Copilot+ PC leak triggers Snapdragon X Elite performance concerns
These performance results aren't what we expected, but is there an explanation
Imagine pre-ordering a Snapdragon X Elite-powered Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge to be delivered on June 18, and getting it a week early. What a win!
That's exactly what Redditor @caponica23 claims happened for them, and they took to the platform to share their initial opinions on Samsung's new laptop, along with plenty of screenshots showcasing the laptop's overall performance.
Unfortunately, one of these performance benchmarks — the widely used, cross-platform Geekbench 6 performance test — provided results that were just... meh. When plugged in, the Galaxy Book4 Edge earned a single-core score of 1,841 and a multi-core score of 11,537.
With everything we know about Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chipset, these Geekbench 6 scores are well below what we expected. But luckily, it seems there might be an explanation for these lower-than-expected scores.
The original poster took to the comments section to explain that the CPU's clock speed was capped at 2.5GHz, rather than the 3.4GHz or 3.8GHz clock speeds promised by Qualcomm's two 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip variations that come with the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge. This capped CPU speed can be seen in a screenshot showing RAM speed.
Another Redditor (@garfieldevans) did the math, estimating that if jumping to a 3.4GHz clock speed over 2.5GHz is a "1.36x increase," then the multi-core score would be a lot closer to what's expected, somewhere around 15,400.
The more powerful 12-core Snapdragon X Elite with a clock speed of 3.8GHz would deliver an even more impressive multi-core score of about 17,500, roughly 1.52 times faster than the Redditor's capped 2.5GHz speed.
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Hopefully, this issue will be resolved via a firmware update prior to the official Galaxy Book4 Edge launch on June 18.
On top of CPU performance and RAM speed, @caponica23 also shared multiple images of the Galaxy Book4 Edge, along with anecdotes about the audio quality, battery life, gaming performance, and more.
A Redditor's review of the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge
This is one person's review of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Book4 Edge, but it's laid out well and a lot of the information is supported with screenshots.
For reference, the Redditor says they also own a Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360, 14-inch Asus Zenbook Duo with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, and a 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip. They've also previously owned a Galaxy Book 3 Ultra and a 15-inch Galaxy Book 2 Pro 5G.
At the request of a comment from @Accomplished_Pen7213, the original poster ran the CrystalDiskMark test for storage speed.
They noted unsuccessfully trying to use the AsusPen 2.0 and the S-Pen included with Samsung's Galaxy Book Pro 360.
As far as battery life goes, their initial impressions were positive. They didn't run any sort of battery life test, but said that whereas they'd have to plug in the Zenbook Duo around 17/18H (or about 5 or 6 p.m.), the Galaxy Book 4 Edge is "lasting till 22:00" (or 10 p.m.).
An included screenshot shows an estimated battery life remaining at 96% as 13 hours and 46 minutes. If that's an accurate estimate, Windows laptops might finally be able to compete with MacBooks in terms of battery life.
If you're looking for a laptop with optimal gaming performance, that might not be the Galaxy Book4 Edge. When playing Resident Evil Village at 1080p with "Medium Fidelity" and "FX Performance Mode Activated," this Redditor was seeing 40 or 50 frames per second with "Severe Frame Drops."
When asked about speakers and fans by @Same_Attorney3824, the original poster wrote, "Speakers are.....fine, it's not a macbook, but has quite better audio than the Galaxy Book Pro 360. Yes it has fans, but they rarely kick in."
All in all, the Galaxy Book4 Edge is shaping up to be a stellar laptop despite some slight concerns, and we can't wait to get our hands on one to put it through its paces.
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Sarah Chaney is a freelance tech writer with five years of experience across multiple outlets, including Mashable, How-To Geek, MakeUseOf, Tom’s Guide, and of course, Laptop Mag. She loves reviewing the latest gadgets, from inventive robot vacuums to new laptops, wearables, and anything PC-related. When she's not writing, she's probably playing a video game, exploring the outdoors, or listening to her current favorite song or album on repeat.