Intel Core Ultra 7 258V vs Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite – The Intel Chip is the Hidden Winner Here
After decades of rivalry between two big players, Intel and AMD, a third contender has entered the arena – Qualcomm. Now, almost every brand launches its newest laptop lineup with an option to choose from Core, Ryzen, and Snapdragon. We’re here to help you find which one is the best for you, depending on your use case.
What we’ve already shown you is that the iGPUs in the Core Ultra Series 2 are great for gaming:
Intel Arc Graphics 140V in Core Ultra for Gaming? Test in 6 Games!
…and here’s how the Core Ultra 7 258V compares against the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370:
Intel Core Ultra 7 258V vs AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 – Intel for Gaming, AMD for Work
Now, let’s compare the new Intel Core Ultra 7 258V with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite!
Best offers for Intel Core Ultra 7 258V laptops:
Best offers for Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78-100) laptops:
AI Performance
The whole Snapdragon X lineup, including the more affordable X Plus models, is equipped with the same Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, rated at 45 TOPS.
The Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs by Intel come with Intel AI Boost NPUs, with peak INT8 performance starting at 40 TOPS for the 238V, and going up to 48 TOPS for the 266V, 268V, and 288V models. The Core Ultra 258V sits just behind them at 47 TOPS.
With that said, both CPUs meet Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC requirements, which is 40 TOPS or more.
| Processor | NPU Performance (INT8 TOPS) | Copilot+ |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | 48 TOPS | ✅ |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite | 45 TOPS | ✅ |
Looking at real-life AI performance, the two chips produce similar results, with the Core Ultra 258V scoring 5% higher, corresponding to its 4% higher peak TOPS rate.
| Processor | Computer Vision Benchmark (INT8) | Difference |
| Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | 1765 | +5% |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite | 1674 | – |
CPU Performance
Things get interesting here. At first glance, the Snapdragon X Elite appears much more powerful, with a ~45% higher score in the widely used Cinebench benchmark. The same holds true in the multi-core test in Geekbench 6. This is expected, given that the 258V has only 4 performance cores, while the X Elite has 12.
However, these multi-core scores represent CPU performance under heavy loads, such as video editing or 3D rendering. For most users, the single-core benchmark is more relevant, as it reflects the CPU’s responsiveness for everyday tasks and most operating system processes. Here, the Core Ultra shines, even surpassing the X Elite.
GPU Performance
Intel Arc Graphics 140V offers excellent GPU performance. It’s not only unmatched by other iGPUs but also outperforms many dedicated GPUs, surpassing, for example, the 40W variant of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050.
Conclusion
On paper, the Snapdragon X Elite is much faster with its 12 performance cores, which excel in multi-threaded tests. However, the Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs offer similar or even better performance for single-core tasks, and their four efficient cores provide exceptional battery life.
Additionally, the Core Ultra 2 is unmatched in GPU performance, outpacing everything in its path, including Snapdragon’s Adreno and AMD’s iGPU flagship, the Radeon 890M.
In theory, the Snapdragon X Elite is the better choice for serious, heavy work-related tasks. However, the ARM platform is not yet fully refined, and you may encounter issues where some apps don’t function properly or don’t work at all. This will likely be resolved soon, but until then, we recommend the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 for everyday work and casual gaming, and the AMD Ryzen 300 for heavy-duty work.
Best offers for Intel Core Ultra 7 258V laptops:
Best offers for Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78-100) laptops:
Author: Simeon NikolovEditor-in-Chief at LaptopMedia.com with 20+ years of experience in testing and analyzing laptops and mobile devices.
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