Notebooks with Snapdragon X Elite are launched: is the chipset really revolutionary?

The first Copilot+ PC notebooks equipped with Snapdragon X Elite were launched this Tuesday (18) in several markets. The chipset was announced by Qualcomm as revolutionary for several reasons that differentiate it from x86 processors. Therefore, we brought this collection of opinions based on reviews of the Asus Vivobook S 15.

Copilot+ PCs must be capable of running AI tasks locally, with at least 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of performance. The Snapdragon X Elite, in theory, offers 45 TOPS, which makes it eligible for the Microsoft seal. Furthermore, it is a chip based on the ARM64 architecture, similar to smartphone chipsets.

Therefore, the component can offer high performance for most tasks, while at the same time heating up less and consuming less energy than x86 processors. On the downside, it requires Windows 11 ARM64 to run, and many popular apps run in compatibility mode.

Overall performance

Considering software benchmarks, the Snapdragon X Elite did very well. In everyday life, the notebook can offer performance similar to that of the MacBook Air M3. It is faster at some tasks and slower at others. Here, the key point revolves around compatibility.

Snapdragon X Elite performance (CPU).Source: Reproduction/Dave2D (YouTube)

Windows 11 ARM64 has an emulation layer called Prism, which has received major improvements. According to analysts, in some applications, you won’t even notice Prism in action. However, not everything is rosy, and Many users may be left hanging with regards to specific programs, or program functions that work under emulation..

Gaming performance

In games, the Copilot+ PC with Snapdragon X Elite struggles to deliver adequate performance in popular titles. In addition to the compatibility problem, the GPU integrated into the chip has lower performance when compared to the main processor.

X Elite performance in games with Full HD resolution and low quality.Source: Reproduction/Dave2D (YouTube)

Proof of this is that, Even reaching very modest frame rates, CPU and RAM usage remained very low. This is a clear sign of a bottleneck. Additionally, many games simply won’t open on Windows 11 ARM64. In this regard, x86 notebooks are better options for those who want to play, even casually.

Battery autonomy

Battery life, without a doubt, is the biggest asset of notebooks equipped with the Qualcomm chip. Analysts were unanimous in stating that This is the first time that a Windows notebook has been able to offer such long-lasting battery life.

Vivobook S 15 battery performance.Source: Reproduction/Dave2D (YouTube)

Temperature and noise

Although it requires an active cooling system, the Snapdragon X Elite is an easy processor to cool, according to reviews.

Vivobook S 15 noise level.Fonte:  YouTube/Dave2D

According to the YouTube channel Dave2D, the Asus Vivobook S 15 remained cool most of the time, with average temperatures below equipment using Intel and AMD chips. The notebook only generated really audible noise when running Blender, reaching 42 dB.