Qualcomm just announced an entry-level Snapdragon X Plus chipset with binned specs to make Arm-based Windows machines even more affordable and accessible to audiences under the 1000$ threshold. In this article, let’s take a quick look at the new Eight-Cored Snapdragon X Plus chip alongside what’s the same, what’s changed, and what’s new!
Eight Core Snapdragon X Plus Overview:
For starters, the Snapdragon X Plus is Qualcomm’s ARM chip for laptops fabricated under TSMC’s 4nm tech. This new version features a cut-down CPU, GPU, and memory specs to ship with laptops at around the 700-900 USD price bracket.
CPU and Memory
The Snapdragon X Plus with eight cores has two SKUs, namely, the ‘X1P-42-100’ and ‘X1P-46-100’. The lower variant has a 3.2 GHz base and 3.4GHz boost clocks with the weakest GPU out of the Snapdragon X series chips. The other variant has a slightly higher base clock (+200 MHz) and should be noticeably snappier thanks to the 4GHz single-core boost frequency. Of course, they are going to fare worse in multi-core as well with a ~20% dip compared to the 12-cored X Elite.
On the memory side, both versions cut down the cache to just 30MB of total L cache. The chips support up to 64GB of LPDDR5x memory running at 8848 MT/s and Gen 3 NVME SSD or UFS 4.0.
Half the GPU
Well, one of the major cutdowns is the half-as-good GPU on the new Snapdragon X Plus chip. The base X Plus will be pushing just 1.7 TFLOPS while the previous chips bearing the same name pushed more than double that (3.8 TFLOPS). The other one isn’t too impressive either with a ~55% weaker GPU than the top X Elite chips.
Affordable CoPilot+ with Efficiency
The major push for these chips seems to be for their AI capabilities and efficiency. Qualcomm hasn’t cut any corners on the NPU here, so you are getting the same 45 TOPS of power from the eight-cored Snapdragon X Plus. That makes laptops with these chips eligible for Microsoft’s ‘Copilot+ PC’ program with features like Recall, Studio Effects, and Co-creator baked into Windows. And since these are ARM chips based on a modern 4nm process, they boast excellent efficiency with all-day battery life for thin and light portables.
Connectivity and Extras
Snapdragon X Plus supports up to WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 with the ability to drive up to a 4k HDR10 screen at 120Hz. You can hook up to 3 displays running at 4k 60Hz, or up to 2 displays running at 5k 60Hz.
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Snapdragon X Plus (8 Core) Specifications
- Process: 4nm
- Core: 8-core Oryon CPU
- Clock Speed: Up to 3.4 GHz, 30 MB total cache
- GPU: 1.7 or 2.1 teraflop (TFLOP) integrated Adreno GPU
- Display:
- Display Processing Unit (DPU) Name: Qualcomm Adreno
- Maximum On-Device Display Resolution: 4K Ultra HD @ 120 Hz
- Maximum External Display Resolution: 4K @ 60 Hz
- High Dynamic Range (HDR): HDR10
- Number of Concurrent Displays: 3
- Interface Type: DisplayPort 1.4
- Video Processing Unit: Qualcomm Adreno VPU
- Encoder: 4K @ 60 Hz, 10-bit depth, H.264 (Advanced Video Coding (AVC)), AV1, H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC))
- Decoder: 4K @ 120 Hz, 10-bit depth, H.264 (Advanced Video Coding (AVC)), VP9, AV1, H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC))
- NPU: 45 TOPS NPU
- ISP: Qualcomm Spectra ( Dual), 18-bit depth
- Memory:
- Type: LPDDR5x
- Bit Width: 16-bit
- Number of Channels: 8
- Transfer Rate: 8448 MT/s
- Bandwidth: 135 GB/s
- Capacity: Up to 64 GB
- Storage:
- SD: SD 3.0
- SSD/NVMe Interface: NVMe, over PCIe 4.0
- UFS: UFS 4.0
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
- 5G modem:
- Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System
- 10Gbps peak download speed
- 3.5 Gbps peak upload speed
Eight Core Snapdragon X Plus Pricing and Availability
Vendors have already started shipping machines with this chip so you can get your hands on an affordable ‘CoPilot+ PC’ today. Popular models include the Vivobook S 15 from Asus, and the Inspiron 14 from Dell with more additions to the lineup soon enough. They are priced at USD 899 as of today.
- Meanwhile, check out our video on all the AI things you can do with a Windows laptop today:
