Qualcomm has unveiled its next generation of Snapdragon chips for Windows laptops alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for smartphones. The aptly named Snapdragon X2 Elite is joined by a new, higher binned sibling called Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. All three parts come with Qualcomm’s third-generation Nuvia CPU cores and an upgraded dual-Hexagon NPU with 80 TOPS AI performance. All three chips are made on TSMC’s 3 nm N3P node, the same one used by Apple for its M4 series. 

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 is the proverbial flagship of the generation. It features an 18-core CPU with 12 P-cores and 6 E-cores, a single-core boost of up to 5.0 GHz, a multi-core boost clock of 4.4 GHz, and 53 MB total cache (L1/L2/L3 distribution not specified). On the GPU side, it runs a next-gen Adreno X2-90 GPU with a max boost clock of 1.85 GHz. Any device running the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme will come with 192-bit LPDDR5X-9523 RAM for a total memory bandwidth of 228 GB/s. Qualcomm says ‘128+’ GB of RAM is supported, but doesn’t mention the maximum allowed amount. Lastly, the SoC comes with 12 PCIe Gen 5 and four PCIe Gen 4 lanes.

Next up, the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100 has the same core count as the Extreme version, but with a 4.7 GHz single and dual-core boost clock, 4.0 GHz multi-core boost clock and 53 MB of cache. It reuses the Adreno X2-90 GPU from above and reduces its boost clock to 1.7 GHz. There are other slight downgrades, such as up to 128 GB of RAM on a 128-bit memory bus with the same LPDDR5X modules for a total bandwidth of 152 GB/s.

Lastly, there’s the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-80-100. It comes with a 12-core CPU (6P + 6E), 4.7/4.4 GHz single/dual-core boost clock, 34 MB of total cache, eight PCIe Gen 5 lanes, four PCIe Gen 4 lanes, and support for up to 128 GB of RAM with the same specs as the X2 Elite X2E-88-100. Other changes include an Adreno X2-85 GPU with a max boost clock of 1.7 GHz. Unfortunately, Qualcomm hasn’t specified how the X2-85 differs from the X2-90 in terms of CU count and the like.

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100, Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100 and Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-80-100 integrate Qualcomm’s Spectra ISP that supports 36 MP camera sensors and 4K 30 FPS video capture. OEMs can optionally add a Snapdragon X85 5G modem for cellular connectivity along with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and Bluetooth LE. The chipsets can support up to three USB 4.0 ports. Video output maxes out at 3X 4K 144 Hz or 1X 5K 60 Hz via the included eDP 1.4 interface.

Laptops and mini-PCs powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme and Snapdragon X2 Elite will be available for purchase in H1 2026, so it could be a while before one can get their hands on them. Qualcomm hasn’t mentioned which OEMs are on board, but it will probably include the usual players like Lenovo, Dell, HP and others. 

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Anil Ganti – Senior Tech Writer – 2711 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2019

I’ve been an avid PC gamer since the age of 8. My passion for gaming eventually pushed me towards general tech, and I got my first writing gig at the age of 19. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and have worked in the manufacturing industry and a few other publications like Wccftech before joining Notebookcheck in November 2019. I cover a variety of topics including smartphones, gaming, and computer hardware.