Skip Navigation

Snapdragon X Elite Running In The Snapdragon Dev Kit Features A Massive Copper Heatsink, Allowing The SoC To Run Above The 100W Package Power

Snapdragon X Elite Running In The Snapdragon Dev Kit Features A Massive Copper Heatsink, Allowing The SoC To Run Above The 100W Package Power

rewrite this title Snapdragon X Elite Running In The Snapdragon Dev Kit Features A Massive Copper Heatsink, Allowing The SoC To Run Above The 100W Package Power

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags

Qualcomm has made it easier for developers to bring their applications to the Snapdragon X Elite platform thanks to the Snapdragon Dev Kit, which is available for a price of $899. We previously learned that the chipset in this box could run without thermal and power limitations, with a Cinebench 2024 benchmark revealing that the Snapdragon X Elite actually exceeded the 100W power threshold. Now, one developer who was a bit too curious about the Snapdragon Dev Kit’s internals decided to perform a teardown, and we have come across quite a few surprises.

A large space of the Snapdragon Dev Kit is taken up by the copper heatsink, with hot air being exhausted by a single fan to tame the Snapdragon X Elite thermals

While several developers can test their code using the Snapdragon Dev Kit, Jeff Geerling decided to take a different route with the computing box sporting the Snapdragon X Elite. Getting the teardown treatment, we notice that the fan and copper heatsink take up a large part of the internals, both of which allow the chipset to run at a significantly higher wattage to perform at its very best.

There are also large exhaust vents present in the Snapdragon Dev Kit, but we would never have guessed that the Snapdragon X Elite’s temperatures would be tamed using an elaborate cooling solution. It makes perfect sense when Geerling mentioned that the Snapdragon Dev Kit gets quite audible when under immense load, as it is the large cooling fan likely running at a high RPM.

The sheer thickness of the copper heatsink means that the Snapdragon X Elite can never operate at 100W in Windows 11 notebooks for more than a few seconds because the SoC would reach its thermal limit quickly in a thin and inefficient chassis. However, the Snapdragon Dev Kit provides evidence that if Qualcomm wants, it can compete with Apple’s Mac mini range with one of its own future offerings.

The San Diego firm is rumored to be working on two Snapdragon X Elite successors to launch in the first half of 2026, with one of them said to be tested with an 18-core CPU configuration and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Perhaps one of these chips could be found in a future NUC, but that will be a discussion for a later time. For now, if you want to check out Geerling’s entire teardown process, click on the source link below for more information.

News Source: Jeff Geerling

Share this story

Facebook

Twitter

[gpt3]