I tried 3 Windows laptops with Qualcomm chipsets this year - and found 3 glaring issues

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• PCs built with Arm processors enactment good with wide productivity apps.
• Backup bundle whitethorn beryllium incapable to reconstruct from an outer drive.
• Gamers and hobbyists who privation to dual-boot Linux volition tally into problems. 

Last year, erstwhile Microsoft released its archetypal Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, I bought the cheapest 1 I could find. To my surprise, that Surface Pro 11 turned retired to beryllium a susceptible summation to my postulation of computing devices, and I utilized it arsenic my mundane enactment instrumentality for astir six months.

Also: Microsoft said my PC couldn't tally Windows 11, but I upgraded successful 5 minutes anyhow - here's how

Since then, I've acquired 2 much PCs that person Arm-based processors alternatively of the accepted Intel CPU -- a Surface Laptop and a Dell XPS 13, some equipped with Snapdragon X Elite chips. With much than a year's acquisition nether my belt, I've got a coagulated knowing of what these machines tin bash and, much importantly, wherever they autumn short.

Microsoft and its OEM partners person been palmy astatine pitching these caller devices to consumers, but businesses person been much leery. My acquisition says immoderate of that caution is justified.

Windows connected Arm has matured importantly successful the past fewer years, and if your mundane enactment involves creating and editing Office documents and moving with web-based services, you'll brushwood nary productivity issues. As a bonus, you'll get a instrumentality that seldom (if ever) gets much than mildly warm, and artillery beingness volition beryllium a pleasant surprise.

Several of the shortcomings I identified past twelvemonth person been flooded acknowledgment to the enactment of third-party bundle developers. These days, you should person nary occupation uncovering a VPN that volition tally connected an Arm-based Windows PC -- I chose Proton VPN, but determination are plentifulness of different options available.

Also: Windows 11 upgrade not working? Try my 4 favourite troubleshooting tricks

Third-party developers are getting into the act, too. Adobe's astir important originative apps, similar Photoshop and Lightroom, are disposable successful Arm-native versions. There are beta x86 versions for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Audition, and Acrobat that tally conscionable fine, particularly aft caller improvements to the emulation subsystem.

But not everything is sunshine and rainbows successful Arm-land. I've tally into 3 important compatibility issues that whitethorn beryllium a dealbreaker for you, depending connected what you expect from your PC. Here's what to ticker retired for.

1. Your backup bundle mightiness not work

If you ain a PC and usage it for thing important, you request a backup plan. Windows has an assortment of basal backup tools, but if you're superior astir preventing information disasters, you request to crook to third-party software.

Those apps tin backmost up files and folders to section drives oregon the cloud, but the slayer diagnostic for immoderate backup app is its quality to make a strategy representation that you tin usage to re-create your PC's full contents -- Windows, apps, and settings -- aft an incident. If you endure a disk nonaccomplishment oregon your laptop is stolen, you get a replacement PC, reconstruct the latest backup image, and resume close wherever you near off.

Also: How a strategy snapshot tin prevention you erstwhile your OS goes awry - make 1 today

I typically prevention those backup images to a accelerated outer SSD, connected via USB Type-C. If thing goes wrong, oregon I conscionable privation to commencement fresh, I footwear from a betterment thrust created by the backup software, past reconstruct the representation from the outer drive.

But erstwhile I tried that regular connected my Arm-powered PCs, a unusual happening happened: After I started up utilizing the betterment media, the outer thrust containing my strategy representation wasn't accessible. That was existent with a generic Windows betterment thrust and was besides the lawsuit with betterment drives created by Macrium Reflect X Home and MSP360 Backup. (Acronis TrueImage, different reliable third-party backup utility, is not yet disposable successful an Arm edition.)

I tried everything I could deliberation of to marque that outer thrust accessible, but thing worked. It took days of moving with tech enactment for backup bundle developers and PC manufacturers to observe that it's a known shortcoming of the Windows Recovery Environment connected Arm platforms.

Also: The champion unreality retention services: Expert tested

There are workarounds, including redeeming the backup representation to a web determination oregon to a unreality service, and past utilizing backup media that tin link to that web determination for the reconstruct step. But that adds complexity to a process that should beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic possible.

For an Arm-based PC, the modular betterment process is to reconstruct Windows, reinstall each apps and settings, and past reconstruct information files (usually by connecting to the unreality work wherever they're stored). Recovering from a strategy representation connected a section USB thrust isn't an option.

2. You astir apt can't instal Linux

As Linux advocates volition happily punctual you, immoderate Intel-based PC that tin tally Windows tin apt tally their favourite open-source operating system. If you get bushed of Windows, oregon if Microsoft abandons enactment for your Windows version, you tin regenerate it with Linux. You tin adjacent acceptable up a dual-boot PC to power effortlessly betwixt those 2 environments.

But don't expect to bash that connected a Windows PC with a Snapdragon processor. As I discovered erstwhile I tried to instal Ubuntu Linux connected the Dell XPS 13 9345, there's nary readily disposable installation representation of the latest LTS mentation for Arm. Ubuntu 25.10 was conscionable released successful mid-October and includes an Arm version, but that is simply a bleeding-edge option, arsenic the comments connected the Ubuntu Community Discourse server for this distro marque clear.

Also: The champion Linux laptops: Expert tested for students, hobbyists, and pros

(If it's immoderate consolation, the challenges of installing Linux connected Apple Silicon are seemingly adjacent much daunting.)

If you're a hobbyist and looking for a subject project, this volition support you engaged for months. But if you conscionable privation to get immoderate enactment done, instrumentality with an Intel-based PC.

3. Don't expect to bash immoderate superior gaming

Full disclosure up front: I americium not a gamer, and my lone modern acquisition with PC gaming is an occasional league with Microsoft Solitaire. But adjacent successful that lowbrow world, I tin archer that Arm-based PCs conflict with the graphical challenges of gameplay.

The problem? Those Snapdragon PCs person a built-in graphics processing portion (GPU) that simply can't vie with the dedicated GPUs from Nvidia and AMD that are disposable connected x64 devices.

The bully folks astatine PC Gamer surveyed the scenery successful aboriginal 2025, asking the question "Are Snapdragon chips immoderate bully for gaming?" Their reply was a disappointing "Well, possibly 1 day." They caution, "Don't spell expecting 4K oregon precocious framework rates from analyzable 3D games. ... [T]he caller procreation of Arm-based processors are perfectly susceptible of moving games, successful the aforesaid mode that your smartphone oregon tablet is."

Also: I saw the aboriginal of Windows PCs - and it whitethorn yet beryllium clip to ditch my MacBook

PCMag.com's Matthew Buzzi ran done a much elaborate acceptable of tests, concluding that gaming show is "acceptable" if you're consenting to little your expectations and your settings. "If you're the benignant to play games connected your 1 general-purpose laptop and are eyeing a Snapdragon Copilot+ PC, low-end and mid-level gaming is imaginable connected these chips," helium concluded. However, if you expect to play demanding games astatine 60 frames per second, hole to beryllium disappointed.

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