October 15, 2025 – Qualcomm has fired the starting gun in the AI PC race with leaked benchmarks for its Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chipset, showing it dominating Intel’s Core Ultra 9 and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 in neural processing tasks. Early controlled tests, shared by GSMArena and Tom’s Hardware, reveal the 18-core beast delivering up to 5.6x faster AI performance, positioning it as a game-changer for laptops and edge devices in 2025.
The leaks, stemming from Qualcomm’s reference design, come amid fierce competition in the Arm-based PC market. With Windows on Arm gaining traction, this chip could accelerate adoption among US developers and European creators seeking efficient AI workflows. HotHardware’s analysis underscores the Extreme variant’s 48GB on-package memory via a 192-bit bus, enabling seamless on-device generative AI without cloud dependency.
As CES 2025 approaches, these numbers fuel speculation: Will Snapdragon redefine mobile computing? Gadget Tech Zone breaks down the scores, implications, and what it means for your next upgrade.
Leaked Benchmarks: Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme’s Raw Power Unleashed
Early leaks from September 2025 tests paint a vivid picture. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (ZXE-100) scores 8,815 in Geekbench 6 single-core – a 30% jump over the Snapdragon X Elite’s 6,808. Multi-core hits 88,150, edging Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285H (74,456) by 18%.
In Cinebench R23, it clocks 2,500 single-core and 25,000 multi-core, surpassing AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (2,200/22,000) by 14%. The star? NPU performance: 88 TOPS in Geekbench AI, 5.6x faster than Intel’s 15.7 TOPS – ideal for local Stable Diffusion or Copilot+ features.
Tom’s Hardware notes the 192-bit LPDDR5X memory bus (up to 136GB/s) fuels this, with 48GB on-package for AI models. Power draw? 45W TDP, 20% more efficient than x86 rivals.
These aren’t final silicon scores – Qualcomm’s reference design used Windows 11 Arm preview. Still, they outshine Apple’s M4 (5,219 single-core) in raw CPU.
How Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Stacks Up: Head-to-Head Scores
Qualcomm touts the Extreme as “world’s fastest NPU for laptops.” Leaks back it.
Here’s a snapshot table from GSMArena and HotHardware data.
| Metric | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Apple M4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single-Core | 8,815 | 7,456 | 6,808 | 5,219 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi-Core | 88,150 | 74,456 | 68,000 | 52,000 (est.) |
| Cinebench R23 Single | 2,500 | 2,200 | 2,100 | 1,900 |
| Cinebench R23 Multi | 25,000 | 22,000 | 21,500 | 18,000 |
| NPU AI (TOPS) | 88 | 15.7 | 50 | 38 |
| Efficiency (Perf/Watt) | 1.96 | 1.65 | 1.50 | 1.80 |
The X2’s 18 cores (12 performance, 6 efficiency) shine in mixed loads. HotHardware highlights 33% GPU uplift for gaming.
Implications for AI PCs and Smartphones: Qualcomm’s Bold Leap
This chip targets Copilot+ PCs. Lowyat.NET reports 100M 5G-A smartphones by year-end, but X2 eyes laptops. GSMArena speculates OEMs like Lenovo, HP adopting for 2026.
For US creators, on-device AI cuts cloud costs. EU devs gain from Arm’s power sip, meeting green regs.
Challenges? App emulation lags x86. But Windows 11 Arm improves 40% YoY.
Tom’s Hardware warns: “Tough to beat” for AI, but gaming needs driver tweaks.
What This Means for Consumers: Faster, Smarter Devices Ahead
Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme signals Arm’s PC takeover. Expect $1,000 laptops with 88 TOPS NPU by Q2 2026.
For smartphones, it ties to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s phone debut. TechRadar predicts hybrid phone-laptop modes.
Deals? Wait for CES reveals. Early adopters eye Surface Arm refresh.
Gadget Tech Zone watches Qualcomm’s run. X2 Extreme your next buy? Comment!
