Chinese computer manufacturer Geekom is reportedly preparing the QS series of mini-PCs powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip. According to the Lonely City Hardware (machine translated) on Weibo (h/t Neowin), this device will be the first Snapdragon X Elite mini-PC, especially as Qualcomm unexpectedly canceled the Snapdragon X Elite dev kit. However, we don’t know the mini-PC’s specifications, pricing, or additional information.
All that we see in the leaked image is the device’s exterior case, which features the power button, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm combo jack. This looks similar to the Geekom A7, a mini-PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, and has a similar front button layout, case design, and color. If this mini-PC launches, it will help Qualcomm reach more customers, especially as it promised in Computex 2024 that the Snapdragon is coming to “all PC form factors,” including desktop PCs. While the mini-PC is not precisely a full-blow desktop CPU with largely interchangeable components (like a discrete GPU), it still has a niche, especially for users who do not require portability but have little desk space.
We want to see what the Qualcomm Snapdragon chips can do when freed from battery limitations. After all, while these chips are very efficient and allow your laptop to last weeks on a single charge, they reportedly don’t offer much performance past 100 watts. Nevertheless, a mini-PC’s small size would likely make the Snapdragon X Elite a great candidate for powering one. After all, other mini-PCs, like the Minisforum 790S7 and Atom Man G7 Ti, use processors designed for laptops.
However, one downside of an Arm-based mini-PC is its lack of expandability and compatibility. The Snapdragon X chips use integrated memory, so you can’t upgrade your PC once you’ve picked a RAM capacity. There’s also limited support for discrete GPUs, so the QS mini-PC won’t be a great gaming device. But if all you need is a tiny little PC for basic tasks, like web browsing, office typing, and streaming, then a Qualcomm Snapdragon X mini-PC might be a great option that won’t break the bank but will offer above-average performance.
