Whilst Qualcomm has change into wildly a success within the Arm SoC marketplace for Android smartphones, their efforts to parlay that into good fortune in different markets has eluded them thus far. The corporate has produced a number of generations of chips for Home windows-on-Arm laptops, and whilst each and every has incrementally stepped forward on issues, it’s now not been sufficient to dislodge a extremely dominant Intel. And whilst the loss of good fortune of Home windows-on-Arm is some distance from only being Qualcomm’s fault – there’s so much to be stated for the OS and device – silicon has indubitably performed a component. To make critical inroads available on the market, it’s now not sufficient to provide incrementally higher chips – Qualcomm must make a significant bounce in functionality.
Now, after just about 3 years of laborious paintings, Qualcomm is on the point of do exactly that. This morning, the corporate is previewing their upcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC, their next-generation Arm SoC designed for Home windows gadgets. In accordance with a brand-new Arm CPU core design from their Nuvia subsidiary dubbed “Oryon”, the Snapdragon X Elite is to be the top of the iceberg for a brand new era of Qualcom SoC designs. No longer most effective is it the center and soul of Qualcomm’s maximum necessary Home windows-on-Arm SoC so far, however it’ll sooner or later be in smartphones and an entire lot extra.
However we’re getting forward of ourselves. For now let’s center of attention at the Snapdragon X Elite SoC and the Oryon cores underpinning it.
Whilst this morning’s announcement from Qualcomm is some distance from a deep dive at the {hardware}, it’s our first take a look at what is going to be Qualcomm’s flagship SoC, and the brand new CPU cores inside of it. With a projected release date of mid-2024, the primary laptops according to the SoC are nonetheless a number of months clear of hitting retail cabinets – and a few 12 months not on time general. None the fewer, Qualcomm has completed their silicon construction paintings, and with the chip’s specs locked down, the corporate is now directly to sharpening issues for a release subsequent 12 months.
The Oryon CPU cores inside the Snapdragon X Elite are the end result of Qualcomm’s Nuvia acquisition from early 2021, and a fair longer length of labor for the Nuvia group. The ambition of the group, and the significance of the tradition Arm structure CPU cores, can’t be overstated. So the Snapdragon X Elite goes to be a fascinating chip on more than one ranges, because it units the tempo for the following era of Qualcomm chip designs.
Snapdragon Compute (Home windows-on-Arm) Silicon
AnandTech
Snapdragon X Elite
Snapdragon 8cx
Gen 3
Snapdragon 8cx
Gen 2
Snapdragon 8cx
Gen 1
High Cores
12x Oryon
3.80 GHz2C Turbo: 4.3GHz
4x C-X1
3.00 GHz
4 x C-A76
3.15 GHz
4 x C-A76
2.84 GHz
Potency Cores
N/A
4x C-A78
2.40 GHz
4 x C-A55
1.80 GHz
4 x C-A55
1.80 GHz
GPU
Adreno
SD X Elite
4.6 TFLOPS
Adreno
8cx Gen 3
Adreno 690
Adreno 680
NPU
Hexagon
46 TOPS (INT4)
Hexagon 8cx Gen 3
15 TOPS
Hexagon 690
9 TOPS
Hexagon 690
9 TOPS
Reminiscence
8 x 16-bit
LPDDR5x-8533
136GB/sec
8 x 16-bit
LPDDR4x-4266
86.3 GB/sec
8 x 16-bit
LPDDR4x-4266
86.3 GB/sec
8 x 16-bit
LPDDR4x-4266
86.3 GB.sec
Wi-Fi
Wi-FI 7 + BE 5.4
(Discrete)
Wi-Fi 6E + BT 5.1
Wi-Fi 6 + BT 5.1
Wi-Fi 5 + BT 5.0
Modem
Snapdragon X65
(Discrete)
Snapdragon X55/X62/X65
(Discrete)
Snapdragon X55/X24
(Discrete)
Snapdragon X24
(Discrete)
Procedure
4nm
Samsung 5LPE
TSMC N7
TSMC N7
Beginning with a high-level take a look at the chip, the Snapdragon X Elite is a high-performance SoC designed to energy Home windows-on-Arm laptops. Qualcomm isn’t record any legitimate TDPs, however the corporate has advised us that the Elite is designed to scale throughout a “huge vary” of thermal designs. Lively cooling shall be had to get probably the most out of the Elite, however in keeping with Qualcomm, passive/fanless designs are imaginable as neatly, and we must be expecting to look some retail gadgets designed as such.
Qualcomm is fabbing the chip on an unspecified 4nm procedure. Given their earlier functionality problems with Samsung’s 4nm line, it’s an excessively protected wager that they’re construction this chip at TSMC – perhaps the use of the N4P line. The silicon itself is a conventional monolithic die, so there’s no use of chiplets or different complicated packaging right here (although the wi-fi radios are discrete).
CPU: Oryon Through The Dozen
The big name of the display (when you’ll forgive the pun) is Oryon, Qualcomm’s new custom-designed Arm CPU core. Designed through the Nuvia group that Qualcomm got in 2021, Oryon is the primary high-performance, fully-custom Arm CPU core created through Qualcomm in numerous years. And following more than one generations of lackluster Snapdragon Compute SoCs constructed out of Arm Cortex-A/X designs and functionally larger variations of Qualcomm’s cell SoCs, Oryon marks a significant exchange in course for Qualcomm.
Being that this can be a preview, there are not any important architectural main points to percentage on Oryon at the moment. We don’t know the width, or more than a few buffer sizes, execution ports, and so on. However what we do know is that Qualcomm didn’t goal low with this SoC – the Nuvia group was once running on a server-grade CPU core previous to their acquisition, and that more or less competitive design has carried over into Oryon as neatly. Which, finally, was once probably the most primary objectives of Qualcomm’s acquisition, as they have got desired a excessive functionality CPU core to push them forward of the opposite computer (and sooner or later cell) chip makers.
The Snapdragon X Elite SoC ships with 12 Oryon CPU cores – and that’s it. Not like Qualcomm’s 8cx circle of relatives of designs, there are not any distinct “potency” and “functionality” cores according to other microarchitectures; this can be a homogenous CPU design, extra akin to standard PC processors. Because of this Oryon wishes to drag double responsibility, excelling in functionality in heavy workloads with out chewing up a number of energy in mild workloads.
The Oryon CPU cores are damaged up into 3 clusters of four cores each and every. We’re nonetheless ready on additional technical main points, after all, but it surely’s a protected assumption that each and every cluster is by itself energy rail, in order that unneeded clusters may also be powered down when just a handful of cores are referred to as for.
Simply in this foundation by myself, Snapdragon X Elite looks as if a much more potent performer than the 8CX chips it replaces. The 8cx Gen 3 introduced simply 4 functionality cores (Cortex-X1) and any other 4 eficiency cores (Cortex-A78), so Snapdragon X Elite will hit the streets with 50% extra CPU cores by no means thoughts the upper functionality of the ones cores. For a computer chip, Qualcomm is throwing numerous CPU cores on the subject.
Relating to clockspeeds, in an all-core turbo workload, all 12 Oryon CPU cores can hit run at as much as 3.8GHz, energy and thermal headroom allowing. In the meantime in lighter workloads, the chip helps turboing as much as 4.3GHz on 2 cores. Qualcomm’s slide in this subject displays a core from each and every cluster, but it surely’s unclear whether or not that is some more or less top/liked core in motion (the place most effective positive cores are designed/validated for the ones speeds) or if it’s merely a stylistic selection.
Both manner, Qualcomm is aiming to turbo to fairly excessive clockspeeds for his or her computer chip, a notable difference from their a lot more modestly clocked 8CX chips. Whilst excessive clockspeeds by myself are not making for a quick chip, probably the most functionality bottlenecks the 8CX chips had been their pokey clockspeeds, so if Oryon provides as excessive an IPC price as we suspect it’ll, then this may pass far against boosting Qualcomm’s CPU functionality to compete with the business’s most powerful gamers.
Reminiscence: 128-bit LPDDR5x
Feeding the beastly Oryon CPU cores (in addition to the remainder of the chip) is a 128-bit LPDDR5x reminiscence bus. That is much less outstanding than the CPU aspect of the chip, but it surely’s necessary to notice the entire identical. With the former 8CX chips most effective supporting LPDDR4x, this brings Qualcomm again to parity with the most recent PC chips with regards to reminiscence generation give a boost to. And with supported information charges as excessive as LPDDR5x-8533, this will likely give Qualcomm probably the most quickest reminiscence controllers available on the market.
Qualcomm may be quoting a complete of 42MB of cache within the gadget sitting between the more than a few processor blocks and gadget reminiscence. Given the specific point out of “overall cache”, that is virtually indubitably L2 + L3. Earlier Qualcomm designs have introduced a 6MB shared L3 (final point) cache. If that’s the case once more right here, then that will imply there’s 3MB of L2 cache to be had for each and every CPU core – or some permutation thereof.
GPU: Newest Era Adreno
At the graphics aspect of issues, Snapdragon X Elite accommodates Qualcomm’s current era Adreno GPU. As is standard for Qualcomm in those issues, the corporate is pronouncing nearly not anything in regards to the structure hired right here, although it is going with out pronouncing that that is the most recent and biggest iteration of Qualcomm’s in-house GPU design.
From a characteristic standpoint, this can be a DirectX 12-class GPU with ray tracing give a boost to, mirroring the functions Qualcomm offered with final 12 months’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 cell SoC. Throughout the Home windows ecosystem, it’ll virtually indubitably qualify as a DirectX 12 Final (characteristic point 12_2) design.
Qualcomm is quoting a unmarried throughput determine for the design: 4.6 TFLOPS at an unspecified bit intensity/layout (we’d wager FP32). Qualcomm has now not in the past disclosed an identical figures for the 8CX chips, so it’s laborious to mention how this will likely evaluate. And even how it’ll evaluate to different built-in GPUs, since there’s much more to real-world GPU functionality than natural FLOPS.
The show controller portion of the GPU provides give a boost to for as much as 4 DisplayPort shows. But even so an interior show for the computer, it could actually force an extra 3 exterior shows (all DP 1.4), with one output being 5K succesful, whilst the remainder are 4K.
In the end, the SoC is getting Qualcomm’s current video processing block (VPU) as neatly. This current design now not most effective give a boost to AV1 deciphering, however in a primary for a Qualcomm SoC, AV1 encoding as neatly.
NPU: Hitting Laborious with Hexagon
Subsequent to the usage of Oryon CPU cores, Qualcomm’s different giant wager with the Snapdragon X Elite SoC is at the AI/neural processing unit aspect of items with their current era Hexagon NPU. Qualcomm is anticipating that AI use will proceed to impulsively develop over the following couple of years, and that the following giant push goes to be AI fashions operating in the neighborhood on customers’ programs. So they have got invested a vital quantity of assets in bulking up their Hexagon NPU for this era of chips (X Elite and eight Gen 3).
The result is a closely revised NPU, which must very much exceed the 8CX Gen 3’s NPU functionality. Qualcomm is quoting 45 TOPS of functionality right here for fairly low precision INT4, while 8CX Gen 3 was once in the past quoted at 15 TOPS for an unspecified information layout.
Not like their CPU and GPU, Qualcomm is sharing some architectural main points right here in regards to the NPU, and what they’ve completed to spice up its functionality. The tensor accelerator block, used within the densest matrix math, is outright 2.5x quicker than earlier than. Backing that (and the remainder of the NPU) is a 2x better shared reminiscence/cache (although Qualcomm isn’t disclosing the true measurement). Qualcomm is concentrated on massive language fashions (LLMs) specifically with this alteration, as those are notoriously reminiscence sure; in keeping with the corporate, the chip could have sufficient assets to run a 13 billion parameter Llama 2 fashion in the neighborhood.
Qualcomm has additionally made some energy supply adjustments to assist force extra functionality/potency out of the NPU. The facility-hungry tensor block is now by itself energy rail, with the remainder of the NPU sitting on a separate shared rail. The corporate has additionally made some additional undisclosed enhancements to how they care for micro-tiling of inferencing workloads, which at once affects how neatly they may be able to break up up workloads to stay the more than a few sub-blocks of the NPU as busy as imaginable whilst minimizing intermediate reminiscence operations.
I/O: USB4, PCIe 4, & Discrete Wi-Fi 7
Rounding out the Snapdragon X Elite, let’s communicate I/O.
For interior I/O, the SoC provides PCIe 4.0 connectivity for NVMe garage. Somewhere else, the corporate is the use of PCIe 3 to offer connectivity to their modem and Wi-Fi answers. No point out has been manufactured from whether or not there are any unfastened PCIe lanes for additional peripherals.
For exterior I/O, the SoC helps USB4. In keeping with Qualcomm, it could actually force as much as 3 such Sort-C ports, and there also are a couple of USB 3.2 Gen2 outputs, and a unmarried USB 2.0 output for interior use.
As famous previous, each Wi-Fi and the modem are discrete for this product. The chip is meant to be paired with Qualcomm’s FastConnect 7800 silicon within the type of an M.2 card. The 7800 is their latest-generation Wi-Fi 7 resolution, with give a boost to for 4 spatial streams in addition to Bluetooth 5.4. The modem pairing is the Snapdragon X65, a high-performance 5G modem which was once additionally to be had for the 8CX Gen 3.
The truth that neither wi-fi gadget is built-in into the SoC is odd for Qualcomm, however most likely now not too unexpected since they need to convey the Elite to marketplace ASAP. Integrating those modules would take additional time, and as a computer SoC, Qualcomm doesn’t wish to be as area environment friendly. Finally, the legitimate line from Qualcomm is that the discrete modem is for OEM flexibility – to present OEMs the way to both come with a modem or now not – although Qualcomm after all shall be strongly encouraging OEMs to incorporate one as a significant characteristic differentiator of the platform.
Efficiency Claims
As we don’t have sufficient architectural main points to make any significant functionality projections, the most efficient factor now we have for now are Qualcomm’s obscure comparisons to their competition. This may be the nearest factor Qualcomm has supplied to power potency information for the chip (although, as at all times, goal clockspeeds for a SKU play an enormous phase there).
With 12 functionality cores, Qualcomm is pushing laborious on multi-threaded functionality. Actually, multi-threaded functionality is the one CPU functionality comparisons Qualcomm makes, as there are not any single-threaded comparisons to talk of. Make of that what you’re going to.
Towards what’s implied to be an Intel 12 core cell CPU design, Qualcomm is reporting that Snapdragon X Elite delivers 2x the multi-threaded functionality in Geekbench 6. Or at iso-performance, they hit the similar mark at one-third the facility intake.
Even towards Intel’s very best 14-core (H-class) chips, Qualcomm nonetheless experiences that they lead through 60% in functionality, and once more are eating one-third the facility at iso-performance. For sure, numerous that is right down to the method node used, as TSMC N4 must be handing over a vital merit over the Intel 7 procedure used on Intel’s present chips. This may be why the “transferring goal” side is so vital, as Snapdragon X Elite must be competing with the Intel 4 founded Meteor Lake lineup by the point it launches subsequent 12 months.
Extra fascinating, most likely, is that Qualcomm is reporting a 50% multi-threaded functionality merit over an unspecified “Arm-based competitor,” That is intended to indicate Apple, however relying on simply how obscure Qualcomm needs to be, MediaTek does be offering some Home windows-on-Arm chips as neatly.
Qualcomm additionally expects to steer in GPU functionality in 3DMark Flora and fauna Excessive. Which once more, with a procedure node merit and a bent to construct larger iGPUs general, isn’t a surprise.
As at all times, those claims must be excited by a big grain of salt, particularly for a platform this is nonetheless a number of months clear of launching.
Snapdragon X Elite: Coming Mid-2024
Wrapping issues up, Qualcomm is at this level hanging the general touches at the Snapdragon X Elite. The corporate has deemed it one among their “maximum pivotal platform bulletins within the corporate’s fresh historical past”, and for excellent reason why. The Oryon CPU core being offered right here will sooner or later be on the middle of a excellent deal extra merchandise, so how aggressive Oryon is will make or ruin Qualcomm’s following few generations of designs.
Gadgets according to the Snapdragon X Elite must be to be had in mid-2024. Which on that time table, must see the Snapdragon X Elite competing towards Intel’s Meteor Lake (Core Extremely) chips, AMD’s Phoenix chips (Ryzen Cell 7000), and no matter the most recent to be had iteration is of Apple’s M-series chips.
