In a recent session at the 2024 Game Developers Conference titled 'Windows on Snapdragon, a Platform Ready for your PC Games,' Qualcomm engineer Issam Khalil made bold claims about the gaming capabilities of unannounced laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Elite chipset. While these laptops do not come with a dedicated graphics processor, Khalil insisted that they will be able to run various game titles.

According to Khalil, developers will have the option to run games natively on the Snapdragon X Elite machines, which he believes delivers the best possible performance. The Verge reports that developers can port their games to the platform natively on ARM64, ensuring optimal CPU performance and efficiency. This approach seems to be the preferred choice, as having an emulation layer can degrade performance.

Another option for developers is to create a hybrid 'ARM64EC' app, where Windows, its libraries, and Qualcomm's drivers run natively. Although the program will be emulated, it is expected to offer almost the same level of performance. The last alternative is to rely on x64 emulation, though it is not considered the most favorable path due to potential performance issues.

Qualcomm claims to have Adreno GPU drivers for several graphics technologies, including DX11, DX12, Vulkan, and OpenCL. They also mention support for DX9 and up to OpenGL 4.6 through mapping layers. While specifics on which specific games are supported and the number of games tested were not disclosed by Khalil, he expressed confidence that most titles on Steam would be compatible with the platform.

One unanswered question revolves around the possibility of using eGPU solutions with Snapdragon X Elite laptops. Assuming these laptops support Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4, users may have the option to connect an external GPU and enjoy gaming. However, this would limit mobility, as users would be tethered to a single spot.

It is important to note that without witnessing the gaming performance ourselves, it is challenging to verify Qualcomm's claims. Comparisons can be drawn with Apple's M-series chips, introduced in 2020, which struggled to run older game titles smoothly due to the limitations of the integrated GPU. Nonetheless, the announcement has piqued curiosity, and anticipation is building for the arrival of the first batch of portable machines featuring the Snapdragon X Elite chipset, when its gaming capabilities can be truly evaluated.