Close on the heels of Qualcomm announcing the Snapdragon 855 processor for mobile devices, the company now has launched the Snapdragon 8cx targeted at Windows laptops. Describing further, Qualcomm said the new SD 8cx is technically the successor to the SD 850 but is already a generation apart.
That again is understandable considering that the SD 850 was only a modified version of the SD 845 that was developed for fitment on Microsoft’s first attempt at laptops and convertibles. In fact, the SD 850 can be considered to be the SD 845 that has been adapted for working in a Windows environment.
In contrast, Qualcomm at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii described the new Snapdragon 8cx to have been designed specifically for working on Windows laptops and 2-in-1 devices. The new 8cx is also the largest and most powerful processor the chipmakers has ever built. The other unique aspect of the 8cx is that it has been built as per the 7nm manufacturing process, which makes it a first for PCs. Notably, Intel is still struggling to launch its first 7nm chip for PCs.
Qualcomm is also claiming its 8cx has double the performance ability of the Snapdragon 850 and is comparable to the Intel Core i5 U-series processors. That apart, the new Adreno 680 Extreme GPU in the SD 8cx also packs twice the performance of the Sd 850’s graphics abilities. All of this while being more power efficient as well, which Qualcomm claimed will make for 60 percent more power efficient compared to the Sd 850. Put in other terms, the chipmaker is claiming several days of usage on a single charge with the new SD 8cx onboard.
To lead the speed surge, Qualcomm said the new chip would be able to support up to 16 GB of LPDDR4 RAM along with faster SSD storage as well. It also comes integrated with the chipmaker’s new X24 LTE modem which the company said will allow for a max 2Gbps speeds. Unfortunately, or rather, intriguingly, the new SD 8cx does not come with built-in support for 5G, neither is it compatible with the company’s new X50 5G modem as well. Qualcomm though said they a workaround for that so that 5G should still be available on the SD 8xc based devices.
As for its market debut, Qualcomm said the first lot of SD 8cx based Windows laptops and convertibles should be ready by the third quarter of 2019. As for its naming, the chipmaker said the 8cx stands for computer and extreme.
