8-core Snapdragon X Plus struggles to run games in early tests

The new, more affordable version of the Snapdragon X Plus, with 8 cores, has had its first benchmark tests appear on the internet. There are several different apps and, as expected, the processor “suffers” mainly when running games.

The component, also known by the model code XP-42-100, appeared with 102 points in single core in Cinebench 2024. In multi-core the number goes to 649 points. It is 5% less than the 10-core version in single, which gets 107 points, and 20% less in multi, where the best processor gets 809 points. In other words, within the expected for a unit with fewer cores.

The 8-core Snapdragon X Plus was also tested in Blender and Geekbench 6. In Blender, it took 2 minutes, 3 seconds and 48ms to complete the rendering test. In Geekbench, the WCCFTech guys prepared a graph comparing the SoC’s results with other processors:

As mentioned before, it’s the GPU where the processor struggles the most. The 10-core Snapdragon X Plus, for example, scores 1500 points in 3DMark Time Spy, while the new model scored 1025 points. It was also tested on the Steel Nomad, where it scored 1159 points, with an average of just 8.6 FPS.

8-core Snapdragon X Plus can’t handle Shadow of the Tomb Raider

It wasn’t just synthetic tests that leaked for the new version of the Snapdragon X Plus. The processor also appeared “trying” to run Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

With the settings set to low at 1080p, the game is rendered at 18FPS by the component’s dedicated GPU. Setting it to high, the average drops to just 12FPS. In comparison, the Snapdragon X Elite can hold 33FPS at these settings.

In conclusion, it’s important to note that this probably won’t be a SoC that’s touted for gaming. Unlike the X Elite, which Qualcomm has promoted as a good solution for gamers, the 8-core X Plus is all about value for money. This is probably the variant we’ll see in PCs for under $700 next year.