A Windows laptop equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme outperformed an Intel system with a Core Ultra X9 388H on battery power, even though the Intel system was running at maximum performance while plugged in. This is according to new benchmarks from the analyst firm Signal65, which show the Snapdragon chip outperforming Intel by up to 53 percent and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 465 by 83 percent in Geekbench 7. In Cinebench 2026, the Qualcomm chip also outperformed both competitors by up to 87 percent.
For a laptop with ARM architecture, this is a remarkable result, especially since the comparison was anything but fair—at least on paper, in Intel’s favor.
TL;DR: The most important points in a nutshell
- Signal65 purchased and tested three retail systems featuring the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, and AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 at market price.
- The Snapdragon laptop ran on battery power in power-saving “Balanced” mode and was still faster than the Intel system in “High Performance” mode when plugged in.
- In Geekbench 7, the lead is up to 53 percent over Intel and 83 percent over AMD; in AI performance, it’s even roughly double to 2.4 times as fast.
- Earlier, independent Geekbench runs on the Asus Zenbook A16 have confirmed the chip’s strong single-core performance since March 2026.
What Signal65 Tested
Signal65, an analyst firm owned by Futurum and led by tech veteran Ryan Shrout, deliberately did not use manufacturers’ reference designs for the study, but instead purchased standard retail systems at their current market prices. The Snapdragon laptop with the X2E-96-100 cost around $1,699, while the Intel system with the Core Ultra X9 388H cost about $2,299. This approach also allows for an assessment of the price-to-performance ratio and takes into account the actual decisions made by device manufacturers regarding cooling and noise levels, rather than simply comparing raw chip data under laboratory conditions.
Every AI PC spec sheet lists a TOPS rating, but what buyers actually get is measured performance. Signal65 tested three flagship retail laptops in AI workloads, both plugged in and on battery.
What the data in this chart shows for the @Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme:
➡️ Nearly 2x the AI… pic.twitter.com/m2rb5i8UDp
— Signal65 (@Signal_65) August 17, 2026
This is precisely where the real highlight of the study lies: During the tests, the Snapdragon system ran in power-saving “Balanced” mode and was powered exclusively by the battery. The Intel laptop, on the other hand, was connected to the power adapter and configured to the mode with the highest available performance level—in other words, under the most favorable conditions imaginable for Intel. Nevertheless, the Qualcomm chip came out on top in every single CPU and AI benchmark in the test series.
The Numbers at a Glance
| Feature | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100) | Intel Core Ultra X9 388H | AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU cores | 18 (12× Oryon Prime + 6× Oryon Performance) | 16 (4P + 8E + 4 LPE) | 10 (4× Zen 5 + 6× Zen 5c) |
| Max. clock speed | 5.0 GHz | 5.1 GHz | 5.0 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno X2-90 | Arc B390 | Radeon 880M |
| NPU Performance | 80 TOPS | 50 TOPS | 50 TOPS |
| Memory | 48 GB LPDDR5X | 32 GB LPDDR5X | 32 GB LPDDR5X |
| Price of the test system | approx. 1,699 USD | approx. 2,299 USD | N/A |
In Geekbench 7, the Snapdragon outperformed Intel by up to 53 percent and AMD by 83 percent. In terms of pure AI performance in UL Procyon AI Computer Vision, the gap was even wider: nearly double that of Intel and about 2.4 times that of AMD.
From Announcement to Rigorous Testing: No Coincidence
The latest study is part of a series of benchmarks that have painted a consistent picture since the chip’s official unveiling in September 2025. Even at the time of the announcement, Qualcomm reported a Geekbench 6.5 single-core score of 4,072 points for the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme—7 percent ahead of Apple’s M4 Pro and 36 percent ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H at the time. In the multi-core benchmark as well, Qualcomm saw a 35 percent lead over Intel, and in 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, it also achieved a score 139 percent higher than that of its predecessor, the X1E-84-100.
When the chip first appeared in a mainstream retail device in March 2026—the Asus Zenbook A16—independent Geekbench runs confirmed its strong single-core performance: 4,033 points in the single-core test and 23,198 points in the multi-core test, while an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H scored only 3,066 and 17,809 points, respectively, in the same comparison. Even against Apple’s M4 Max, the Snapdragon was only outperformed in the multi-core category; in the single-core test, it led with 4,033 points to 3,880.
A Word on Context
Anyone looking to put these numbers into perspective should keep two things in mind. First: Signal65 is an established but commercial research firm that regularly conducts such comparative studies on behalf of chip manufacturers. Whether this specific test was commissioned by Qualcomm is not publicly documented. While the use of standard retail devices rather than reference designs suggests a sound methodology, it does not replace a completely independent follow-up test. Second, software optimization always plays a role in comparisons between x86 and ARM. Native ARM64 applications naturally run better on the Snapdragon chip than emulated x86 programs, which, while not directly affecting Geekbench as a native benchmark tool, should still be taken into account when making a purchase decision for everyday use. In a direct comparison with Apple’s M5 , we had already shown that the Snapdragon X2 Elite performs very well in rendering tasks, but still lags behind Apple in single-core performance and in DaVinci Resolve.
Conclusion
Regardless of how one views the study’s origins: The fact that a battery-powered Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme laptop in power-saving “Balanced” mode outperforms an Intel system plugged into a power adapter in “High Performance” mode is a strong indication of Qualcomm’s progress with Windows-on-ARM laptops. Combined with the independently verified Geekbench scores from spring 2026 and the official manufacturer specifications from fall 2025, a consistent picture emerges: The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is currently among the fastest CPU cores found in a Windows laptop, even though compromises remain in terms of GPU performance and software compatibility.
Sources: WCCFTech, Signal65, and Qualcomm Product Brief.
