Snapdragon X Elite shows 2X higher multi-threaded performance than Apple M2 in new benchmarks — Apple M2 is faster in single-threaded performance, though

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A Snapdragon X Elite-powered Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 scored 7,923.5 points in multi-threaded benchmark results, beating the Apple M2's 3,822.3 points.

Snapdragon X-powered Microsoft Surface laptosp
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft is confident that the Snapdragon X Elite-powered computers will challenge Apple’s offering, and a third-party benchmark just proved this. The company recently launched several Snapdragon X-powered AI laptops, including its Surface Laptop 7. Many are saying that the Snapdragon X processors are a game-changer for Windows laptops, which Microsoft needs to counter Apple’s recent domination of the laptop market with its Apple-silicon-powered MacBooks.

Hardware detective HXL shared the results of a CPU-Z (ARM64) benchmark run on a Surface Laptop 7 with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 SoC on May 25. CPU-Z’s internal benchmark tool was used to compare the X1E-78-100 to the Apple M2. Since CPU-Z isn’t available for macOS, the reviewer created a virtual machine running Windows 11 to run the benchmark. Therefore, there may be some performance loss along the way. Unlike Cinebench, CPU-Z isn’t considered a reliable benchmark, so take the results with a pinch of salt.

The X1E-78-100 exhibited a single-thread result of 686.0 points and a multi-threaded result of 7,923.5 points. HXL then compared this with a previous benchmark test of an Apple M2 device running a Windows 11 virtual machine. Although the Apple computer had a higher single-thread result at 749.5 points, the Surface Laptop 7 obliterated it in the multi-thread test after reaching only 3,822.3 points — less than half of what the Surface Laptop 7 achieved.

While several benchmarks have shown that the Snapdragon X Elite could beat Intel and AMD’s top laptop offerings, we haven’t seen any real-world tests comparing it to Apple-silicon MacBooks until now. This result shows that the new Qualcomm-powered laptops could hold their own, allowing users who want extended battery life in a thin-and-light platform to choose between Windows and macOS instead of just relying on Apple for their needs. Qualcomm is reportedly preparing to officially support Linux on the Snapdragon X Elite, giving users an open-source operating system option.

The Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips are significant developments for the consumer laptop market. Their introduction led to more options for buyers who prefer powerful Arm chips for their efficiency, as they could now get these laptops from other makers like Samsung, HP, Lenovo, and Acer instead of just waiting for Apple to release its latest Apple-silicon MacBook. These new offerings will encourage competition, leading to better products and prices for end users.

So far, this is the only benchmark we have of the Snapdragon X Elite that compares it directly to Apple silicon. We’re looking forward to test results from other manufacturers, allowing us to see which layouts and systems deliver the most power from Qualcomm’s chips. But we don’t want to rely just on leaks and official results; instead, we want to see full-blown reviews from trusted publications and channels. That way, we know what we’re getting when we purchase a Snapdragon X-powered laptop.

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Jowi Morales
Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ikjadoon
    Man, can people not wait a few weeks? We’re so close. A virtual machine puts too much burden on a system for performance benchmarks.

    Plenty of validated cross-platform native ARM64 benchmarks between macOS and Windows.

    PugetBench, Cinebench, Geekbench, Speedometer, etc.

    Why not run those?

    //

    we haven’t seen any real-world tests comparing it to Apple-silicon MacBooks until now

    I can’t say I agree that now, suddenly, we have seen real-world tests.

    There are few real-world applications that are 1) cross-platform and 2) include native benchmarks that are validated cross-platform.

    CPU-Z is not one of them.

    Please; just wait a few weeks. Devices are already on the way, if not already, with reviewers.

    Then the winner can take a victory lap after reviewers have run their tests.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    Our new stuff is faster than their old stuff, to the surprise of no one.
    Reply
  • cp0x
    While it's nice that Macs have been fast and power efficient, the main advantage that Macs have is that Macs run macOS instead of Windows.

    I'm not sure how making a faster machine that will have to run Windows is going to fix that problem.
    Reply
  • Pierce2623
    thisisaname said:
    Our new stuff is faster than their old stuff, to the surprise of no one.
    Well it’s also 12 p cores vs 4 p cores/4 e cores.
    Reply
  • ItaloLage
    cp0x said:
    While it's nice that Macs have been fast and power efficient, the main advantage that Macs have is that Macs run macOS instead of Windows.

    I'm not sure how making a faster machine that will have to run Windows is going to fix that problem.
    ... the main disavantage that Macs have is that Macs run macOS instead of Windows.

    In context, thousands of games, software's, including government taxes software in hundreds of countries are Windows exclusives. Macs will serve well for the most basic tasks or very specific ones. For the majority of cases, Windows is necessary.
    Reply
  • usertests
    Pierce2623 said:
    Well it’s also 12 p cores vs 4 p cores/4 e cores.
    It's also possible to run it at 80 Watts (especially the dev kit). That's the TDP of the M2 Max.
    Reply
  • brandonjclark
    ItaloLage said:
    ... the main disavantage that Macs have is that Macs run macOS instead of Windows.

    In context, thousands of games, software's, including government taxes software in hundreds of countries are Windows exclusives. Macs will serve well for the most basic tasks or very specific ones. For the majority of cases, Windows is necessary.
    I gave your comment a "like" because I can appreciate that point of view, because I tend to agree. Although, I'm becoming less confident in this belief.

    To test this, what are the workloads that satisfy the "majority of use cases"?

    I asked CheatGPT and here are the TOP-LEVEL workloads:

    Sure, here are the major use cases or workloads for computing:

    1. Data Processing and Analytics
    2. Scientific and Technical Computing
    3. Enterprise Applications
    4. Web and Mobile Applications
    5. Networking and Communication
    6. Cloud Computing
    7. Internet of Things (IoT)
    8. Cybersecurity
    9. Entertainment and Media
    10. Financial Services
    11. Healthcare
    12. Education and E-Learning


    Let's approach each one with a "largest OS base" approach to determine necessity:

    Certainly, here is the list with the best supporting operating systems for each workload:

    1. Data Processing and Analytics
    **OS:** Linux

    2. Scientific and Technical Computing
    **OS:** Linux

    3. Enterprise Applications
    **OS:** Windows

    ### 4. Web and Mobile Applications
    **OS:** Linux

    5. Networking and Communication
    **OS:** Linux

    6. Cloud Computing
    **OS:** Linux

    ### 7. Internet of Things (IoT)
    **OS:** Linux

    8. Cybersecurity
    **OS:** Linux

    9. Entertainment and Media
    **OS:** Linux

    ### 10. Financial Services
    **OS:** Linux

    11. Healthcare
    **OS:** Windows

    12. Education and E-Learning
    **OS:** Windows


    So, as you can see, the "majority of use cases" argument has fallen apart as of late.

    Why is this? The reason is OSS, or Open-Source Software and the collaborative development across academia, to name the leading cause.

    Thoughts anyone?
    Reply
  • syadnom
    Frankly, this is a garbage article. Benchmarking a native OS against an OS in a virtual machine and comparing the two in this context is ludicrous. And yet the Apple hardware beat the Snapdragon in some benchmarks.

    Let's see some apples-to-apples (unintended pun) benchmarks here to compare.

    What was the TDP of the tested snapdragon vs the lowest end vs a 1-1.5x generation out of date base model M2? 4x? And it still lost single threaded?

    Again, let's see some power-to-power, native benchmarks here before trying to declare an outright win.

    ~~

    I've said it a few times, we don't actually need apple-beating hardware, we just need competative hardware. Right now (pre copilot AI hardware) the windows world really doesn't have a comperable mobile option. To get similar performance you get 1/3-1/2 the battery or to get 2/3 the battery the machine is very slow.

    Most mac sales are base macbook airs with base M series chips, not macbook pros with the highest end chips. Snapdragon needs to be within about 80% overall of a macbook air I think. People who prefer windows wont be tempted by mac hardware if they can cross that threshold in performance and battery life. On paper this looks reasonably likely if microsoft's prism works well. Apple hit it out of the park with rosetta2, making it an all-but-seamless transition. The x86-64 on arm64 pre-copilot windows runs is trash. If this isn't improved then these machines will struggle to sell in business applications since business programs tended to lag way way behind for updates like re-building on a new architecture.
    Reply
  • _Shatta_AD_
    I believe they should just wait for the M4 powered MacBook Air to be released before publishing an article on benchmark comparison. This article somewhat unintentionally insinuates that the M2 chip is the latest in Apple chip tech when in reality, it’s almost two years old. On top of that, these benchmarks uses a VM that penalizes on latency and performance making the point of this article moot.
    Reply
  • Findecanor
    Qualcomm are missing the mark by comparing against Apple Silicon.

    It is the poor sods who are required to use Windows, who were about to choose between Intel and AMD that they have to win over.

    Mac users who are already on Mac will continue to use Mac.
    People who are considering leaving Wintel for Apple are doing so because Windows 11 with each new update is getting more alike to the contents of my ostomy pouch than a usable system, not because Apple has good hardware.

    Qualcomm has promised Linux support, and for Apple Silicon Macs there is Asahi Linux.
    That would be more of an apples-to-apples comparison.
    Asahi Linux still does not support the M3 series, but the M2 is fully supported.
    For a fair comparison, the Mac should have a 12-core "Pro" processor. (M2 Pro is 8P+4E, M3 Pro is 6P+6E but still faster)
    Measure battery life, noise level and lap temperature!
    Reply