The fact that Qualcomm is working on a new chipset for more powerful Windows 10 machines is no longer a secret. Last month, German tech site WinFuture published an extensive report on a new generation of Qualcomm chips, internally named SDM1000. Now they have dropped more details about the chip, possibly Snapdragon 1000, and it suggests to be a big-big upgrade.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 1000
Qualcomm already has a new, PC-focused chip, Snapdragon 850, intended to launch towards the end of the year. The chip was expected to be used exclusively in Windows 10 ARM devices. However the recent report suggests the chip to be half-baked for the task. And as a follow-up, the company is developing an all new chip from the scratch for PCs.
The Snapdragon 1000 would be the most powerful Qualcomm chip to-date, which can penetrate into the territory of stronger x86 processors. A reference design found in import databases reveal the chip to feature 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and 256GB of storage. The reference design also mentions of a gigabit WLAN, and a new power management chip.
The new chip would consume up to 6.5W of power for the CPU, and 12W across the entire SoC. This is much lesser than Intel’s latest U-series chips (15W), which the Snapdragon 1000 is probably intended to go up against. It would have a relatively huge design compared to previous Snapdragon flagship processors – 20mm x 15mm versus 12.4mm x 12.4mm. However, it’s still smaller than Intel’s 15-watt chips, which apparently measure 45mm x 24mm.
A socketed processor?
The reference design also has mentions of a socketed processor design, like a traditional computer chipset. This possibly means the chip can be swapped out of the test device. Qualcomm’s wares are traditionally a tightly woven, interlinked package, with the processor soldered to the motherboard. But if this swap-out design is intended for beyond the test purposes, the new Snapdragon 1000 might go a long way up.
There’s no word on when Qualcomm will announce the SDM1000, but presumably, not anytime soon. With the Snapdragon 850 lined-up for launch towards the end of the year, this follow-up would probably need to wait for another year at least.
