A Signal65 test reveals that the Lenovo Slim 7x with Snapdragon X2 Elite beats Dell XPS 14 and AMD counterparts in CPU benchmarks and battery longevity, signalling a shift in the thin-and-light laptop market.
Qualcomm has secured another favourable showing for its laptop chips, after a Signal65 test commissioned by the company found that a Lenovo Slim 7x powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite outperformed a Dell XPS 14 using Intel’s Core Ultra X7 358H in several CPU and battery-life scenarios. The comparison also put the Snapdragon machine ahead of an AMD-based Lenovo Yoga 7a 14 in most measured workloads, although that part of the test was less balanced because the AMD system used a lower-core-count processor and less memory.
In the benchmark run, with power connected and the machines set to their highest performance modes, the Snapdragon laptop posted a 31 per cent higher multi-core result in Geekbench 7 than the Intel model, according to Signal65’s figures. Its single-core lead was 24 per cent. The report said the Lenovo system used the standard 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite rather than the faster Extreme version, which makes the result more notable because it was not the flagship variant of Qualcomm’s new family.
The battery results were more mixed, but still largely in Qualcomm’s favour. Signal65 said the Snapdragon machine retained 97 per cent of its plugged-in performance when running on battery in balanced mode, compared with 95 per cent for the Intel laptop and 74 per cent for the AMD system. In Chrome-based web browsing, the Snapdragon system lasted 11.2 hours, around two hours and 36 minutes longer than the Dell. It also held on for 16.1 hours in local video playback, versus 14.4 hours for the XPS 14. The Intel machine, however, won the office productivity test, lasting 17.4 hours to the Snapdragon laptop’s 14.3 hours, even though Signal65 said the Snapdragon model delivered higher performance during that workload.
Graphics remained one area where Intel kept an advantage. Signal65 reported that the Dell’s Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics scored better in 3DMark. Yet the pricing comparison still favoured Lenovo heavily: Signal65 placed the Snapdragon model at $1,999.99 and the Intel system at $2,749.99, a gap of $750. On that basis, the firm said the Snapdragon laptop delivered 2.15 times as much performance per dollar across three selected tests.
The broader picture is that Qualcomm’s laptop strategy is continuing to gain credibility in the thin-and-light segment. Tom’s Hardware’s review of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, an earlier Snapdragon machine, highlighted battery life of 19 hours and 25 minutes in its rundown test, although it also noted limited upgrade options once the machine is bought. Tom’s Hardware’s separate review of the 2026 Dell XPS 14 confirmed the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H configuration and the use of Intel Arc B390 graphics. Taken together, the reports suggest that the latest Snapdragon laptops are no longer just competitive on endurance; in some cases, they are now also closing the gap on sustained CPU performance while undercutting Intel systems on price.
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