Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: First benchmarks of the speedy 18-core notebook
Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 generation initially consists of three Elite models. The top model with Extreme suffix shows great performance in initial benchmarks.
(Image: Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
In the course of this year's Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm has published further technical details on the second generation of its Snapdragon X ARM notebook processors. Initially, the family consists of the three elite variants X2E-96-100, X2E-88-100, and X2E-80-100.
Qualcomm is particularly proud of the top-of-the-range 96 model, which is the only one to bear the Extreme suffix but also stands out technically. For the first time, a Snapdragon has three memory controllers for a 192-bit wide memory interface. In combination with LPDDR5X-9523 memory, which sits on the processor carrier in the form of three memory chips, up to 228 GByte/s can be shovelled around.
(Image:Â Florian MĂĽssig / heise medien)
Some other notebook processors such as Apple's M4 or Intel's Core Ultra 200V (Lunar Lake) also have Memory on Package (MoP), but only with 128 bits. The more powerful M4 Pro has four memory controllers (256 bits), but because Apple only provides LPDDR5X-7500, the memory interface there barely manages more than that of the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, namely 240 GByte/s. The same applies to AMD's Ryzen AI Max 300, aka Strix Halo.
Memory limit
The third memory controller was also the reason Qualcomm opted for the memory on the carrier: the package needed to remain compact so as not to take up too much space in notebooks. The disadvantage: Because the required particularly slim LPDDR5X chips are currently only available in 16 GByte modules at best, the memory expansion of the X2E-96-100 is limited to 48 GByte—similar to the Core Ultra 200V and M4, which are available with a maximum total memory of 32 GB due to the 128-bit interface.
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According to Qualcomm, as soon as memory modules with 24 or 32 GB are available, there is nothing to stop a 72 or 96 GB version if the market demands it. The two smaller Elite models X2E-88-100 and X2E-80-100 do not have the limit just described, as their carrier only contains the processor die and manufacturers can solder up to 128 GB of RAM separately onto the mainboard right from the start. However, the package is different to that of the Snapdragon X1 because the X2 now speaks PCI Express 5.0 instead of just PCIe 4.0, which places higher demands on signal quality.
| Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite - technical data | ||||||
| model | Cores | Clock / Turbo | Memory bus | GPU / Clock | PCIe lanes 4.0 / 5.0 | NPU |
| X2E-96-100 | 12C + 6c | 4.4 / 5.0 GHz | 192 bit | X2-90 / 1.85 GHz | 4 / 12 | 80 tops |
| X2E-88-100 | 12C + 6c | 4.0 / 4.7 GHz | 128 bit | X2-90 / 1.7 GHz | 4 / 12 | 80 Tops |
| X2E-80-100 | 6C + 6c | 4.0 / 4.7 GHz | 128 bit | X2-85 / 1.7 GHz | 4 / 8 | 80 Tops |
Like the Extreme special model, the 88 model has eighteen CPU cores (three 6-core clusters, 2x Prime and 1x Performance) and the graphics unit in full configuration (X2-90), albeit with reduced clock rates. Qualcomm slims down the 80 model even more: there are “only” twelve CPU cores (one 6-core cluster each Prime and Performance) and a weaker GPU (X2-85).
