Qualcomm unveils new PC chip in bid to challenge to Apple, Intel dominance

Qualcomm Inc., stepping up its long-running effort to break into the personal computer market, unveiled a new laptop processor designed to outperform rival products from Intel Corp. and Apple Inc.

The new Snapdragon X features 12 high-performance cores capable of crunching data at 3.8 gigahertz, Qualcomm said at a company event Tuesday in Hawaii. The chip is as much as twice as fast as a similar 12-core processor from Intel, while using 68% less power, Qualcomm claims.

The announcement is the latest sign of an increasingly competitive market for computer processors. Nvidia Corp.