Gaming on Snapdragon X Elite: Borderlands 3 Gameplay (~30 FPS on the Surface Pro 11) and Super Resolution Tech
Microsoft is making a big deal of its new ARM-based Copilot+ laptops. It was about time Windows started properly supporting ARM-based chips (yes, we know that Windows on ARM has been a thing, however, ARM chips weren’t nearly as good as Apple’s).
Now that the Apple M-series processors have collected a ton of momentum and truly transformed MacBooks when it comes to performance and efficiency, Microsoft (as the OS provider and small-time hardware manufacturer) along with all other laptop manufacturers.
Now we’ve got Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X-series, with the X Plus and X Elite. These are not repurposed smartphone SoCs, but rather chips made from the ground up for laptops and powerful tablets. These are set to combat the M3 and M4 SoCs from Apple, both in terms of CPU and GPU performance.
Gaming is a big part of GPUs, and of course, there will always be someone to try and play games on these chips. Microsoft saved us some time and revealed some Borderlands 3 and Baldur’s Gate 3 results from its new Surface Pro 11. Supposedly, the game runs at 30 fps (these results can always be a bit misleading, we’re working on getting one of these Snapdragon X Plus or Elite laptops to test for ourselves).
Microsoft is also working on Auto Super Resolution, their version of AI resolution upscaling. This can achieve more detailed visuals that put less strain on your GPU, thus increasing FPS. Currently, most games, apps, and even the Super Resolution technology run on ARM using either an emulator or a translation layer. However, Microsoft has vowed to make Super Resolution run natively.
ARM SoCs can be a new opportunity for Microsoft to experiment, like maybe an Xbox handheld with an ARM SoC or even an ARM-powered Xbox, utilizing a bigger and more powerful ARM-based chip.
You can check out the whole range of Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus-powered laptops down below.