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Snapdragon X2 Elite Deep Dive Shows Oryon‑3 CPU, Expanded Adreno GPU and Strong Multicore in Fresh Tests

Independent tests on Qualcomm reference systems point to strong multi‑core and GPU performance ahead of a first‑half‑2026 rollout.

Overview

  • Qualcomm detailed three X2 Elite variants, with the top 18‑core model using two six‑core Prime clusters plus one six‑core Performance cluster and per‑cluster Matrix Engines implementing Arm SME.
  • The Adreno X2‑90 GPU scales to four slices, adds DirectX 12.2 Ultimate ray‑tracing units and 21 MB of dedicated SRAM linked at 4 TB/s, with Qualcomm citing up to 130% higher raster performance versus the X1 generation.
  • ComputerBase reports Apple’s M5 reclaiming the single‑core lead by about 6%, while Qualcomm’s flagship posts multi‑core wins in several tests and shows a GPU edge in 3DMark Steel Nomad Light with a 7% lead over M5.
  • Qualcomm leaves power targets to OEMs, demonstrating an unconstrained 16‑inch reference design and a 14‑inch unit capped at 22 W, and expects early retail systems to sustain roughly 20–40 W.
  • The SoC is built on TSMC 3 nm with more than 31 billion transistors, the Extreme SKU supports triple‑channel LPDDR5X‑9523 memory up to 228 GB/s, and HWiNFO now exposes Snapdragon telemetry with accuracy still under joint refinement.