Microsoft and Qualcomm are working together on the next-generation Snapdragon processor, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4. A new Geekbench benchmark suggests that Qualcomm’s new ARM CPU is finally catching up to the Apple M2, and is even on par with Apple Silicon in some multi-core tests.

As reported by Windows Latest, Qualcomm internally refers to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 as “Hamoa.” It uses adapted ARM cores, which is what gives it an edge over its predecessor. These new cores are likely developed by Nuvia engineers, the company acquired by Qualcomm in 2021.

A recently revealed Geekbench benchmark shows that the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 is becoming a formidable competitor to Apple’s M2 chip, with a multi-core score of 9337. This is close to the multi-core score of the MacBook Air (2022, Apple M2 3478 MHz, 8 cores), which is 9795.

However, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4’s single-core performance lags significantly behind Apple’s M2, with a single-core score of 1197. The MacBook Air M2 has a single-core score of 2641.

Despite the gap in single-core performance, the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4’s performance in multi-core operations is promising, especially considering that this benchmark was achieved under x86 emulation, not x64.

These benchmark results suggest that Qualcomm is making significant strides in the CPU domain and that Windows 11 on ARM is becoming a more formidable competitor to Apple Silicon.

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(Via)

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Qualcomm and MediaTek are both eager to compete with Apple’s M-series processors. Qualcomm, which has been in this field for longer and is more ambitious, announced its Oryon processor in 2022 as a competitor to Apple’s silicon. However, developing in-house cores is more difficult than it seems. Although Qualcomm dominates the 5G baseband market, it is rumored to be having problems developing its own Oryon cores, which could delay the launch of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4.

Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 may face delay

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 is said to be available in three configurations. The most capable configuration will have a 12-core CPU, with eight performance cores and four power-efficiency cores. However, tipster @Tech_Reve says that Qualcomm is reportedly having problems developing the in-house cores for this chip. The tweet does not provide any details about the problems though.

This is not surprising, as other companies have also struggled to develop in-house cores. Samsung tried to compete with Apple’s M-series chips with its own Mongoose cores, but it eventually gave up and went back to using ARM designs. Google has also delayed its own custom chip by a year, and other companies like Xiaomi and OPPO have abandoned development altogether.

An early engineering sample of the chip suffered from performance issues in Geekbench 5, and there have been no follow-up results since then. This suggests that Qualcomm has been unable to fix the problems.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 was originally scheduled to launch in 2023, but it may now be delayed until 2024. This is because Qualcomm may want to wait until after Apple releases its M3 chip. If Qualcomm sticks to its original launch timeline, it will be significantly behind Apple’s M1 and M2 chips.

Hopefully, Qualcomm will be able to iron out the problems with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 before it launches. Otherwise, it could be a disappointment for the ARM-powered notebook space.

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(Via)

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Qualcomm has been rumored to be working on new Oryon-based chipsets for Windows devices since late last year. The company even teased the name of the chipset codenamed, “Hamoa,” at its Snapdragon Technology Summit 2022. It was previously thought that Hamoa would only have a 12-core CPU, but a new report claims that there will be other variants with 8 and 10 cores as well.

The new chipsets might launch later this year

According to Winfuture, Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon “Hamoa” chip will not only be available in a 12-core version. The company has also been developing two other variations with 10 and 8 cores, known internally as SC8370, SC8370XP, SC8350, and SC8350X. The main difference between the versions is the number of cores.

The report indicates that in the SC8370 and SC8350 variants, Qualcomm might scale down the count of high-end cores. This could potentially lead to an integration of around six or four high-performance cores, while keeping the energy-efficient cores at four, as before.

The pair of 12-core versions should carry the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 label for their marketing. And as pointed out by GSMArena, the remaining two variations are likely to find their place in the lower series such as Snapdragon 8c and 7c.

Qualcomm announced that Oryon-based chipsets will be used in Windows-based ARM PCs. The launch date is still unknown, but mark your calendars for October 24th, when Qualcomm will host their Snapdragon summit. The company will introduce the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile processor at the event, and there’s a chance that the Snapdragon “Hamoa” will also be revealed. Stay tuned for more updates!

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(Source)

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Last year, it was revealed that Qualcomm is readying a powerful desktop CPU, codenamed “Hamoa”. It is said to debut in 2024 with 12 CPU cores in an 8+4 configuration. The upcoming CPU should be called Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 and while we wait for its official launch, the chipset has appeared in Geekbench’s online result browser. The listing confirms the chipset’s codename, its CPU core arrangement, as well as some other interesting details. Let’s have a look.

Spotted by Windows on Arm (WoA) developer Gustave Monce, the Geekbench listing of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 confirms it has two CPU clusters totaling 12 cores with a cluster arrangement of 8+4. This is in line with Kuba Wojciechowski’s earlier report on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4. Additionally, Geekbench suggests the second cluster is clocked at 2.38 GHz and the first cluster at 3.0 GHz. However, final CPU clock speeds should reach up to 2.5 GHz and 3.4 GHz, respectively.

The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4’s second cluster is believed to comprise efficiency cores, while the other 8 cores are expected to be the performance cores. The listing mentions an Adreno GPU, but it doesn’t provide any new information, as earlier reports already suggested that the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 would come equipped with an integrated Adreno 740 GPU, the same one used in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Although the recent Geekbench listing of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 4 doesn’t give us a clear idea of its performance, rumors suggest that this chip is expected to rival Apple’s M series SoCs in terms of power and efficiency. Qualcomm is not exactly known for its desktop CPUs so it will be interesting to see how this new chipset plays out.

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