Qualcomm's cheaper Snapdragon X2 Elite just beat Intel, with one big asterisk
Key takeaways
- The standard X2 Elite (not the Extreme) scored 3,237 single-core and 24,016 multi-core in Geekbench 7, versus 2,602 and 18,360 for Intel's Core Ultra X7 358H
- Snapdragon led on AI vision tests and on video and Chrome battery runs, but Intel lasted three hours longer in the sustained Office battery test
- Intel's Arc B390 integrated GPU was roughly 23 percent faster in 3DMark Steel Nomad Light
- Qualcomm paid for the study, and the two laptops have very different screens, so treat the battery numbers as a hint rather than a verdict
The interesting part of Qualcomm's latest laptop numbers is not the flagship. It is the chip one rung down. A new benchmark study pits the standard 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite (the X2E-88-100) against Intel and AMD in premium 14-inch Windows laptops, and the Qualcomm machine wins most of the fights that matter for a work laptop.
Before anything else, the asterisk: Qualcomm commissioned the study. That does not make the numbers wrong, but it does mean every test was picked by the company that wanted to win them.
The CPU gap is bigger than core count explains
The Snapdragon chip ran inside a Lenovo Slim 7x. Intel's Core Ultra X7 358H sat in a Dell XPS 14, and AMD's Ryzen AI 7 445 in a Lenovo Yoga 7a 14.
In Geekbench 7, the Slim 7x scored 3,237 single-core and 24,016 multi-core. The XPS 14 managed 2,602 and 18,360. That is roughly 24 percent ahead on a single core and 31 percent ahead overall. The single-core result is the one to notice, because you cannot explain it away by pointing at Qualcomm's higher core count.
AI work was even more lopsided. In a computer vision benchmark the Snapdragon laptop scored 4,360 against Intel's 2,302, and it held a lead of about 31 percent in a newer Windows ML test. Windows ML matters because it is Microsoft's common layer, not a Qualcomm-tuned code path.
Battery: mostly Qualcomm, with a twist
On battery, the Snapdragon laptop kept 97 percent of its plugged-in performance. Intel kept 95 percent. AMD dropped to 74 percent, which is the number AMD fans should worry about.
Battery life split more than the headlines suggest:
- Local video playback: 16.1 hours (Snapdragon) vs 14.4 hours (Intel)
- Chrome browsing: 11.2 hours vs 8.6 hours
- Sustained Office test: 14.3 hours vs 17.4 hours, an Intel win
The screens muddy this. The XPS 14 runs a 2880 x 1800 120Hz OLED, while the Slim 7x has a 1920 x 1200 60Hz OLED. A sharper, faster panel costs battery, so Intel arguably did well to win any of these.
Where Intel still wins
Graphics. Intel's Arc B390 was roughly 23 percent faster than Qualcomm's Adreno X2-90 in 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, in both DirectX 12 and Vulkan. If you game on integrated graphics or lean on GPU-accelerated creative apps, Intel is still the safer pick.
The price angle
The tested Slim 7x costs $1,999. The XPS 14 costs $2,749. That $750 gap is not all processor, because the Dell has the nicer build and the better screen, but it does show where Qualcomm is aiming: premium-feeling laptops that undercut the flagship price.
The takeaway
If your day is browser tabs, Office, video calls and the odd local AI feature, the standard X2 Elite now looks like a genuine first choice rather than an experiment. Check app compatibility first (Windows on Arm is far better than it was, but niche tools and some anti-cheat games still trip it up), and wait for independent reviews of the exact laptop you want. If you play games on integrated graphics, Intel keeps its edge for now.
