Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 vs Intel Pentium 8500
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100
► remove from comparison![Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100](fileadmin/_processed_/f/e/csm_Snapdragon-X-Plus-May-2024_23bbf88d95.jpg)
The Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 is a relatively affordable ARM architecture processor (SoC) for use in Windows laptops that is rumored to debut some time in H2 2024. The X1P-42-100 is thought to have 8 Oryon CPU cores (8 threads) running at a not yet known clock speed of at least 3.0 GHz. As far as other key features are concerned, the X Plus probably comes with the same 3.8 TFLOPS Adreno X1-85 GPU, 45 TOPS Hexagon NPU and LPDDR5x-8448 memory controller that its bigger and smarter brother, the X1P-64-100, employs.
Architecture and Features
Qualcomm Oryon cores are in part based on Nuvia IP; they most likely make use of the ARM v8.7 microarchitecture. Much like modern AMD and Intel processors, the Snapdragon chip is compatible with USB 4 and thus with Thunderbolt 4 but it remains to be seen if it is is compatible with GeForce or Radeon discrete graphics cards.
The SoC is said to have 8 PCIe 4 and 4 PCIe 3 lanes for connecting various kinds of devices. NVMe SSDs are supported with a throughput of up to 7.9 GB/s. A 45 TOPS NPU for accelerating AI workloads is most likely included.
This X Plus chip does not make use of the same die that the X1P-64-100, X1E-78-100, X1E-80-100, X1E-84-100 are based on.
Performance
The faster X1P-64-100 (10 CPU cores running at higher clock speeds) is about as fast as the Intel Core i7-13700H and the 9-core Apple M4 are in multi-thread workloads. This means the X1P-42-100 will most likely be about as fast as the Intel Core i7-12650H and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H which is not bad at all for what is supposedly an almost budget CPU.
Like any other Windows on ARM platform, the Snapdragon X chip works best with applications and games compiled specifically for ARM processors. If making use of the built-in x86 to ARM emulation mode, a performance penalty of about 20% is to be expected.
Graphics
The 3.8 TFLOPS Adreno X1-85 GPU is DirectX 12-enabled but not DirectX 12 Ultimate-enabled, despite featuring VRS and ray tracing support. The 3.8 TFLOPS of performance that it supposedly delivers pale in comparison to the slowest current-generation professional Nvidia Ada graphics card for laptops, the RTX 500 Ada, that delivers up to 9.2 TFLOPS.
Its gaming performance is rather underwhelming; while slightly faster than the aging Iris Xe (96 EUs), the Adreno is not fast enough to outpace the Radeon 780M meaning there is little point in comparing it with full-fat discrete graphics cards. Baldur's Gate 3, a triple-A title released in 2023, is pretty much unplayable at 1080p / Low. GTA V, a game that saw the light of day in 2015, is playable at 1080p / High.
The Qualcomm iGPU will let you use up to 3 UHD 2160p monitors simultaneously. 2160p120 integrated displays are supported, as are the popular AV1, HEVC and AVC video codecs (both decoding and encoding). The hardware does not support the VVC codec; that feature remains a Lunar Lake exclusive for now.
Power consumption
The X1P-42-100 is most likely going to be less power-hungry than its more powerful X Elite brothers. Expect to see anything between 10 W and 35 W under long-term workloads because that's what Ryzen U chips normally consume.
The SoC is built with a 4 nm TSMC process for decent, as of H1 2024, energy efficiency.
Intel Pentium 8500
► remove from comparison![Intel Pentium 8500](fileadmin/_processed_/7/d/csm_Intel_Pentium_badge_2020_Logo_691a7db873.jpg)
The Intel Pentium 8500 is an entry-level low-power mobile CPU for thin and light laptops based on the Alder Lake architecture. It was announced in early 2022 and offers one performance core (P-cores, Golden Cove architecture) and 4 efficient cores (E-cores, Gracemont architecture). The P-cores support Hyper-Threading leading to 6 supported threads when combined with the E-cores. The clock rate ranges from 1 to 4.4 GHz on the performance cluster and 0.7 to 3.3 GHz on the efficient cluster. The performance of the E-cores should be similar to old Skylake cores (compare to the Core i7-6700HQ). All cores can use up to 8 MB L3-cache. Compared to the faster Core i3-1210U, the Pentium offers one less P-core.
Performance
While we have not tested a single system built around the 8500 as of August 2023, it's safe to expect the chip to be about 20% slower than the i3-1215U, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned. Which is pretty terrible as of Q3 2023.
Your mileage may vary depending on how high the CPU power limits are and how competent the cooling solution of your system is.
Features
The integrated memory controller supports various memory types up to DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200, LPDDR5-5200, and LPDDR4x-4267. The Thread Director (in hardware) can support the operating system to decide which thread to use on the performance or efficient cores for the best performance. For AI tasks, the CPU also integrates GNA 3.0 and DL Boost (via AVX2). Quick Sync in version 8 is the same as in the Rocket Lake CPUs and supports MPEG-2, AVC, VC-1 decode, JPEG, VP8 decode, VP9, HEVC, and AV1 decode in hardware. The CPU only supports PCIe 4.0 (x8 for a GPU and two x4 for SSDs).
The integrated graphics adapter is based on the Xe-architecture and offers 48 of the 96 EUs (Execution Units) operating at up to 0.8 GHz.
Power consumption
This Pentium has a Base power consumption of 9 W, with 29 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption. TDP values this low allow for passively cooled laptops, tablets, mini-PCs as long as performance is not a priority.
The CPU is made with Intel's 3rd generation 10 nm process marketed as Intel 7 for decent, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.
Model | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 | Intel Pentium 8500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | Qualcomm Snapdragon X | Intel Alder Lake-M | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Oryon | Alder Lake-U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Alder Lake-M Alder Lake-U |
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Cores / Threads | 8 / 8 8 x Qualcomm Oryon | 5 / 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 4 nm | 10 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Adreno X1-85 (3.8 TFLOPS) | Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs ( - 800 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | ARM | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | www.qualcomm.com | ark.intel.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clock | 700 - 4400 MHz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 464 KB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 3.5 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 8 MB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 9 Watt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 100 °C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | BGA1744 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | LPDDR4x-4266/LPDDR5-5200 RAM, PCIe 4, Thr. Director, DL Boost, GNA, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA |
Benchmarks
![](fileadmin/Notebooks/Sonstiges/darkred_pixel.gif)
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation