Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor has finally been unveiled, and we now have a look at the performance we can expect in upcoming Windows PCs. It's already one powerful chip, and I have the benchmarks to prove it.
During the Snapdragon Summit 2025 in Hawaii, I obtained results for Qualcomm's most powerful offering, the aptly named Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) CPU. The company promised numerous upgrades, including the "world's fastest NPU for laptops," along with up to a 50% increase in CPU performance, double the GPU power, and more.
From a look at the results, the X2 Elite Extreme delivers on its promise. Not only does it significantly surpass the Snapdragon X Elite, but also the latest processors from Apple, Intel and AMD in the best laptops on the market today.
The benchmarks were taken on a reference laptop model powered by the X2 Elite Extreme, along with 48GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Once the chip arrives on upcoming Windows Copilot+ laptops in the first half of 2026, we'll be able to test these laptops in our own labs (along with the other Snapdragon X2 Elite CPUs).
For now, I've compiled all the testing we've done on competing chips in the best Windows laptops, as well as Apple's M4 MacBook Air and M4 Pro MacBook Pro, against the X2 Elite Extreme's benchmarks.
Ready for some numbers? Let's dive in.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: CPU tests
It's clear Qualcomm has wanted to make a big leap in generational performance in its Snapdragon X2 Elite series compared to its first-gen chips, with its third-gen 3nm Oryon CPU boasting up to 18 cores. This is said to offer a 39% increase in single-core peak performance and a 50% boost in multi-core peak performance.
As expected, this appears to be the case when it comes to Geekbench benchmark results. In both single-core and multi-core scores, the X2 Elite Extreme delivered a massive jump in numbers. Better yet, it's completely outshining its competition from Apple's M4 chips, Intel's Core Ultra 9 Series 2 processors and AMD's Ryzen AI 9 300 series CPUs.
CPU | Geekbench 6 single-core | Geekbench 6 multi-core |
|---|---|---|
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 4074 | 23449 |
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 (Dell XPS 13) | 2797 | 14635 |
M4 (MacBook Air 13-inch) | 3751 | 14947 |
M4 (MacBook Air 15-inch) | 3799 | 14921 |
M4 Pro (MacBook Pro 16-inch) | 3910 | 22822 |
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Asus Zenbook Duo) | 2952 | 16048 |
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 365 (MSI Creator A16 AI+) | 2850 | 14510 |
Receiving a 4,074 single-core score and a whopping 23,449 multi-core result on Geekbench 6.5 is quite the feat, especially considering the power its competition brings to the table.
It isn't surprising that the X2 Elite Extreme wiped the floor with the Snapdragon X Elite in one of our favorite laptops, the Dell XPS 13, seeing as this is the next-gen chipset, but it's still exciting to see the gap between the two.
However, even when compared to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H in the Asus Zenbook Duo and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 365 in the MSI Creator A16 AI+, the X2 Elite Extreme delivers some massive gains over the competition. The same goes for the M4 MacBook Air, and that's especially apparent when it comes to the multi-core score.
What makes the Snapdragon X Elite Extreme even more impressive is its score over the M4 Pro MacBook Pro. Apple's M4 Pro is no slouch, as it's one of the most powerful laptops you can buy, but the X Elite Extreme actually gains the upper hand — even if it isn't by a massive amount. That's impressive stuff, especially for a processor designed for Windows machines.
Now, compared to a chip like the M4 Max (as we tested on the Mac Studio), the X2 Elite Extreme still falls slightly behind. The M4 Max delivered a single-core score of 4,113 and a multi-core result of 26,966. That doesn't mean the Extreme CPU isn't a mighty chip, though, as it shows that it's up there with one of the strongest processors around (plus, the M4 Max will set you back $2,000).
Overall, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is setting itself up to be one of the most powerful chips on the market. Now, we'll have to wait and see how Apple's rumored M5 chip handles the pressure.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: GPU tests
Now, when it comes to GPU testing, I only got to check out a few 3DMark benchmarks: Solar Bay, Wild Life Extreme and Steel Nomad Light. However, I did get a glimpse at Steel Nomad, too, which requires more demanding graphics power.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme aims to take PC gaming seriously, and the results show it can pull off some impressive performance. It's expected to offer 2.3x faster performance compared to the Snapdragon X Elite when playing games like Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA V, and the results show it can do this better than other mobile chips on the market.
CPU | Solar Bay score (FPS) |
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 88.05 |
Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | 49.6 |
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | 61.98 |
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | 55.92 |
Apple M4 | 62.7 |
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme received a score of 23,157 (88.05 FPS) in the Solar Bay benchmark, 5,628 (41.69 FPS) in Steel Nomad Light and 11,530 (69.04 FPS) in Wild Life Extreme. In Steel Nomad, I saw a score of 1,306 (13.06 FPS), but take note that this is a higher-demanding benchmark that pushes GPUs to their limits.
The Adreno GPU is being pushed even further in the X2 Elite Extreme. With these cores, I could definitely imagine seeing games like Cyberpunk 2077 hit over (or around) 60 FPS with lower settings. That's an extremely impressive result for a CPU with an integrated GPU, even though it won't match the power of a full-on RTX 50-series laptop GPU.
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme: NPU tests
Finally, we have tests for the Hexagon NPU in the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. Featuring 80 TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second), this blasts past the previous X Elite chip at 45 TOPS, but also processors from Intel (13 TOPS) and Apple (M4 at 38 TOPS).
During the benchmarking session at the summit, the Procyon AI Computer Vision (and Geekbench AI) benchmark, as shown by Qualcomm, revealed a significant gap in the X2 Elite Extreme's AI processing performance, which is claimed to be the "world's fastest NPU for laptops." According to these results, this rings true.
CPU | Procyon AI Computer Vision score | Geekbench AI 1.5 |
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 | 4151 | 88615 |
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | 719 | 15628 |
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | 1742 | N/A |
Apple M4 | 2121 | 52193 |
Compared to virtually all the CPUs it went up against, the X2 Elite Extreme showed over double the score by achieving 4,151 in the benchmark. It completely put the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H out of the race (understandably), but also topped the Apple M4 chip with its score of 2,121.
This was also seen in the Geekbench AI score, with the Apple M4 chip still being far behind despite being in second place in these benchmark scores.
The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is one powerful beast in all departments, and I can't wait to check it out when it finally arrives on upcoming Windows PCs in 2026. Then, we'll see these results in action (and test them ourselves on consumer laptops in our labs).
Performance isn't the only feature I'm looking forward to when it comes to Qualcomm's latest CPU offering, as there are a few features I can't wait to try on the Snapdragon X2 Elite chips.
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