Feb 22, 2025 20:00:00

'Is a PC equipped with the Snapdragon X series Arm processor practical?' We tested it on the lightweight notebook PC 'ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407)' weighing less than 900g

The ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) , a lightweight laptop weighing less than 900g, was released on February 5, 2025 and is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series SoC. The Snapdragon X series uses an Arm architecture that is different from Intel and AMD processors, and apps developed for x64 are run through an emulator . For this reason, many people are probably wondering, 'Will the apps I want to use run on a PC equipped with a Snapdragon X series?' We actually ran various benchmarks and launched various apps on the ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) to check the performance and operation status of various apps.

ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) | Laptop | ASUS Japan
https://www.asus.com/jp/laptops/for-home/zenbook/asus-zenbook-sora-ux3407/

·table of contents
◆01: What kind of PC is the ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407)?
◆02: Benchmark preparation
◆03: CrystalDiskMark
◆04: Geekbench 6
◆05: Geekbench AI
◆06: PassMark Performance Test
◆07: FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION Benchmark
◆08: Install Steam and start a PC game
◆09: Adobe Photoshop
◆10: ATOK or Google Japanese Input
◆11: Heat and fan noise under heavy load
◆12: Summary

◆01: What kind of PC is the ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407)?
The ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) comes in two models: the lower-end model 'UX3407QA' equipped with the Snapdragon X X1-26-100 and the higher-end model 'UX3407RA' equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100. GIGAZINE borrowed the lower-end model UX3407QA for review. The appearance, weight, and installed ports of the UX3407QA are summarized in detail in the following article.

ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) lightweight laptop weighing 884g appearance review, Copilot+ PC with Snapdragon X series - GIGAZINE

There was a Snapdragon X sticker on the bottom of the keyboard. The Snapdragon X is a lower-end model in the Snapdragon X series, with a lower number of CPU cores, 8 cores, than the higher-end models. This time, we will check the performance of the UX3407QA while comparing it with PCs from other companies that are equipped with higher-end models.

◆02: Benchmark preparation
Before running the benchmark tests, I first changed the power mode to 'Optimal Performance'.

We also use the system management application '

MyASUS ', which comes pre-installed on ASUS laptops, to switch the fan rotation mode to the highest 'full speed mode'.

◆03: CrystalDiskMark
Below are the results of running the Arm version of ' CrystalDiskMark ', which can measure the read and write speed of storage. The sequential read speed was 6747.48MB/s, the sequential write speed was 3652.51MB/s, the random read speed was 341.97MB/s, and the random write speed was 477.40MB/s.

◆04: Geekbench 6
When we ran the CPU benchmark using the Arm version of the popular benchmark app Geekbench 6 , the single-core score was 2,120 and the multi-core score was 10,434.

According to

the Geekbench score aggregation site , the single-core score of 2120 is on par with the Intel Core i5-11600 and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

In addition, the multi-core score is equivalent to the Intel Core i9-9940X and AMD Ryzen 7 7840U.

Next, we ran the GPU benchmark, scoring 9686 for OpenCL.

The OpenCL score is close to that of the AMD Radeon 550X and GeForce GTX 465.

The score on Vulkan was 13,965.

The Vulkan score is close to that of the GeForce GTX 980M.

◆05: Geekbench AI
The UX3407QA can achieve a maximum AI processing performance of 45 TOPS with just the NPU (QNN), and meets the Microsoft

Copilot + PC standard. We actually ran Geekbench AI to measure the AI processing performance.

First, the results of measuring the AI processing performance of the CPU are as follows: Single precision score was 1672, half precision score was 2760, and quantization score was 5616.

When looking at the single-precision scores and comparing them with

the results of other products , the performance is close to that of the iPhone 11 Pro's CPU.

And the QNN benchmark results are as follows: Single precision score was 1656, half precision score was 15,419, and quantization score was 26,366.

Looking at the single-precision score, the performance is between the iPhone 12 and the Oppo Find X8 Pro.

◆06: PassMark Performance Test
I ran the Arm version of the benchmark app '

PassMark PerformanceTest ,' which can measure the performance of CPUs, storage, etc., and compared the scores with those of the previously measured ' 7th generation Surface Laptop (SoC: Snapdragon X Elite) ,' ' OmniBook X 14 AI PC (SoC: Snapdragon X Elite) ,' ' XPS 13 9345 (SoC: Snapdragon X Elite) ,' and ' ASUS Vivobook S 15 S5507QA (SoC: Snapdragon X Elite) .' The orange bar is the score of the UX3407QA measured this time.

The UX3407QA's overall score was 3574, slightly below other PCs equipped with the Snapdragon X Elite.

The CPU score was 17,412. This is a significantly lower score than the Snapdragon X Elite-equipped PC.

2D graphics score is 323. This test has a high degree of variability.

The 3D graphics score is 2120, which is comparable to a PC equipped with a Snapdragon X Elite.

Memory score is 3491.

The disk score was 38,303, which is lower than the XPS 13 9345 but still quite high performance.

◆07: FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION Benchmark
Let's run the '

FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION Benchmark ' to measure gaming performance. The FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION Benchmark only exists in the x64 version, but the installation was successful.

It started up and the benchmark ran to completion.

Below are the results of running the benchmark with four different rendering settings. When playing heavy 3DCG games, you will need to lower the settings considerably.

Drawing Settings	Score	evaluation
1920x1080 pixels, standard quality	1532	Difficult to operate
1920x1080 pixels, lightweight quality	1847	Difficult to operate
1280x720 pixels, standard quality	2979	Slightly heavy
1280x720 pixels, lightweight quality	3629	usually

◆08: Install Steam and start PC games
Although there is no Arm version of the Windows Steam client, I was able to install and launch it without any problems.

To check if I can play PC games distributed on Steam, I will install the '

Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark '. The system requirements for the Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark are as follows. It does not support Arm processors.

It installed but when I clicked 'Play' it didn't start.

Next, we will try the relatively lightweight game '

SCHiM - Skim - '. The system requirements are as follows, and it does not support Arm processors.

The installation was successful and I was able to start it up and play without any issues.

◆09: Adobe Photoshop
The Arm version of Adobe Photoshop is optimized for the Snapdragon X series, so I tried running it.

When I tried editing a photo using the Arm version of Adobe Photoshop, I was able to quickly adjust the brightness and color tone.

◆10: ATOK or Google Japanese Input
Many Japanese Windows users say that they find the standard Windows Japanese input function (Microsoft IME) difficult to use, so they use third-party IMEs such as ATOK and Google Japanese Input. So I decided to install and use ATOK and Google Japanese Input.

In both cases the installation was successful.

However, when I launched Notepad and tried to switch to Japanese input, it did not accept any operations and I could only input English.

In addition,

the ATOK operating environment page clearly states that 'Arm versions of Windows are not guaranteed to work.'

In addition, Google Japanese Input only supports x86 and x64 processors.

◆11: Fan noise and heat under high load
Let's check how loud the fan noise gets under high load and how much the temperature of each part rises.

First, we stress the CPU and GPU by running the FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION benchmark and the PassMark PerformanceTest CPU test in a loop.

Here's what the CPU usage looks like, with all cores at 100% load:

The GPU is also under nearly 100% load. After leaving it in this state for 10 minutes, we measure the volume of the fan and the temperature of each part.

The digital sound level meter '

GM1351 ' was placed approximately 30 cm away from the UX3407QA.

The fan noise was 53.3dBA, which is loud enough to drown out the noise of a heater or ventilator.

The results of measuring the temperature with the infrared thermography '

FLIR i3 ' are below. The boundary between the screen and the keyboard rose to 41.4 degrees. On the other hand, the temperature of the parts that are touched by the hands, such as the keyboard and touchpad, did not rise much.

The included power adapter had reached 45.0 degrees.

◆12: Summary
I actually tried using the ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407) with the Snapdragon X X1-26-100 (UX3407QA) and found that it was able to run tasks such as image editing smoothly with apps that were compatible with Arm processors, and it was also able to run some x64 processor apps and games.

On the other hand, some apps and games that are not compatible with Arm processors may not work properly. In particular, the inability to use third-party IMEs such as ATOK is a major drawback for users who mainly use Japanese input. For this reason, when purchasing a PC equipped with a Snapdragon X series such as the ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407), you need to make sure that the apps you use are compatible with Arm processors before making your selection.

The lowest price for the UX3407QA at the ASUS official store is 179,800 yen including tax. Also, it is sold for 163,455 yen including tax on Amazon.co.jp.

Amazon.co.jp: ASUS Laptop Zenbook SORA UX3407QA 14.0-inch Qualcomm Snapdragon X Memory 16GB SSD 512GB Windows 11 Weight 899g Wi-Fi 6E Type-C Power Supply Compatible Copilot Key AI PC Zabriskie Beige UX3407QA-PU16548BE/A: Computers & Peripherals

I plan to measure the battery life and charging time of the UX3407QA and write an article about it.

Continued
Review of the 900g lightweight laptop 'ASUS Zenbook SORA (UX3407)' to see how long the battery lasts - GIGAZINE