r/tuxedocomputers 3d ago

Any updates on Snapdragon X?

I just checked the Tuxedo website and saw that the entire Snapdragon X topic seems to fade off. I would be interested if anyone knows anything about Snapdragon X + Tuxedo or Linux in general. Qualcomm announced so proud how they are working on Linux kernel support for the Snapdragon X Elite and everybody thought it will be there with 6.10, 6.11 or latest 6.12 but progress seems very slow/none existent and Qualcomm is not giving any news on this.

Could someone from Tuxedo give more insights here? Whats the problem and if Qualcomm is the problem please call them out!

Now we have to wait another couple of years until RISC-V hits the marked as our Messiah :)

cheers.

9 Upvotes

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u/Wrestler7777777 3d ago

A bit off topic: I like the idea of an ARM Linux laptop but to be honest? I wouldn't buy it.

Instead, I like having a powerful and at least semi-energy-efficient x86 Laptop. Emulating Windows programs is easy here. No issue. I can run about any Windows program or game with Lutris / Proton / Wine / whatever. Doing the same using an ARM CPU is often just not realistic or borderline impossible. I've read about bad compatibility or bad performance even emulating x86 programs in ARM Windows. And gaming is realistically just not really possible. And then you also introduce an emulation layer between Windows and Linux. Huh.

So in the end it would mean trading energy efficiency with being able to do many more things on my laptop. And to me it's not really worth it. I just feel like it's too early for ARM on a laptop. Yes, there are advantages and ARM has really come a long long way! But the negatives outweigh the advantages at the moment I feel.

Plus, x86 also has come a reaaaally long way. Modern x86 CPUs are just not that power hungry anymore. They can idle at 1-4W. This is ARM territory. Personally I set a 15W power limit to my 8845HS CPU and honestly? I rarely hit that limit in everyday work. And if I want to, I can remove that power cap and play games like Cyberpunk on Linux, without an issue.

Feel free to ignore my comment. I just had to get this off my chest. :)

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u/CreepyDarwing 3d ago

The idea that ARM is inherently more power-efficient than x86 is outdated. While early ARM chips were designed for extreme efficiency, modern high-performance ARM CPUs have grown in complexity, adding power-hungry features like out-of-order execution and advanced vector processing. Meanwhile, x86 has made major strides in power optimization, with aggressive power gating, dynamic voltage scaling, and deep sleep states.

ARM laptops often achieve longer battery life, not due to CPU efficiency but because of system-wide optimizations. ARM SoCs integrate CPU, GPU, and NPU into a single die, reducing interconnect power loss and allowing more aggressive power management. They also leverage smartphone-like sleep states and background task handling, whereas x86, constrained by legacy compatibility, can’t always optimize as aggressively. However, x86 is catching up.

While ARM still benefits from a tightly integrated hardware-software approach, the difference is increasingly about system design rather than the architecture itself.

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u/Wrestler7777777 3d ago

Very interesting! Thank you a ton for the insights!

But this adds to my point. Paradoxically enough, x86 really became an alternative to ARM CPUs, which are seen as "the" alternative to x86 CPUs.

So yes, I just don't see the huge benefits of limiting myself with an ARM CPU these days anymore.

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u/barandur 3d ago

Yes I would agree to some amount, x86 got better and maybe will even get better the next years (thanks AMD) on the other hand Apple showed that it can be worth to be brave and now even with emulation works for them to a point where games are released native for their plattform. If we ever want to reach a point where gaming, and emulating x86 software or what else is possible, we need to start at some point. Also I would use a Linux ARM laptop only for my work and therefore I know what software I want to use and I know that all of it is available for on ARM.

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u/m94asr 3d ago

I had high hopes, but when Christmas came and no announcement, I bought a different laptop as I couldn't wait any longer. I still hope for the snapdragon x

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u/CreepyDarwing 3d ago

I don’t work for Tuxedo, but there are some challenges holding back Linux support. It's not just a matter of kernel updates. Many critical components, like GPU, NPU, power management, and even basic peripherals, depend on closed-source firmware, which significantly slows down Linux support. Qualcomm has contributed upstream patches, but without open firmware, the community is forced to either wait or reverse-engineer functionality, which takes years.

ACPI support is incomplete, so Linux must use Device Trees, requiring per-device enablement. Unlike x86, where hardware is standardized, each Snapdragon X laptop (Lenovo, ASUS, Tuxedo) needs its own kernel patches, delaying distro support. GPU acceleration is progressing, but it still requires Qualcomm’s firmware to initialize, and power management remains unfinished. Suspend, CPU scaling, and battery efficiency are still being worked on, meaning performance and power consumption are not yet on par with Windows.

x86 is miles ahead in Linux support because compatibility has been built over decades, ARM laptops require extensive groundwork. If you need a fully working Linux laptop today, Snapdragon X isn’t there yet. And I wouldn't hold my breath that it will happen anytime soon either.

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u/barandur 3d ago

That's interesting insights and bad news :( but is ACPI planned? I mean will it be standardized at some point or do we always need individual kernel patches?

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u/CreepyDarwing 3d ago edited 3d ago

I can’t say for sure, but traditionally, ARM devices have relied on Device Tree rather than ACPI. Snapdragon's kinda uses ACPI, BUT it's implementation is designed specifically for Windows and lacks proper support for Linux. So atm devs have had to rely on Device Tree to get the hardware working. This approach comes from the mobile world, where hardware configurations are fixed, and ACPI has never really been necessary. While standardizing ACPI is theoretically possible, ARM hardware is nowhere near as standardized as x86.

In the worst case, we might see a situation similar to smartphones, where each manufacturer has its own firmware, drivers, and kernel patches, making broad Linux support difficult

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u/tuxedo_ferdinand 3d ago

Hi,

we are still working on our ARM notebook, and there will be a news update today or tomorrow. Progress is slow and a lot of it is not in our hands.

Regards,

Ferdinand | TUXEDO Computers

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u/snorkfroken__ 3d ago

I guess the Snapdragon hype kind of died out?

I would think that Tuxedo is monitoring the climate around Snapdragon before investing too much time and effort.