Snapdragon X2 Elite promises support for 90% of PC games, with more performance than Intel and AMD

Qualcomm recently held a presentation for the Snapdragon X2 Elite, a new generation of its premium processor aimed at ARM-based Windows devices. The company focused on the SoC’s integrated GPU, the Adreno X2, promising broad compatibility with games and more performance than CPUs for notebooks from Intel and AMD.

According to Qualcomm, the Adreno X2 of the Snapdragon X2 Elite guarantees support for more than 90% of the most popular Windows games. Compared to the Adreno X1, the new version of the GPU promises not only more performance, but also much more efficiency.

The slide above, shared by the company, shows that the Adreno X2 would be capable of a frame rate up to 2.3 times higher than its previous version when running games. And this is done using less energy – the new GPU can deliver up to 70% more performance with the same energy as the Adreno X1, or offer up to 125% more performance per watt, according to results from 3DMark Time Spy.

Qualcomm shows Snapdragon X2 Elite beating Intel and AMD CPUs

Perhaps the slide from Qualcomm’s presentation for the Snapdragon X2 Elite that will attract the most attention is the one below. The company highlights that its new processor outperforms Intel Core Ultra Series 2 by up to 50%, offering up to 29% more performance than AMD Ryzen AI 9 as well.

Specifically, the comparison is made with the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V and the Ryzen AI HX 370, in a variety of games. The game in which the components perform worst is in Black Myth: Wukong, where the X2 Elite manages to break the important 30fps barrier, while its rivals stay at 21fps.

Platform must receive monthly driver updates

Anyone who followed the launch of the first generation of Snapdragon X must remember that Qualcomm also heavily promoted their capabilities in games before their debut. In the end, the components did not prove to be such an attractive alternative in the segment.

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But now the company is showing more commitment to delivering a better gaming experience with the Snapdragon X2 Elite. In addition to performance promises, the company spoke to PCWatch and stated that it has plans to offer monthly driver updates for the new platform, while currently updates only arrive every quarter.

This can help ensure better compatibility with new games, especially when dealing with an ARM-based component. We should have more news in the first half of 2026.