Rumors suggest more affordable Copilot+ PCs will debut imminently, but the cheaper 8-core Snapdragon X Plus chip they're built around can't do much on the gaming front compared to the beefier Arm-based silicon we've already had from Qualcomm, according to a new leak.
Wccftech (via Techspot) highlighted leaked benchmarks for the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus chip that are somewhat disappointing, particularly for PC gaming.
The benchmarks were carried out on an Asus laptop (ProArt PZ13) and show that the integrated GPU in the 8-core Snapdragon achieved a score of 1,025 in 3DMark Time Spy and a result of 916 for graphics, compared to 1,900 overall for the Snapdragon X Elite.
When measuring frame rates in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the 8-core Snapdragon was only able to hit 18 frames per second (fps) on average at 1080p with low graphics settings, and just 12 fps at high graphics details. That's too slow to be acceptable, while the Snapdragon X Elite can average 33 fps at high details — a playable frame rate.
In other non-gaming benchmarks, the Snapdragon X Plus also seems a bit slow in some respects. In Cinebench 24, the CPU hit 102 points and 649 points for single-core and multi-core performance respectively, which is 5% and 20% slower than the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus model in Microsoft's Surface Copilot+ computers.
Analysis: Games are not the focus here
This 8-core model is expected to power the new laptops rumored to be launching at IFA 2024 starting later this week. The CPU will usher in the cheaper Copilot+ laptops, apparently starting at $800 in the US (and presumably in line with that in other regions), which is obviously a good thing — these AI laptops are expensive as it is.
As we've seen, gaming performance compared to the best Snapdragon X chips is disappointing, but to be fair, Qualcomm's own execs say these laptops aren't built for gaming. Being able to play some games at decent frame rates on a Copilot+ laptop is a bonus, really (albeit a nice bonus, admittedly), and if the price you have to pay is sacrificing that aspect for a more affordable device, that's not going to bother many people.
In short, if you want a Qualcomm-powered Copilot+ PC that offers solid gaming performance, you'll have to pay for it. But those looking for a productivity rig or everyday laptop will certainly not be held back by any shortcomings in the gaming realm, provided the 8-core Snapdragon delivers acceptable performance with their favorite apps—which it likely will, even if it falls a bit behind in the multi-core realm.
Those looking for more powerful devices should also keep in mind that we’ll be seeing Intel Lunar Lake-powered Copilot+ PCs at IFA 2024, and these could be quite the powerhouse (with a secret weapon for gamers, by the way). Intel has certainly been trumpeting them from the rooftops, and this range will be the first Team Blue mobile chipsets powerful enough to qualify for the Copilot+ laptop designation, competing against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series. The AI laptop scene is about to get considerably more competitive.
