Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus now comes in 8-core variants

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Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus now comes in 8-core variants

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips launched in laptops earlier this summer, showing up primarily in high-end machines with premium price tags. At IFA in Berlin, the company is introducing a lower-end version of the Snapdragon X Plus with 8 CPU cores instead of the usual 10-cores on that chip. The company suggests that will bring prices down, with laptops featuring the 8-core version starting at $799.

Crucially for Qualcomm’s marketing of the chips, it maintains the same 45 NPU tops as the 10-core X Plus and the higher-end X Elite models, allowing the company to claim similar AI performance.

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Header Cell – Column 0	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (8-core)	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (8-core)	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (10-core)	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (10-core)
Part Number	X1P-42-100	X1P-46-100	X1P-64-100	X1P-66-100
CPU	Qualcomm Oryon, 8 cores, up to 3.4 GHz single-core boost / 3.2 GHz multi-core, 30MB total cache, no boost	Qualcomm Oryon, 8 cores, up to 4.0 GHz single-core boost/3.4 GHz multi-core, 30MB total cache	Qualcomm Oryon, 10 cores up to 3.4 GHz, 42MB total cache, no single or dual-core boost	Qualcomm Oryon, 10 cores, up to 4.0 GHz single-core boost/3.4 GHz multi-core, 42MB total cache
GPU	Qualcomm Adreno up to 1.7 TFLOPs	Qualcomm Adreno up to 2.1 TFLOPs	Qualcomm Adreno, up to 3.8 TFLOPS	Qualcomm Adreno, up to 3.8 TFLOPS
NPU	Qualcomm Hexagon, 45 TOPS	Qualcomm Hexagon, 45 TOPS	Qualcomm Hexagon, 45 TOPS	Qualcomm Hexagon, 45 TOPS
Process Node	TSMC 4nm	TSMC 4nm	TSMC 4nm	TSMC 4nm
Memory	Up to 64GB LPDDR5x-8448	Up to 64GB LPDDR5x-8448	Up to 64GB LPDDR5x-8448	Up to 64GB LPDDR5x-8448
Camera	Qualcomm Spectra ISP, up to 36MP single camera, 4K HDR video capture	Qualcomm Spectra ISP, up to 36MP single camera, 4K HDR video capture	Qualcomm Spectra ISP, UP to 64MP single camera, Dual camera 2x 36 MP, 4K HDR video capture	Qualcomm Spectra ISP, UP to 64MP single camera, Dual camera 2x 36 MP, 4K HDR video capture
Cellular Modem	Snapdragon X65 5G	Snapdragon X65 5G	Snapdragon X65 5G	Snapdragon X65 5G
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth	Qualcomm FastConnect 7800; Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7, up to Bluetooth 5.4	Qualcomm FastConnect 7800; Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7, up to Bluetooth 5.4	Qualcomm FastConnect 7800; Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7, up to Bluetooth 5.4	Qualcomm FastConnect 7800; Wi-Fi 6, 6E, 7, up to Bluetooth 5.4

There are two new chips in the 8-core range: the X1P-42-100 and XP-46-100. Both have 8-cores, but they have several differences. The X1P-42-100 goes up to 3.4 GHz with single-core boost and 3.2 GHz multi-core and a GPU going up to 1.7 TFLOPS, while the XP-46-100 goes up to 4.0 GHz with single-core boost and 3.4 GHz multi-core with a 2.1-TFLOPS GPU. (Unlike the initial 10-core X1P-64-100, these do have single-core boost).

That being said, there are a number of other differences between the 8-core and 10-core versions  of the Snapdragon X Plus beyond how many CPU cores there are. The 8-core versions have less cache (30MB, versus 42MB on the 10-core) and the weakest chip has slower single and multi-core performance. The GPU is also slower, going up to 2.1 TFLOPS on the stronger 8-core GPU compared to 3.8 TFLOPs on the 10-core. That will be particularly interesting to see in action, because GPUs are popular for AI applications, some of which don’t use the NPU.

The other big change is to the image signal processor. The newer chips support up to a 36MP single camera, down from 64MP on the 10-core X Plus  (which could also support dual 36MP cameras).

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(Image credit: Qualcomm)

It’s surprising that Qualcomm is still calling these chips X Plus. The company is using a different badge from the 10-core version, clearly realizing it needs to be differentiated in the marketplace. But every X Elite model has 12-cores, so until now, it seemed that the number of CPU cores is the big differentiator between levels of chip. (And frankly, the usage of “Plus” suggests that there’s something below it.). It’s unclear if a ****** Snapdragon flame instead of a silver one will really help people understand what they’re buying.

Laptops with the 8-core X Plus are starting to launch today, with options from HP, Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung being announced around IFA, according to Qualcomm’s slides.

These will be Copilot+ PCs, with exclusive features like Cocreate and live translation — at least until AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 chips and Intel’s Lunar Lake processors finally get the nod. 

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(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm claims in its slides that it delivers 79% faster peak single-threaded CPU performance than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U at 216% less power. That Meteor L ake was just replaced yesterday and the Lunar Lake successors will launch officially this month. Time for some new testing, it seems! The company also claims up to 40% more performance in single-threaded performance than the Ryzen 5 8640U at 150% less power.

In multi-threaded performance, Qualcomm claims the same X1P-46-100 offers 35% faster multi-threaded performance in Geekbench 6.2 than the Ryzen 5 with 116% less power.

The company also claimed faster single-core performance than the Core Ultra 7 155U (61% faster at 179% less power) and the Ryzen 7 8840U (22% faster with 121% less power). In multi-core, that was 41% faster performance at 124% less power for the Intel chip and 7% faster performance at 39% less power against AMD.

Qualcomm is also promising up to twice as much battery life against the Core Ultra 7 155U, though that’s specifically on Teams Video Calls (and using the weaker X1P-42-100). The smallest difference, in Office 365 apps, was a claimed 36%. This is another area where re-testing will be necessary when Intel’s Lunar Lake chips release this month.

We’ve embedded Qualcomm’s slides above.

A new 10-Core Snapdragon X Plus

Qualcomm is making much less noise about a new 10-core Snapdragon X Plus it’s listing in new comparison tables. The X1P-66-100 has 3.4 GHz like the existing 10-core chip, but also adds single-core boost up to 4.0 GHz. It otherwise has the same cache and same graphics capabilities. A Qualcomm representative told Tom’s Hardware that this new chip would start showing up in the first half of 2025, which sounds to me like we’ll see it more at CES.

This configuration is listed in a product briefing describing the new 8-core chips (and is in the table above), but isn’t mentioned in Qualcomm’s press releases or other documents regarding the new chip. It sounds like Qualcomm is just teasing it, for now.

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