The big event of this year was the launch of a series of notebooks with Copilot and with an ARM processor and Windows 11. Let’s see in the test how applications and games work on the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor in the DELL Latitude 7455 notebook. Will it be a viable alternative to Intel and AMD?
Before we look at the DELL Latitude 7455 laptop itself, we have to say something about the most interesting component of the computer, namely the rather exotic processor of the ARM architecture from Qualcomm. ARM-based processors accompany us every step of the way. You’ll find them in your phones, cars, TVs, NAS, NVMe drives and their controllers, and many other “smart home devices.”
In a classic PC, however, the ARM-based processor is still an unexplored and not common component. But while it might seem like ARM is coming to Windows laptops for the first time, it’s not. Already in 2012, Microsoft tried it with Windows RT. Since then, Microsoft has launched a lot of ARM-based models in the Surface line. But for the first time, ARM is coming so massively in notebooks of many manufacturers. Let’s take a brief look at what’s important about the Snapdragon X Elite.
Qualcomm Snapdragon
I don’t know if it is necessary to discuss the differences between ARM and x86 architecture. I guess I can summarize it very telegraphically: x86 processors support a large number of instruction sets and are very complex, it can be said that they can natively process any task. ARM has a very limited instruction set and can only process what its creator implements. But it can process such tasks many times faster than an equivalent processor with x86, and also with significantly lower consumption.
The difference is also in working with instructions and access to memory. ARM usually handles only one instruction per cycle, processors based on the x86 architecture can process several instructions at the same time. The ARM processor does not access the operating memory directly, but translates it into registers. This saves power, but of course degrades performance. It can also be said that programming ARM is more complicated, as it is necessary to know exactly the instruction set and its commands. Both worlds are, of course, mutually incompatible. We will talk about how Windows 11 and applications work on ARM in another chapter.
The processors of the Snapdragon X Elite series were developed by Qualcomm on the basis of Nuvia, which it bought three years ago with the sole aim of creating an ARM designed for Windows. The core is called Oryon. It is a processor developed from the ground up, which is significantly different from previous ARM-based Snapdragon mobile chips. It consists of three processor blocks, each carrying four cores. The total number of cores is therefore 12. The SOC also consists of an Adreno X1 GPU, a Hexagon NPU chip and many other modules connected into one unit.
It is a comprehensive SOC with 5G modem, Wi-Fi7, USB controller and Bluetooth connectivity. It is most likely manufactured at TSMC on the 4nm process. The processor supports the frequency of all cores up to 3.8 GHz. Two cores can increase their clock speed up to 4.3 GHz. Memory support is LPDDR5-8448 MHz.
The iGPU or Adreno X1 is a separate chapter. It is an already tested graphics core, i.e. it is based on previous GPUs, but has more shaders. The total number of SP units is 1536, which is half as many as the Intel Arc graphics in Meteor Lake or the Radeon 890M in the Strix Point APU. So it’s not a sharpener. We will, of course, measure how it will perform in real life.
Today, a lot of emphasis is placed on performance in artificial intelligence, yet the Snapdragon X Elite is no champion in this regard. Its theoretical performance in TOPs is at the level of Meteor Lake, when the current Intel Lunar Lake or AMD Ai 300 have twice the performance. However, theory is often at odds with practice, reality may be different, but this can only be tested in a few tests. For now, the NPU units in the processors are just idle.
DELL Latitude 7455
I’m absolutely sure it is the design of notebooks that are intended for Copilot AI is fixed. I was literally surprised that the DELL computer from today’s test and the Asus tested last time are basically exactly the same, including the same ports on the sides. Sure, we’ll find some differences, but the body and overall feel is identical. But Asus has a better OLED display.
The technical side of the computer is solid. Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 processor with 12 cores, 32 GB memory, 14″ LCD with 1600p resolution. We will discuss the details later. The price is basically the same as you can buy the same machines with Intel Lunar Lake or AMD Strix Point. For 47,000 CZK, it is a successful style book.
On the Czech market, the DELL Latitude 7455 has several possible configurations. The highest model is equipped with a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 processor, 32 GB of memory and a 1 TB disk. It is for the aforementioned 47,000 CZK. You can buy a slightly cheaper version with only 16 GB of memory (I’m testing it) or the very cheapest version with a weaker X1E-64-100 processor for CZK 37,000.
Source: pctuning.cz
