The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite processor is another stabbing in Burying Intel

Qualcomm’s emerging push in PCS now has the chip in a row which will set the tone for what to expect Windows machines in 2026. This year, Qualcomm has not only one flagship processor; He has two. Announced at its Snapdragon summit in Hawaii (Complete disclosure: travel and accommodation were paid by Qualcomm, and Gizmodo did not guarantee any coverage as a condition for accepting the trip), the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (a name that, if you say, immediately indicates a prompt guitar performance) That graphic capacities stressed its graphic capes more than ever. Whether or not it is actually good for graphic tasks, including games, will depend on how Qualcomm can counter the applications compatibility enigma.

The X2 series of Qualcomm is the continuation of the Snapdragon X processors from last year. Although you can find many PCs with a Snapdragon X Elite, Snapdragon X Plus and the most recent Snapdragon X, the X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme are both “flagship level”, even if Qualcomm focuses mainly on the performance of the more powerful processor and its more radical brand.

More power supply for windows on the arm

The X2 Elite Extreme includes 18 of the Qualcomm Oryon processor nuclei on a 3 nm process with a 53 MB cache. Of the 18 cores, 12 are “first-rate hearts” operating at 4.4 GHz or up to 5 GHz with a double-hearted boost. Six additional performance cores operate at 3.6 GHz. Clock speeds never tell the complete story of the power of a chip. This suggests that the processors will be very reactive, but for the processing of raw data, we must see how they work in action. ARM -based processors like those manufactured by Qualcomm are notably more powerful in power than other microarchitectures. The new X2 Elite chips should offer 31% better performance at the same power compared to the X Elite.

The great surprise is the quantity of work that Qualcomm has devoted to its GPU Adreno or to its graphic processing unit. The flea manufacturer said that the new GPU offers 2.3x better performance by Watt. Although the company has suggested that we will get better image frequencies, the new GPU should also better support the tracing of the shelves for more realistic lighting effects in games. Of course, what matters most is if you can run all your favorite games in the first place.

Compatibility is always an enigma

The Snapdragon X series are processors based on ARM. This means that they use a completely different chip microarchitecture compared to X86 used by Intel and AMD. This has led to compatibility problems for a multitude of applications. Of course, Microsoft and Qualcomm tried to work with developers to activate applications on arm machines. Adobe’s creative suite works with Arm on Windows. At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm said that Razer would optimize its Synapse application for Arm in the near future, while Maxon apps like Zbrush will soon work with Snapdragon X laptops at the beginning of 2026. But certain applications, such as the AutoCAD writing tool, remain incompatible with Arm. The problem is that many applications cannot be easily worn without much effort, especially games. Currently, Microsoft tries to push its Prism emulator to let some games work on these systems. There are also rumors that Valve, who manages the game Game Marketplace Steam, works on his own layer of arms compatibility.

During his conference, Qualcomm has shown a list of games that are currently working on Arm or will be in the near future. Who understands Fortnite Via Epic Online Anti-Cheat Services. The persistent number of anti-triche compatibility will still hinder other online titles.

The first Snapdragon X PC range was intended to push Microsoft’s worship for AI. The first co-pilot + PCS did not grant us the keys to the promised Land AI, because Microsoft suggested it, especially after the safety SNAFU with the automatic-screen recall function. Qualcomm always pushes the story of the AI ​​with a more powerful NPU, or neuronal processing unit. It is a special part of the chip which is only good enough to manage redundant or background tasks. The new NPU on the Snapdragon X2 reaches 80 above, or billions of operations per second, against 45 on the Snapdragon X range. It can allow more AI on disk without overloading the GPU, although someone will have to offer a functionality that pleads for limited AI models.

Qualcomm promised, we will get the new PC Snapdragon X2 Elite Extremed Power in early 2026. Expect these 2026 to be packed with branchies with light laptops based on ARM. We can expect them to be the most premium offers, but with prices that cause ravages on PC costs, it is difficult to speculate in which price level could adapt.