Qualcomm and Apple have both unveiled their latest and most powerful chips for laptops, the Snapdragon X Elite and the M3 Pro, respectively. These chips are designed to deliver unprecedented performance, efficiency, and capabilities for pro users who demand the best from their devices. But which one is better? Let’s take a closer look at some of the key features and specifications of these two chips.
The Snapdragon X Elite is Qualcomm’s first custom CPU for Windows laptops, built on a 4nm process node. It features 12 high-performance cores that can reach up to 3.8GHz with dual-core boost up to 4.3GHz, and an integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU that can run generative AI models with over 13 billion parameters on-device. The Snapdragon X Elite also boasts a next-generation GPU architecture that supports up to 4.6 TFLOPs of graphics performance, as well as advanced features like dynamic caching, mesh shading, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The Snapdragon X Elite is capable of running pro apps and games with ease, as well as supporting up to 128GB of unified memory for faster data transfer.
The M3 Pro is Apple’s first chip for Mac laptops, also built on a 4nm process node. It features a 16-core CPU (12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores) that can reach up to 3.2GHz with a single-core boost of up to 4GHz, and an integrated Apple Neural Engine that can perform up to 15 trillion operations per second. The M3 Pro also has a next-generation GPU architecture that supports up to 8TFLOPs of graphics performance, as well as new features like AV1 decode for high-quality video streaming from services like Netflix and YouTube. The M3 Pro is designed to handle demanding workflows for users like coders, creatives, and researchers, as well as supporting up to 128GB of unified memory for faster data transfer.
Both chips are impressive in their own right, but which one has the edge over the other? According to some benchmarks conducted by various sources, the Snapdragon X Elite seems to have a slight advantage over the M3 Pro in terms of CPU performance, especially in multi-threaded tasks. The Snapdragon X Elite also has a better GPU performance than the M3 Pro in terms of graphics rendering speed and quality. However, the M3 Pro has a faster Neural Engine than the Snapdragon X Elite in terms of AI inference speed. The M3 Pro also has an advantage over the Snapdragon X Elite in terms of software compatibility and optimization, as it runs on macOS while the Snapdragon X Elite runs on Windows.
Ultimately, both chips are capable of delivering amazing experiences for pro users who want more from their laptops. The choice between them may depend on personal preference, budget, availability, and ecosystem compatibility.
