Qualcomm has introduced its most advanced processors yet for Windows notebooks and PCs, with the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. The new chips are designed to challenge AMD’s upcoming Ryzen AI+ 395 while offering a leap in performance over previous Snapdragon generations.
The flagship Extreme model brings higher performance
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is the flagship version of the series, boasting higher clock speeds, more cores and stronger artificial intelligence capabilities than the standard X2 Elite. Built on TSMC’s 3nm process, the Extreme features up to 18 Oryon CPU cores, with 12 prime and 6 performance cores.
Two of the prime cores can boost up to 5.0GHz, making it the first Arm-based consumer processor to achieve this speed. Memory capacity is another headline figure, with the Extreme supporting up to 128GB of LPDDR5X-9523 memory, delivering bandwidth of 228GB/s and 53MB of cache.
The X2 Elite features up to 12 cores on TSMC’s 4nm process, with a single prime core capable of boosting up to 4.7GHz. It supports the same 128GB of memory but at a lower bandwidth, alongside a reduced cache of 34MB.
Major upgrades in AI and graphics capabilities
Artificial intelligence is a key focus for Qualcomm, with the Extreme’s neural processing unit reaching up to 80 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This is almost double the 45 TOPS offered by the standard X2 Elite. According to Qualcomm, this level of acceleration is designed explicitly for Copilot+ PCs, enabling multiple AI workloads to run simultaneously on-device.
Graphics performance has also been enhanced. The Extreme integrates the Adreno X2-90 GPU, while the Elite is fitted with the Adreno X2-85. Both chips include hardware-based ray tracing for the first time, as well as support for DirectX 12.2 Ultimate, Vulkan and OpenCL 3.0.
Display capabilities are equally ambitious. The processors can power up to three external 4K monitors at 144Hz or two 5K monitors at 60Hz.
Advanced connectivity and launch timeline
Connectivity options for both processors include Wi-Fi 7 support via Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800 and optional 5G through the Snapdragon X75 modem. The Extreme model incorporates PCIe 5.0, while the Elite is limited to PCIe 4.0. Storage compatibility covers NVMe SSDs, UFS 4.0 and multiple USB4 ports.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite and Elite Extreme are expected to appear in the first wave of Windows notebooks during the first half of 2026. Benchmarks for the chips are also anticipated in the coming months, offering the first glimpse at how they compare against AMD and Intel rivals.
