The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Gen 11) is one of the best laptops we've reviewed all year. Our Cale Hunt called the PC a "top choice for students, small business pros, and even casual Windows users who want a premium laptop." Now, thanks to a YouTuber, the laptop can also claim the title of a streaming battlestation.
YouTuber "DevonDoesTech" used the Yoga Slim 7x to power his streaming and content creation setup for a 17-hour stream marathon. DevonDoesTech was sent the laptop by Qualcomm and tested the PC by using it as the heart of his stream.
The latest Yoga Slim 7x runs on a Snapdragon X2 processor. The one DevonDoesTech used has the Snapdragon X2 Elite inside. The idea behind the stream was to see how the chip handled real-world usage.
It's a clever way to showcase the new chip from Qualcomm. Snapdragon X processors have had respectable specs for a while, but posts about the chips on social media often include people asking about app compatibility.
But boasting about how many apps are natively compiled is not the same as showing ARM-based PCs can actually be used to get work done. The DevonDoesTech stream required OBS Studio, Meld Studio, DaVinci Resolve, Discord, and other apps.
DevonDoesTech streamed for over 1,000 minutes during his stream. The setup had both a horizontal stream on YouTube and a vertical stream on Twitch that ran simultaneously.
"I didn't notice a difference. Never once during the 17-hour stream, never once during my testing, never once during my road trip did I say 'Dang, I really wish that I had the power of my desktop computer.'"
He added that the Yoga Slim 7x is "kind of blowing [his] mind."
While ARM-based computing has come a long way, there are still games that do not work with Snapdragon X chips. Kernel-level anti-cheat is required for some games and is still an awkward spot. But even in that area there's promise for improvement.
This laptop has a sleek design and enough power to handle everything from daily productivity to creative work. This model has 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.View Deal
If you love the look and design of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x but don't need the power and specs shown off in DevonDoesTech's video, this model is for you. It runs on a Snapdragon X2 Plus processor and is part of a massive doorbuster deal.View Deal
It's not just DevonDoesTech
Our expert was also impressed with the Snapdragon X2 Elite and the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x during his testing.
DevonDoesTech's praise is quite effusive, but it aligns with our own experience. The Yoga Slim 7x earned a 4.5 out of 5 in our review and Hunt said the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and the laptop are a "blast" to use.
After using a PC with a Snapdragon X2 for one month, Hunt was "totally sold on Snapdragon X2." He also spoke on app compatibility:
"For a fairly casual Windows user like me, ARM64 app compatibility is a complete non-issue. You can see for yourself if the apps you use are native or emulated on the extremely useful WorksOnWOA website."
There was a time when ARM-based laptops were lackluster compared to their x86 counterparts. I'm happy to see those days are behind us.
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A laptop on a wooden table displays a vibrant, colorful chrysanthemum on its screen. Background: a bookshelf lined with assorted books. Cozy ambiance.
A laptop on a wooden table displays a vibrant, colorful chrysanthemum on its screen. Background: a bookshelf lined with assorted books. Cozy ambiance.
Snapdragon C chips are designed to power budget laptops that start around $300. Qualcomm has updated its product pages for the processors, including full specs.
The specs are promising and stack up well against offerings from competitors, such as the Intel N250. Qualcomm shared some favorable comparisons between Snapdragon C and Intel N250 that suggest Qualcomm's new chip could compete very well in the budget laptop space.
Snapdragon C specs and details
Snapdragon C chips will power budget-friendly laptops starting at around $300. (Image credit: Qualcomm)
Snapdragon C promises up to 67% faster performance than Intel N250 according to Qualcomm. The biggest difference between the chips appeared in Cinebench MT testing, but Snapdragon C defeated Intel across a range of Qualcomm's tests.
Those performance tests are when both chips are running on battery power, which leans in Qualcomm's favor. Snapdragon processors often thrive in unplugged testing.
Qualcomm claims Snapdragon C delivers 106% better power efficiency during Netflix playback. Microsoft Teams (99% better) and YouTube (86% better) are both wins for Snapdragon C as well.
Power usage by idle apps is 39% better in power efficiency, according to Qualcomm.
Snapdragon C specs
CPU
Qualcomm Kryo CPU (6nm)
CPU cores
8
CPU max clock speed
3.0 GHz
GPU
Qualcomm Adreno
NPU
Qualcomm Hexagon
Memory
LPDDR5x
Maximum memory
16GB
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 6.0
Snapdragon C has a dedicated NPU, which helps with AI tasks. I doubt AI usage will be heavy among budget laptop users, so CPU performance and other specs will likely be bigger factors for those shopping for affordable PCs.
There are some legacy and enterprise apps that are not compatible with Snapdragon C and other ARM-based processors, but the list of the best native Windows on ARM apps continues to grow and includes big-name and niche apps.
The official specs of Snapdragon C are promising, as are the figures shared by Qualcomm. But there are still several key facts we do not know, some of which won't be confirmed until laptops with the new chips launch.
We also need to know how the chips perform when laptops are plugged in and how that performance compares to that of Intel chips.
All of the claims about performance and efficiency come straight from Qualcomm, so we'll need to see them verified independently.
Qualcomm has a good track record with claims like this. Benchmarks and comparisons shared with the press about previous chips proved accurate in real-world testing.
I'm confident that Snapdragon C chips will perform well and compete with similar chips from Intel, but we need concrete figures from the wild and hands-on experiences to know exactly how the new chips stack up.
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Snapdragon C logo on a colorized transparent motherboard component.
Snapdragon C logo on a colorized transparent motherboard component.