On Wednesday local time, Qualcomm officially announced the launch of the new Snapdragon X Plus processor for PC platforms. This processor platform has been revealed before, but now it is finally officially revealed.

At the same time, Qualcomm also revealed the specifications of the 3 Elite chips. Among them, the base frequency of the top model (X1E-84-100) is 3.8 GHz, dual-core acceleration can reach up to 4.2 GHz, and the GPU specification reaches 4.6 TFLPOS. The other two Elite chips (X1E-80-100 and X1E-78-100) and Plus chips (X1P-64-100) all have a base frequency of 3.4 GHz, and the GPU specification is 3.8TFLPOS.

4nm PC chip, AI computing power up to 45 TOPS!

According to reports, like the Snapdragon X Elite, it has 10 customized Qualcomm Oryon CPU high-performance cores, with a maximum main frequency of 3.4 GHz, a total cache of 42 MB, a memory bandwidth of up to 136 GB/s, and an Adreno GPU speed of 3.8 TFLOPS.

In terms of specific specifications, the Snapdragon X Plus also uses TSMC's 4nm process.For the traditional PC field, it can be called a dimensional reduction attack.

In terms of performance, compared with the Apple M3 processor, the Snapdragon X Plus CPU performance is 10% ahead. In the Geekbench multi-thread test, compared to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, the Snapdragon X Plus consumes 54% less energy when it reaches the same peak performance.

Most importantly, the Snapdragon X Plus still maintains an NPU with up to 45 tops computing powerThis is currently the strongest performance in the PC industry in the world, and can provide strong support in terms of productivity and peripheral functions.

Additionally, in the future, Snapdragon X Plus will also support Snapdragon Seamless, so that PCs can be seamlessly connected to phones, PCs, XR terminals, wearables, and audio devices equipped with Qualcomm chips to obtain the same connectivity experience as the Apple ecosystem.

Taken together, the number of cores for the Snapdragon X Plus chip and the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips dropped to 10, and the other parameters were basically the same. Obviously, compared with the Snapdragon X Elite, the product positioning of the Snapdragon X Plus is more depressed, providing differentiation at the product level.

According to comprehensive media reports, the Elite and Plus series each have 4 chips, and the media speculation from Qualcomm this time is probably the one with the highest specifications in the Plus series.

Benchmark testing revealed to be cheating

Today, the US technology website SemiAccurate.com revealed that Qualcomm may not be honest about the benchmark data released to the outside world.

The website claims that information obtained from several OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and Qualcomm internal sources supports the allegations of fraud. Qualcomm has yet to respond to this, but this accusation has undoubtedly cast a shadow over Qualcomm's new product launch. Here's a detailed description of the incident:

Performance reproduction issues:The OEM reported that it was unable to reach the X Elite processor performance data published by Qualcomm, and the actual test results were far below the declared values.

The controversy at Snapdragon Summit:At the summit, the X Elite processor benchmark data presented by Qualcomm was accused of poor actual performance. Qualcomm blamed the software for not being final, but did not disclose specific test settings.

Suspected data manipulation:Since it is generally difficult for OEMs to access Qualcomm's data, SemiAccurate speculates that Qualcomm may have acted improperly and indicated that Qualcomm may have shown tampered data to the media and partners.

Promises not fulfilled:Qualcomm promised to provide in-depth technical answers and technical briefs before the chip was released, and to allow independent benchmarking, but these promises have not been fulfilled.

Inadequate technical information:The data provided by Qualcomm at the press conference lacked in-depth technical analysis, and substantial technical details were insufficient.

Qualcomm has yet to respond to this, but this accusation has undoubtedly cast a shadow over Qualcomm's new product launch.

AI PC will lead the PC market transformation in 2024

2024 can be described as the first year of AI PCs. The PC market will undergo a transformative transformation. Advances in AI technology will drive PCs into a new era. According to Morgan Stanley's forecast, 40% of laptops will need to be replaced in 2024, and it is expected to rise to 65% by 2025.

According to actual data, according to Counterpoint Research, after eight consecutive quarters of decline due to slowing demand and inventory adjustments, global PC shipments increased by about 3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. This increase was due to a relatively low base of shipments in the same period last year. The agency expects a month-on-month increase in shipments in the next few quarters of 2024, and a 3% year-on-year increase for the whole year.This is mainly due to the strong momentum of AI PCs, the recovery in shipments in different market segments, and the arrival of a new switching cycle.

Industry experts said that the rise of the AI PC market will bring consumers a new experience and spawn a new terminal ecosystem. In this process, the AI computing power provider will upgrade from the original general computing architecture to an artificial intelligence computing hybrid architecture including CPU, GPU, and NPU.

With the continuous development of generative AI technology, AI PCs will become an important development direction for personal computers in the future. Meanwhile, competition and cooperation between chip giants such as Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD will drive rapid development and innovation in the AI PC market.