Qualcomm recently introduced a new series of Snapdragon X processors for Windows on Arm laptops. The company introduced four chipsets in the lineup, three of which belong to the Snapdragon X Elite level, and the rest – Snapdragon X Plus, which will be used in more affordable Windows-based laptops.
However, according to industry insider Kamila Wojciechowska, Qualcomm may have further plans for the Snapdragon X Plus line. According to her, Qualcomm is working on a second and more powerful variant of the X Plus chipset, called the X1P-42-100.
It will be equipped with eight Oryon processor cores, compared to six in the X1P-64-100. It is noteworthy that the X1P-42-100 is rumored to lack the four effective cores present in its sibling.
While this may result in better performance for the X1P-42-100, it has fewer PCIe lines compared to the X1P-64-100.
Here is a table with the characteristics of all Snapdragon X SoCs:
| X1 Elite (X1E-84-100) | X1 Elite (X1E-80-100) | X1 Elite (X1E-78-100) | X1 Plus (X1P-64-100) | X1 Plus (X1P-42-100) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performance cores | 8x Oryon – 3.8GHz | 8x Oryon – 3.4GHz | 8x Oryon – 3.4GHz | 6x Oryon – 3.4GHz | 8x Oryon – ? |
| Efficiency cores | 4x Oryon – 3.8GHz | 4x Oryon – 3.4GHz | 4x Oryon – 3.4GHz | 4x Oryon – 3.4GHz | – |
| Turbo | 4.2GHz up to two cores | 4.0GHz up to two cores | – | – | – |
| GPU frequency | 1.5GHz | 1.25GHz | 1.25GHz | 1.25GHz | ? |
| Video hardware | 4K 60 fps encode, 4K 120 fps decode | 4K 60 fps encode, 4K 120 fps decode | 4K 60 fps encode, 4K 120 fps decode | 4K 60 fps encode, 4K 120 fps decode | 4K 30 fps encode, 4K 60 fps decode |
| PCIe | 8+4 lanes of PCIe 4.0, 2+2 lanes of PCIe 3.0 | 8+4 lanes of PCIe 4.0, 2+2 lanes of PCIe 3.0 | 8+4 lanes of PCIe 4.0, 2+2 lanes of PCIe 3.0 | 8+4 lanes of PCIe 4.0, 2+2 lanes of PCIe 3.0 | 4+4 lanes of PCIe 4.0, 2+2 lanes of PCIe 3.0 |
The X1P-42-100 is also said to have limited video encoding and decoding capabilities, which are allegedly limited to 4K/30fps encoding and 4K/60fps decoding.
In contrast, the X1P-64-100 is rumored to offer 4K/60 FPS encoding and 4K/120 FPS decoding. Many other details about the X1P-42-100, such as CPU clock speed and GPU specs, remain under wraps for now.
Wojciechowska’s leaks go beyond the X-series, suggesting that Qualcomm is also working on a server-class chipset codenamed “SD1”. The processor will have 80 Oryon cores on a 9470-pin LGA socket and will use TSMC’s 5nm (N5P) manufacturing process.
The leak also indicates that the SD1 will support 16 channels of DDR5-5600 RAM, have 70 PCIe 5.0 lines, and the ability to work with two chipsets simultaneously.
In addition, Wojciechowska mentions that Compute Express Link (CXL) 1.1 technology is integrated into the SD1. However, other details about the silicon are unclear at this stage.
