Qualcomm Snapdragon X first batch evaluation released: Single-core speed, energy efficiency inferior to Apple M3, multi-core total score surpasses the latter
The first batch of evaluations for Qualcomm Snapdragon X show that its multi-core performance surpasses Apple's M3 chip, but falls behind in single-core performance and energy efficiency. This means that Apple's M3 chip is faster and more power-efficient in many tasks. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chip was compared in performance with Apple's MacBook Air M3 chip, with X Elite excelling in multi-core performance, while M3 holds the advantage in single-core performance
With the launch of Microsoft's new AI PC products, the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, this week, the performance evaluation of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite series ARM chips has also been released.
This time, the Snapdragon X Elite is compared with Apple's MacBook Air M3 chip.
According to preliminary test data from 9to5mac, the multi-core performance score of the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip is higher than Apple's 8-core M3 chip in the MacBook Air, but the M3 still holds the upper hand in single-core performance. This means that in many tasks, the processing speed of the M3 is still faster, and the M3 chip is more power-efficient than the X Elite.
Chip efficiency testing is complex as it involves considering the test environment and specific chips, especially since there are multiple versions of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip with varying speeds. However, a test by NotebookCheck shows that the power consumption of the X Elite 78 when running Cinebench is around 14W, while the M3 is at 10W.
Looking at the original test data from Geekbench:
The new Microsoft Surface Pro equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite has a single-core performance score of around 2800 and a multi-core performance score of around 14300.
In comparison, the MacBook Air's M3 single-core score far exceeds 3000, with an average multi-core score of around 12000, about 20% lower than the Microsoft Surface.
Although Microsoft and Qualcomm have always liked to use the MacBook Air as a reference point for their new products in public marketing, in terms of core count and efficiency characteristics, the Snapdragon X Elite is closer to Apple's M3 Pro chip in the MacBook Pro.
When comparing the normal power consumption of the Snapdragon X Elite with the M3 Pro, the latter's multi-core benchmark test score is likely to be comparable to or even higher than the Snapdragon X Elite.
Furthermore, Apple products have already started transitioning to the M4, making the M3 chip a bit "old". In May, Apple released the new iPad Pro with the M4 chip, which outperforms the Snapdragon X Elite in both single-core and multi-core performance scores on Geekbench, and it is a fanless tablet. The MacBook Pro with the M4 chip is expected to start shipping by the end of this year, posing strong competition.
Overall, since Apple introduced the M1 chip in 2020, the performance and battery life of Apple laptops still reign supreme, but Qualcomm's new generation ARM chips for AI PCs have significantly narrowed the gap. With the launch of the new Copilot+ PC series, the Windows laptop sector has grown into a formidable competitor