/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus image/Snapdragon8cxGen3Hero.
The new flagship chip for PCs is the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, which is a big improvement over last year's 8cx Gen 2 model.
The 8cx Gen 3 is the first chip for Windows computers built on a 5nm process and promises up to 85 percent better performance and up to 60 percent faster performance than the 8cx Gen 2. The company claims that its new chip offers 60 percent greater performance per watt over the x86 platform. The chip supports multi-day battery life, although it didn't give any details.
:noupscale is a file with the name "Snapdragon8cxGen3ComputePlatformChip."
One might expect a major feature of the 8cx to be its modem support, but that is not the case, with support for the X55, X62, or X65 5G modems depending on what kind of 5G capabilities manufacturers want to offer. When you are not out and about, the 8cx Gen 3 will support wi-fi 6 and 6E.
There are more artificial intelligence improvements here, such as the Spectra ISP, which promises better auto-white balance, noise and echo cancellation, and better audio.
The power and battery life of the original 8cx laptop chips has been promoted by the company since they were first announced, but they haven't really taken off outside of modified versions appearing in Microsoft's Surface Pro X laptops.
Those computers that have shipped with the chip from the company haven't made much of a difference to the dominance of Intel and the other companies in the x86 space.
Maybe the Gen 3 will change that. It is hard to not feel like the 8cx Gen 3 is a stopgap when you know that the next Windows PC chips will be from Qualcomm. The Nuvia team, which was bought by the company for over $1 billion earlier this year, designed the chips that are designed to set the performance benchmark for Windows PCs with leadership in performance and battery life, as well as offering a competitive processor to Apple's excellent M-series chips.
The 8cx Gen 3 is one of the new platforms announced by Qualcomm. The 7c Plus Gen 3 is built on a 6nm process but still promises better multi-threaded performance and better graphics than the 7c Gen 2. The 7c Plus Gen 3 is not as powerful as the 8cx Gen 3 because it is for entry-level Windows PCs and Chromebooks. 5G will be enabled on entry-level laptop chips for the first time, thanks to an integrated modem from Qualcomm.
