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

[trsttte]

Unfortunately, if this is paired with a bloated Windows OS, it will kill most of the performance

The problem is not bloated Windows, the problem is x86 bloated Windows not being properly ported to ARM. Other systems, android for example, also have huge ammounts of bloat only it's all compiled for the correct architecture instead of running in a lousy emulator

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

Why do you say that?

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.

I think you're blaming something entirely on Microsoft when the reality is everything was just too new back then. If you compare the situation to today, microsoft still doesn't exactly have all the motivation in the world to fix everything, as far as competition goes they're still pretty much isolated at the top. It's no longer the wild west because computer systems are also in more parts of everyday life so they can't be as failure prone and lots of money is spent making sure they work - both in development and certification.

WTFK...

Well, why not? ARM can be quite efficient in small everyday tasks and there's more players to help keep the prices down and continue to advance the performance, contrary to what happens with x86 where if either AMD or Intel starts lagging behind, the other one just waits for them to catch up (i.e. what's been happening the past couple years with Intel when AMD was down on it's luck)

 

[lexluthermiester]

Why do you say that?

Seriously? Because it's ARM... and Windows On ARM is a bit of a joke, currently. Android is excellent! Sure as hell don't want iOS/MacOS.

Well, why not? ARM can be quite efficient in small everyday tasks and there's more players to help keep the prices down and continue to advance the performance, contrary to what happens with x86 where if either AMD or Intel starts lagging behind, the other one just waits for them to catch up (i.e. what's been happening the past couple years with Intel when AMD was down on it's luck)

You may have misunderstood my comment. WTHK=Who The Hell Knows

Let's be clear: ARM is more efficient, NOT more powerful, than X86/X64. Watt for Watt, Cycle for Cycle, X86 is a MUCH better performer, full stop, end of discussion. Additionally, X86/X64 CPUs can do A LOT more in hardware than ARM CPUs as it has more instruction sets. That's the point. ARM is RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computing). X86/X64 is CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computing).

Using a RISC CPU for a general computing device is doable as long as the tasks are not too complex and the code is optimized & compiled properly. However, there are many functions that are always better done on CISC as they can run hardware accelerated, whereas on a RISC CPU those same functions have to be emulated in software, which is always less efficient.

EDIT: A perfect example of some of these points is shown in the following video.

And Quadcomm's new Snapdragon SOC will make the RPi5 look slow by comparison. With Android or a version of Linux, the laptop discussed in this article would be excellent!

 

[alwayssts]

Seriously? Because it's ARM... and Windows On ARM is a bit of a joke, currently. Android is excellent! Sure as hell don't want iOS/MacOS.


You may have misunderstood my comment. WTHK=Who The Hell Knows

Let's be clear: ARM is more efficient, NOT more powerful, than X86/X64. Watt for Watt, Cycle for Cycle, X86 is a MUCH better performer, full stop, end of discussion. Additionally, X86/X64 CPUs can do A LOT more in hardware than ARM CPUs as it has more instruction sets. That's the point. ARM is RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computing). X86/X64 is CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computing).

Using a RISC CPU for a general computing device is doable as long as the tasks are not too complex and the code is optimized & compiled properly. However, there are many functions that are always better done on CISC as they can run hardware accelerated, whereas on a RISC CPU those same functions have to be emulated in software, which is always less efficient.

EDIT: A perfect example of some of these points is shown in the following video.

And Quadcomm's new Snapdragon SOC will make the RPi5 look slow by comparison. With Android or a version of Linux, the laptop discussed in this article would be excellent!

I think you're over-complicating things. For general use, ARM has been a reasonable arch since the launch of OoO, which was 10 years ago. Since 8-wide instruction (A76/A13), five years ago, it has been a viable alternative wrt cost and efficiency. We are now at this precipice, where it can make inroads into good-enough ST and fairly amazing MT versus x86, and that's taking into account translation layers. I don't think anyone should be making any bets on where we'll be five years from now.

You have to remember the architecture can also evolve, and there is a decent likelihood fixed-function hardware will be added as time goes on. Give WoA a little time to get their ducks in a row, especially as new players enter the field. If that doesn't work, It's always possible nVIDIA could make a GeForOS complete with low-level integration. Also tiles pointing you to Geforce Now and maybe licensed Nintendo emulation. It could get real weird, real fast. It would've been weirder faster had nVIDIA been able to acquire ARM (good call there, regulatory bodies) but don't be surprised if it still does.

I find it amazing that people think it's such a big leap when they lived through Apple's transition not only from Intel, but from PowerPC (or at least I did, anyway). These things don't happen overnight, but it can happen (not just a competitive product, but ARM-specific programming), and likely will happen. Most people, including most gamers, currently just simply do not need something faster than say a 12600 for single-threaded performance. They truly just do not (I imagine even PS5 pro will have a similar caliber ST cpu; probably ~3.9-4.2ghz), and this is being compared to 13800H; right on the money. I struggle to see, even at the high-end of the consumer spectrum, how most-anyone is going to (in the next 10-15 years) need something more than 10-15% faster than a 14900k; maybe 25-40% for extreme, extreme enthusiasts. That's a gap of only ~50% or so, and arguably can be made up with more performance cores (which is exactly what Qualcomm is doing) assuming that apps/games take advantage of the higher core count. Eventually they most likely will, assuming Intel/AMD don't stay on an 8 P-core design forever. It's a good design; efficient and forward-thinking.

ARM is now capable of good-enough performance done extremely efficiently, and is focused on going wider....as are the x86 folks (working backwards). You can take the over on (slightly) faster ST performance, but at some point (a couple of generations from now) it will probably just all blur together. This is the first step.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

@Anandtech liveblog
I don't know what they are filming the performance with. The photo is of poor quality.

 

[alwayssts]

@Anandtech liveblog
I don't know what they are filming the performance with. The photo is of poor quality.

1:22:00

 

[lexluthermiester]

I think you're over-complicating things.

Not really, but you do you.

ARM is now capable of good-enough performance done extremely efficiently

You just restated what I said earlier... If you're going to respond with a small wall of text, could you at least try to make it lucid?

 

[Dr. Dro]

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

Battery life on ARM laptops is insane. Great for office work and video playback.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Battery life on ARM laptops is insane. Great for office work and video playback.

Good point! ARM hardware with a standard 6 or 9 cell laptop battery pack? Hell yes!