Surface Pro X with Windows 11 Shown Running Microsoft-branded Qualcomm Arm SoC

[btarunr]

A next-generation Microsoft Surface Pro X with Windows 11 was shown running a Microsoft-branded processor that's expected to be a design collaboration between the company and Qualcomm, in a bid to develop a high performance/Watt solution rivaling the Apple M1. Microsoft's contribution to this is the x86-64 emulation heavily integrated into Windows 11, letting you run native x86-64 apps seamlessly, with the OS handling the hardware abstraction much like WOW64.

Called the Microsoft SQ2, the silicon features an 8-core/8-thread CPU, and an iGPU that meets the minimum requirements of Windows 11 for its standard UI, with just enough power for web-browsing with high-res videos. The CPU runs at speeds of up to 3.15 GHz, and has a fairly advanced memory system that includes a 3-level cache and LPDDR5 memory.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[srsbsns]

Windows 11 on ARM. Does this mean I can run VMs of it on my Raspberry Pi now?

 

[Space Lynx]

that tablet has some thick bezels. eh. if I were going to spend that kind of money for a non-gaming device I'd just go with Apple, and I'm not really a fan of Apple at all, but I think in this price range for the uses it would be used for, they have the better product.

 

[lemoncarbonate]

that tablet has some thick bezels. eh. if I were going to spend that kind of money for a non-gaming device I'd just go with Apple, and I'm not really a fan of Apple at all, but I think in this price range for the uses it would be used for, they have the better product.

Actually I prefer some bezel for tablet, just having a place for my finger and to hold the tablet is much more convenient for me.
But yeah, I agree I would just get an iPad Pro for that money. I'm not a fan of Apple at all, but their iPads are just unrivaled for tablet. I'm still using iPad 6 2018, but I'm definitely interested in iPad Pro next time.

 

[Mussels]

I made a comment about 2 months ago in a thread about getting ARM CPU's that can emulate or run x86, and got people saying it was impossible and would never work blah blah blah


You aint gunna run crysis on this, but if we get get ARM levels of efficiency and battery life with the open x86-64 program and android apk support vs apple having everything locked to their apps on one store...

 

[Crackong]

I don't get the idea why doing windows on ARM
x86 software are the main reason ppl using windows.
It looks odd to move to ARM and have to "emulate" you biggest advantage back into the system.

Is power efficiency the main concern ?

 

[dicktracy]

Qualcomm doesn’t have the vision to scale up to higher wattage like Apple does. Just give ARM to Nvidia already FFS.

 

[R0H1T]

I made a comment about 2 months ago in a thread about getting ARM CPU's that can emulate or run x86

If you meant emulation that's been happening for a while IIRC, if it's running native x86 then nope not happening.

 

[Prime2515102]

YAY! :|

 

[Mussels]

If you meant emulation that's been happening for a while IIRC, if it's running native x86 then nope not happening.

emulation without massive performance tanking, so that its actually a native feeling experience

 

[mtcn77]

I get a personal satisfaction in seeing people thinking Arm is lagging. Newsbreak: I cannot play a presentation without some form of lag on pc, instead of Arm.

 

[Valantar]

emulation without massive performance tanking, so that its actually a native feeling experience

I mean, Apple does that, so it's clearly possible (though reportedly their SoCs are designed specifically for the task, which no doubt makes this easier).

As for this SoC, did everyone forget that the Surface Pro X originally also had a Microsoft-branded "SQ1" SoC? It would be more surprising if the follow-up arrived with a straight-up Snapdragon design.

 

[Notasaurus]

I mean, Apple does that, so it's clearly possible (though reportedly their SoCs are designed specifically for the task, which no doubt makes this easier).

As for this SoC, did everyone forget that the Surface Pro X originally also had a Microsoft-branded "SQ1" SoC? It would be more surprising if the follow-up arrived with a straight-up Snapdragon design.

Everyone also seems to have forgotten that the SQ2 was released at the end of 2020 and those models have been available for purchase for over 7 months. And also that the SQ2 was a minor iteration of the SQ1.

Microsoft’s SQ2 Chip Running in the New Surface Pro X Is Not an Upgrade Over the SQ1; Both Perform the Same in Benchmarks

The Microsoft SQ2 chip might be identical to the SQ1 present in the first-generation Surface Pro X, according to the latest benchmarks

www.google.com

Edit: I'll add I had a spx sp1 and loved it. It was lacking in native support at the time and I had a hell of a time finding required drivers I needed so it went back. I want a spx that's fully supported so bad so I am continually hopeful that improvements are coming but sadly this is just a new os on old hardware. Which will help but the chip is not going to compete against an M1. The underlying chip architecture just isn't there in the SQ1 and SQ2.

 

[Valantar]

Everyone also seems to have forgotten that the SQ2 was released at the end of 2020 and those models have been available for purchase for over 7 months. And also that the SQ2 was a minor iteration of the SQ1.

Microsoft’s SQ2 Chip Running in the New Surface Pro X Is Not an Upgrade Over the SQ1; Both Perform the Same in Benchmarks

The Microsoft SQ2 chip might be identical to the SQ1 present in the first-generation Surface Pro X, according to the latest benchmarks

www.google.com

Edit: I'll add I had a spx sp1 and loved it. It was lacking in native support at the time and I had a hell of a time finding required drivers I needed so it went back. I want a spx that's fully supported so bad so I am continually hopeful that improvements are coming but sadly this is just a new os on old hardware. Which will help but the chip is not going to compete against an M1. The underlying chip architecture just isn't there in the SQ1 and SQ2.

Lol, yeah, I can find SQ1 and SQ2 models both in the MS store right now, so ... yeah. Guess nobody was paying attention?

IMO, ARM needs to put out a core significantly wider than the X1 in order to properly compete with Apple - though that seems to be a challenge, sadly.

 

[Harakhti]

Windows 11 on ARM. Does this mean I can run VMs of it on my Raspberry Pi now?

You can run the ARM64 build on bare metal if you can make the installation disc should be available on the UUP generator.

 

[Fahad]

This article needs to be adjusted. This Surface Pro X is not "next-generation". It was released 9 months ago. The only thing of interest here is that it's running Windows 11 instead of 10.

For a second I thought the article was referencing the rumored Microsoft-developed ARM SoC. This Qualcomm collaboration SQ2 isn't it.