doing, but do these 8 billion people you mentioned have that knowledge, or would they prefer the same experience as everybody else for the same money? Because that's where the rubber doesn't hit the road with these ARM based computers. Where is the advantage of having ARM Inside to the customer?

I agree that more choice is better, but this is not a choice for the masses, which it would need to be in order to gain any meaningful traction outside of the ARM software dev community and a handful of die-hard tech evangelists. It offers nothing over an x86 system, but at least the x86 system offers you compatibility, software choices (don't use Windows if you don't like it) and cheaper/easier support.

If you had two identically priced laptops, only difference is one is ARM, one is x86, all other specifications equal, what would be the logical choice for the 8 billion to spend their hard-earned money on?

 

[Daven]

I agree with you, but this is exactly the same argument for Linux, and nobody uses it outside of the IT department, just a handful of the same types that swear by Android over iOS because "the man" or "I can do what I want with it", or something, which is fine if you know what your doing, but do these 8 billion people you mentioned have that knowledge, or would they prefer the same experience as everybody else for the same money? Because that's where the rubber doesn't hit the road with these ARM based computers. Where is the advantage of having ARM Inside to the customer?

I agree that more choice is better, but this is not a choice for the masses, which it would need to be to gain any meaningful traction outside of the ARM software dev community. It offers nothing more than an x86 system, but at least the x86 system offers you compatibility, software choices and cheaper/easier support.

You are thinking too much about the situation that you provided the answer in your own comment. Customers don’t know the difference. The reason for the diversity is to provide a competitive landscape and keep companies innovating. The experience on Windows with x86 is the same as Chrome OS on ARM for most users. That’s actually a good thing, right? Let’s have both and more!

I’m not sure how old you are but the computer experience at the end of the 90s was horrible. Up to 95% of all computers used Windows, Intel and Internet Explorer. Everything was slow, infected with viruses and constantly crashing. Intel and Microsoft had ZERO incentive to fix the problem while raking in the cash. More players would not have been different from how you use a computer but rather force competition towards fixing all the bugs and making computers more secure.

That’s exactly what ended up happening as smartphones, tablets, consoles, etc etc started popping up. Innovation and competition! So when someone says ‘what’s the point?’, we gray beards perk up fast as we NEVER want to return to those days EVER!

 

[alwayssts]

Yeah...I don't even know where to begin with people that don't think this will (eventually) be a thing. Like you say, it already is a thing. It will continue and be more of a thing across more markets.

Maybe when nVIDIA does it people will believe. I'm sure that is their hope. If Huang could pull an iPod on the x86 landscape he'd be more proud than if Phil Spencer bought Nintendo. It could happen, too.

Meanwhile, us Diamond Rio users will sit back and wonder why people are so suddenly so impressed.

 

[stimpy88]

You are thinking too much about the situation that you provided the answer in your own comment. Customers don’t know the difference. The reason for the diversity is to provide a competitive landscape and keep companies innovating. The experience on Windows with x86 is the same as Chrome OS on ARM for most users. That’s actually a good thing, right? Let’s have both and more!

I’m not sure how old you are but the computer experience at the end of the 90s was horrible. Up to 95% of all computers used Windows, Intel and Internet Explorer. Everything was slow, infected with viruses and constantly crashing. Intel and Microsoft had ZERO incentive to fix the problem while raking in the cash. More players would not have been different from how you use a computer but rather force competition towards fixing all the bugs and making computers more secure.

That’s exactly what ended up happening as smartphones, tablets, consoles, etc etc started popping up. Innovation and competition! So when someone says ‘what’s the point?’, we gray beards perk up fast as we NEVER want to return to those days EVER!

They might not know the difference, but when they can't do something on it, because the software doesn't exist, or it's simply incompatible, what then? Diversity for diversities sake is pointless, and just confusing.

I'm old enough to have been computing since the beginning of solid-state computers. And yep, Wintel was certainly not the best time for computing, but then look at the late 80's. Soooo much hardware choice, PC was only something to do spreadsheets and databases on, the rest of us had Commodore 64's, Amigas, Atari ST's, Amstrad CPCs and none of the software was compatible between them, so you had to pick your camp and stay with it, for better or for worse. The choice was almost endless, but after the arrival of Windows 95, PC hardware started becoming more performant and cheaper. Games started being better on PC, productivity software was already best on PC, and then when the Internet became a thing, it was the final nail in the diverse Home Computer market, everyone either had a PC or a games console or both, and all those amazing machines from the 80's and 90's died out and are just niche things with handfuls of dedicated people still using them today, but they all own a PC too!

The only reason ARM got success was simply because of heat and power. You were out of your mind putting some desktop Intel chip in a phone, and if you did, the battery life was a joke, the performance substandard. We were there with Windows CE etc. ARM was the only ticket in town for low power, relatively performant mobile computing. Thats the only reason it still exists as x86 is just too feature packed for low power, although right now AMD and it's Zen 4c core is very interesting in a high-performance mobile device... Arguably much better than this Qualcomm SOC, especially if AMD brought the power usage down a little using a small manufacturing process. Which then begs the question, is there actually a point to ARM cpu's once x86 cpus can offer the same or better performance and equivalent power use?

Look at Apple and its ARM chips. If this Qualcomm SOC was like an M3 Ultra, and had an OS like iOS/macOS etc, but was free or very low cost, with a large software ecosystem, then it would be formidable if released, and would have everyone wondering if it would be worth investing in, instead of buying a dumb AMD or Intel CPU. You bet your arse that this would make waves in the industry. But this SOC won't. It offers nothing tangible to the customer, it's not lower cost, it does not have an OS, it has basic software, none of which is amazing or industry standard.

This grey beard has been round the block and seen it all. I've seen hardware which blew the balls off what the PC was capable of - completely out the water yet was too niche to catch an audience and died. It was sad watching the rise of the beige office WinTel doorstop take over the industry, as it was crap, and simply did not deserve its success.

But going back to the 80's by having a million different, incompatible choices is just not going to work anymore. It has to be offering something amazing, something that the beige office WinTel doorstop cannot offer the customer, and this new SOC is more of the same old low performing crap, which only offers incompatibility and disappointment to customers, all for the same price as everything else.

Yeah...I don't even know where to begin with people that don't think this will (eventually) be a thing. Like you say, it already is a thing. It will continue and be more of a thing across more markets.

Maybe when nVIDIA does it people will believe. I'm sure that is their hope. If Huang could pull an iPod on the x86 landscape he'd be more proud than if Phil Spencer bought Nintendo. It could happen, too.

Meanwhile, us Diamond Rio users will sit back and wonder why people are so suddenly so impressed.

OK, can you explain what will make ARM "a thing" outside of mobile please?

 

[kondamin]

And since it’s a comm cost as much as a regular amd/intel chip +motherboard

 

[lexluthermiester]

Is ARM Windows usable for the average PC user?

Currently, no. But they're working on it. Why? WTHK...

Will it ever be?

Maybe.

This is just for very niche or mobile/tablet applications only.

That's what they said about iPhone/iOS when it first launched.

OK, can you explain what will make ARM "a thing" outside of mobile please?

Simple, it's very compute efficient. X86/X64 for all it's processing power requires a lot of electical power. ARM does not. Most people DON'T need a power house PC for their general computing needs. Hell, a lot of people don't have a PC anymore(I think it stupid, but people are doing it).