Introducing NVIDIA RTX Spark
Posted by NV-Randy@reddit | hardware | View on Reddit | 115 comments
NVIDIA RTX Spark reinvents Windows PCs for the era of personal AI agents, offering a new class of computer that moves from tool to teammate.
Designed for AI, creating and gaming, RTX Spark brings together 30 years of NVIDIA innovation — including NVIDIA CUDA, RTX, DLSS, FP4, TensorRT, OptiX, Reflex and G-SYNC — to slim Windows laptops and small, ultra-efficient desktop PCs.
The RTX Spark superchip features an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores and fifth-generation Tensor Cores with FP4 precision, connected via the NVIDIA NVLink-C2C chip-to-chip interconnect to a high-performance, 20-core NVIDIA Grace CPU.
Powering agents on local devices requires both robust security and performant hardware. RTX Spark features up to 1 petaflop of AI compute and 128GB of unified memory to meet the processing demands of on-device agents. NVIDIA and Microsoft are partnering to deliver a robust, secure Windows platform for on-device agents built on new OS security primitives and NVIDIA OpenShell.
RTX Spark laptops (as slim as 14 millimeters) and compact desktops will be available this fall from leading manufacturers including ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft Surface and MSI, with models from Acer and GIGABYTE to follow.
Read the full announcement https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-microsoft-windows-pcs-agents-rtx-spark
IBM296@reddit
Will be interesting to see how it compares to Qualcomm's X2-Elite CPU wise.
In GPU it's obviously going to slaughter X2-Elite, but let's see how it performs in CPU.
-protonsandneutrons-@reddit
Chips and Cheese has benched the Linux variant.
https://chipsandcheese.com/p/arms-cortex-x925-reaching-desktop
https://chipsandcheese.com/p/arms-cortex-a725-ft-dells-pro-max
https://chipsandcheese.com/p/inside-nvidia-gb10s-memory-subsystem
It’s likely about as fast as the slowest X2 Elite 78 SKU in 1T, thus slower than most X2 Elite SKUs. But likely faster in nT, if it has the power budget.
jocnews@reddit
Wow, first time I see "affiliated post" on this subreddit. Though isn't this more like one of those "Promoted" ad plugs?
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
Just to be clear: We did not receive any form of compensation, nor did NVIDIA or we send/requested any.
NVIDIA reached out because they think it is relevant to post during Computex 2026, and we laid out our criteria for them to post it (i.e. it has to be hardware related). As long as it fits within the subreddit's theme and not spam, then we are okay with it.
If any other vendor reach out, the same still applies but NVIDIA (so far) is the only one who reached out.
GateAccomplished2514@reddit
They didn’t just post it, though. That’s fine. The mod team has stickied it, when it’s really no more important or relevant than any other post that isn’t stickied. That’s the weird part.
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
On this specifically, it's for the short duration of Computex. As shreddit now have more than 2 spots of pins, we think it's okay to highlight more things if it means more actual community engagement and exposure for the subreddit, and we think it's worth it.
Again: We absolutely do not want the subreddit to become a brand affiliated subreddit and we don't see any company (so far) attempted to do so. What we do want to encourage is companies/outlets take the subreddit's views - so far in this thread not all positive evidently - into their feedback loop which can only be a good thing.
As said above, we would like to welcome these form of engagement directly with the subreddit not just from NVIDIA but also others, but it has to be the right form of content; We rejected (for example) giveaways and non-hardware content in a regular basis.
goldcakes@reddit
Thanks for the open and transparent Tb comms. Appreciate the disclosure. I think there’s generally cynicism with even relevant but arguably commercial posts being spotlighted (e.g. something like a famous hardware innovator passing away probably wouldn’t get any pushback), but also for this post specifically, there doesn’t seem to be much to discuss as relatively limited details have been shared.
Perhaps this format could work better for more community based posts? For example if a company like NVIDIA wants to do an AMA then that wouldn’t look out of place as a spotlight / sticky, but just news seems weird.
Whirblewind@reddit
Your stated goal and your behavior with this topic are at odds. You can't have it both ways.
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
Karma is not a primary concern for us for obvious reasons but of course, feedback is welcomed and being taken as of right now.
Whirblewind@reddit
Upvotes ARE feedback. It's the signal people do or don't want something posted on the subreddit. You either are or aren't in favor of feedback, and again you've tried to have it both ways.
The users have told you what they want, now it's up to you to respect it.
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
They are part of feedback but we don't operate purely base on upvotes; See example Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2.
We can totally accept that you (and others) don't see as part of the subreddit but there is another perspective. As we said, your feedback is duely noted and we'll see how we do better (or not do it at all) in the future.
skinlo@reddit
Why did you choose this to sticky, and not AMD's or Intel's announcements? Who made the judgement call that Nvidia's PR/marketing piece was worth it to sticky?
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
See above:
We did some things with Intel before during ARC (B580) launch. AMD as far as one can recall never reached out to us ever.
Tumleren@reddit
But why is it worth stickying just because a rep posted it? It has no special information that any other post wouldn't contain?
It gives the appearance of partiality or bias, even if you say it doesn't exist
PM_ME_UR_TOSTADAS@reddit
NV bag holders in mod team
JuanElMinero@reddit
I'd in favor of having a stickied megathread during Computex compiling and updating all the interesting resources.
Just one product from one company, posted by affiliates of the company and stickied doesn't feel like the way to go. I've never seen that in the ~10 years I've been visiting here.
James_Jack_Hoffmann@reddit
Brother, if you think downvotes are just about karma, I have bad news for you.
"Downvotes mean redditors think that content should never see the light of day. If you like something, be it a post or a comment, and you think it contributes to a conversation"
Rahatiel@reddit
The post has zero substance. It’s pure marketing fluff and PR buzzwords with nothing of value. Pinning what is essentially a free corporate ad (for example = "RTX Spark laptops (as slim as 14 millimeters" this just confirm its target are customers not tech enthusiast) is something i heavily disagree. If this release is such relevant for hardware fans (which actually is), it will be covered by third party news (which actually is), which will be posted here organically anyway. Im not againts banning press releases, but they should not be pinned. But yeah, who would upvote this fluff then? So my questions are where is the added value for hardware user here so this should deserved to be pinned and why are you trying so much derail direct feedback from users in form of karma, which is most simple way for them to do?
that1dev@reddit
It's a big hyped announcement, I specifically came here looking for news.
It's bad news about an over hyped product with a use case many here don't care about, so they down vote it. This post wasn't downvoted because it was irrelevant. The huge wave of downvoted shows just how many people looked to engage with this post because it's a big announcement from a major relevant company.
goldcakes@reddit
The post apparently only has 46% upvotes and a score of 0, so if it wasn't stickied, it might not appear on the feed at all.
RHINO_Mk_II@reddit
Then the system would be functioning as intended.
Exist50@reddit
I don't see stickied posts on my normal feed, so it might be hurting more than helping.
skinlo@reddit
Then let it drop down the feed.
Frexxia@reddit
Why does it need to appear?
bhop_monsterjam@reddit
Why are you also censoring comments? Why is this thread in contest mode?
Take the feedback, we don't want this.
jocnews@reddit
I guess why it looked weird to me is because usually you see third-party reports or links to such posted, but this is a marketing-language selfpromo from the actual company, so it inevitably reads like advertisement.
I guess this happens all the time on techPowerUp with their press release posts, but they have always been reposting press releases and they label those posts "press releases", so (at least for people who knows what that means) it doesn't give that "wait does this really belong here" vibe.
hardware-ModTeam@reddit
We can entirely understand why people see it as ad-like because we don't do this often. The thing is: no one bothered to reach out, really. Those who did mostly does thing that doesn't fit the subreddit. Giveaways, Product trials (Yes, we have companies who approached us who will offer commenters monetary compensation and free product trials); we reject these plenty times.
As for labeling it clearly, I think is something that seems to be relatively uncontroversial. We'll discuss this as part of the broader review of doing these.
Let me reassure you again - we do not plan to spam these (I think this is like the 3rd time we did these in the last 2 years?) and we will only do it because we think it's useful/beneficial to the subreddit, nor will we ever request and accept any compensation.
bhop_monsterjam@reddit
Get rid of it
BleaaelBa@reddit
everything is up for sale, at the right price.
turikk@reddit
Can it play Crysis?
Or rather, what's the actual performance of this thing?
DerpSenpai@reddit
big die is a 5070, small die it's a 5050
Seanspeed@reddit
LPDDR bandwidth, though. And lower power than a desktop part obviously(at least for N1X).
DerpSenpai@reddit
It's 3nm. That's why its so low power.
The BW should not be an issue according to Jensen
work-school-account@reddit
The same guy who said "5070 = 4090"?
imaginary_num6er@reddit
Where's the hype of it being "4090 performance" this time around?
Lukeforce123@reddit
"4090 performance at $1999" just doesn't have the same ring to it
QuantumUtility@reddit
Top SKU is basically a DGX Spark without the high speed NIC.
Geddagod@reddit
Kinda a nothingburger tbh. I was hoping for much more info.
dampflokfreund@reddit
Yeah. No benchmarks, no battery life tests in demanding workloads, we don't know how x86 apps perform etc. Kinda disappointing.
jocnews@reddit
It's just early announcement, the laptops are said to ship only in Fall. Nvidia didn't even list any SKUs or specifications. Actually, there is very little info in the press release, mostly just the usual PR blurb&fluff.
Seanspeed@reddit
Usually we at least get some very basic claims and some misleading performance chart or something.
work-school-account@reddit
"5070 = 4090"
jocnews@reddit
I wonder why they called the cores Grace? It should be Cortex-X925/A725 since it's GB10.
Ironically X925 should be a much better core than the one used in their Grace CPU (ARM Neoverse-V2 = Cortex-X3, two generations older uarch). Gotta self-brand everything, I guess, and actual specs are for second-rate companies (page taken out of Apple strategy perhaps) 😄
Seanspeed@reddit
I actually didn't realize there was a difference and figured they were using their own Grace CPU design for this.
goldcakes@reddit
Marketing. NVIDIA is pretty good at buzzwords, whether it's RTX, Blackwell (even mentioned by the president), etc.
jocnews@reddit
Mandatory "supercomputer class" (spoiler: no) and "superchip" drops too.
Geddagod@reddit
Haha good catch, I didn't even notice that. Kinda funny.
Hot-Software-9396@reddit
For a subreddit about hardware, some of you guys really seem to hate new hardware.
Flukemaster@reddit
"Up to 20 Core Ultra-Efficient CPU".
Elaborate please? Wait is this literally the DGX chip?
EloquentPinguin@reddit
Yes. Its late. Its the same CPU they've used. If it came out like a year ago for windows close to the DGX spark it would a fantastic debut. But now its not as up to date as it could have been.
The CPU is much stronger than PTL in general, and the GPU is nvidia, so that's already sold, but PTL for a day to day and lightweight gaming device with x86 just solved the problem IMO.
Obviously this device is just nvidia entry into the WoA market, and maybe well get next gen Olympus cores and a new GPU arch in two years and then it'll be truly dominant, but right now with the WoA niche I'm not sure if the nvidia brand is enough to sell arm PCs.
Qualcomms chip didn't sell massively, even though for average Microsoft office user they were some of the best devices.
But maybe nvidia can pull it off better because they are already deeply intertwined with every major OEM.
dampflokfreund@reddit
PTL didn't really solve the problem. The great power efficiency and performance during demanding workloads will only apply to PTL laptops without dGPUs and its max iGPU config. If you couple PTL with a dGPU, it will still have better battery life than before in office and web browsing but when you kick on the dGPU for more demanding workloads you are looking at 1-2h battery life again.. And running games and programs on the Intel PTL iGPU will be slow, as gaming laptops with Nvidia dGPUs always have the tiny iGPU configuration instead of the 12 core variant that was so hyped up.
Plus as you mentioned, PTL is a lot weaker than even Intel's last gen flagship.
IORelay@reddit
Panther lake, at least the high skus, is intended to be standalone. Plus demanding tasks tank the battery on anything, even MacBooks.
ResponsibleJudge3172@reddit
Nvidia has declared future ongoing support for every datacenter release. Vera based APU in 2028 and Rosa based APU in 2030
gamebrigada@reddit
As soon as I realized that I was disappointed. The GB10 CPU is disappointing at best. It was very much designed to be just fast enough to keep up with the GPU when running models. The thing runs hot, and the memory controller sucks.
Maybe they made too many and are looking for a new market for them.
Raikaru@reddit
https://x.com/tomwarren/status/2061318691547934987?s=46&t=bdTUr3NljE3LDzkZ1GabQQ i feel like this is super important info?
“ Nvidia’s new RTX Spark laptops and PCs will include anti-cheat support for games like Fortnite, VALORANT, League of Legends, and PUBG. Nvidia is also working with Easy Anti‑Cheat, BattlEye, Denuvo, and others. Good step forward for Windows on ARM gaming”
ARM Windows is getting anti cheat support
KARMAAACS@reddit
Wonder if the game "Rust" will finally give us what we want... Facepunch seem unwilling to make the change. Hope u/alistair_MC can weigh in on now including ARM EAC for Rust.
SomeoneTrading@reddit
Technically Win ARM64 and x64 builds are not separate in the Epic’s selector view - you can make an account and take a look. Keep in mind Rust presumably utilizes more private builds.
KARMAAACS@reddit
They definitely use a more private build or advanced version of EAC. That being said, I just wish I could play Rust on Windows ARM, it's time. If they won't allow people with a legitimate gaming laptop from NVIDIA play the game, they probably won't ever add Windows ARM support.
SomeoneTrading@reddit
Can’t wait for the shitposts about code obfuscation on ARM64.
ZTZ-Nine-Nine@reddit
I hate how they omit important details such as this especially when you are at least partially marketing this to gaming.
ResponsibleJudge3172@reddit
He did mention it during the event
IBM296@reddit
Easy Anti-Cheat and Fortnite already run on Windows on ARM. Support for Valorant and League of Legends would indeed be a big step for gaming on Windows on ARM
CammKelly@reddit
Up to a 5070.... considering the price this is going to be sold, unless its CPU is really good, or its battery life is just leagues above, this looks DoA.
LeDucky@reddit
Probably going to be much worse than a Macbook, and more expensive.
Verite_Rendition@reddit
At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, that presentation was a disappointment.
It was big on hype, but it was short on specs. And it was completely devoid of any performance benchmarks.
The problem with a use-case driven presentation is that everything NVIDIA outlined in their presentation can be done today, on existing laptops. So why as a buyer should I want to pick an RTX Spark device over something else? NVIDIA didn't even try to make a case for why their hardware is superior.
As a techie I am still very interested in seeing how this all goes. But it was not a good introduction.
LeDucky@reddit
Nvidia doesn't really care about the consumer market anymore. This product was probably launched as a marketing stunt.
mewalkyne@reddit
The implication is that very soon there won't be discrete GPUs anymore at all at the consumer level.
ComplexEntertainer13@reddit
With the slowdown of node progress, it will take 10+ years before you get 5080 level of performance <50W.
Discrete cards are not going anywhere.
If Nvidia drops out, someone will fill their shoes.
Verite_Rendition@reddit
I don't see that as being realistic. At least, not any time soon.
OEMs still need the ability to pair CPUs with GPUs of varying capabilities. The latter are too big (and too expensive) for a one-size-fits-all solution. There still needs to be a way to ship a powerful CPU with a basic desktop graphics solution.
ZTZ-Nine-Nine@reddit
To be fair, lack of tech specs in keynotes isn't exactly a NVIDIA only problem, nor is it anything new; But I agree with you.
20th_Century_Boy4@reddit
Disappointing to see this marketing post being stickied. I hope this is not the beginning of brands having gaining influence on the subreddit.
Conjo_@reddit
will windows on arm be good this time? everyone knows 23rd time is the charm
lradPumpac@reddit
Idk cheef, as a work station it is working pretty good for me, and I am using a surface laptop for a year and a half.
For gaming, well yeah
wpm@reddit
oh wow an AgEnTiC SoC.
shut up, take your agents and shove it
RoaRene317@reddit
Finally worthy Competition after long time Apple Silicon M series dominate Portable High Perf/W Laptop chip.
Traditional-Fig-6661@reddit
Someone downvoted you
QuantumUtility@reddit
This is direct competition to Apple’s M chips and AMD Strix Halo.
Interested to see if Microsoft can finally pull their heads out of the sand with ARM support in Windows. Could make it or break it.
Hot-Software-9396@reddit
What’s wrong with Windows on ARM support today?
siazdghw@reddit
People can't even use their printers because of driver incompatibilities. Printers. And that's just the tip of the ice berg, Windows has decades of legacy applications, drivers, code. The translation layer gets WoA like 90% there, but that last 10% is really rough when you inevitably hit it.
Hot-Software-9396@reddit
I haven’t heard of printer incompatibility. How wide spread is it actually?
Idkwatnam@reddit
Mainly on Qualcomm's hardware side, their GPU drivers are atrocious and barely work for any sort of compute. CPU tasks are mostly fine though.
X86 emulation suffers around a 50% performance loss according to Geekbench which would give you CPU performance equivalent to like a 4 year old x86 CPU I believe, but maybe Microsoft will improve Prism by the time devices launch and take advantage of ARMv9.2 features that the Snapdragon X2 Elite doesn't have (It's only ARMv9.0).
The Verge reported that "Nvidia boasts, you can render a 90GB 3D scene, edit 12K resolution video, or play the graphically intensive Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at a smooth 100fps at 1440p resolution" which sounds fairly CPU intensive but no clue if that's with framegen though, they were very light on performance details.
ZTZ-Nine-Nine@reddit
I think this won't serve much of as an M6 competitor considering spec wise the M6 is poised to beat it easily; It will however be interesting to see how WoA progresses with NVIDIA behind it and that how committed they are into this.
GB10 is bit of a problem child with it floundering for 2 years; I hope Vera Rubin Spark would be a smoother rollout + it's actually not stock ARM cores and rather in house NV cores.
goldcakes@reddit
As someone with a DGX spark (same GB10 chip), and a M5 Pro MBP, I can tell you it's a very excellent chip.
Power efficiency is really good, and generally speaking, some ML/AI tasks (GPU-only but also CPU+GPU; most native/efficient runtimes used for each OS) have superior power efficiency on the GB10, other tasks on the M5 Pro; it's usually a trade.
Melbuf@reddit
and i no longer care
Wings-Of-Gracemeria@reddit
I'm kinda interested in N1 i.e. the supposed 5050 version.
I can't imagine the 5070 as in the N1X not be crazy expensive, while the N1 version could still be relatively reasonable.
It's ashame the keynote is so devoid of details though.
Material2975@reddit
Can we just get a new shield?
Whirblewind@reddit
This shouldn't be a sticky.
Darksider123@reddit
This is supposed to be a user driven forum, without corporations warping the discussions.
Nvidia marketing posting a glorified ad and the mods pinning is the exact opposite. This sub has gone to hell
ZTZ-Nine-Nine@reddit
I actually think the Spark itself is an interesting product; and with NVIDIA's weight behind it I do actually hope Microsoft sort the hell out WoA. It's been a joke for far too long and promises are broken too many times.
I hope in the future Vera Rubin Spark is released earlier in the architecture cycle considering GB10 was in the oven for 2(?) years now.
dampflokfreund@reddit
Yeah, Vera Rubin Spark is going to be the interesting one, with LPDDR6 for high memory bandwidth and modern ARM cores. Will be worth the wait.
ZTZ-Nine-Nine@reddit
To me more than hardware Microsoft is the one who really needs to sort themselves and WoA out (said no one ever).
It's still is a joke how bad it is, but this is Microsoft we're talking about so all talk no action. I am glad for one if Jensen kick their ass into gear and finally do something about it.
dampflokfreund@reddit
Yeah, I imagine when Vera Rubin launches, WoA should be in a much better state.
ResponsibleJudge3172@reddit
More than 30% IPC is definitely what they need and Vera delivers
dampflokfreund@reddit
Nvidia, people are tired of the constant AI advertisements. You have a good product, please market it properly. Give us a graph that compares battery life and performance in gaming to Windows laptops with dGPUs. Give us an actual list with games and applications that will be compiled for ARM. Show the performance impact of running x86 emulation. (which hopefully will be small). AI enthusiasts already know this will be good for AI (well except for the memory bandwidth).
RangoonShow@reddit
they couldn't care less about the customers, the marketing it meant for the investors, hence the incessant AI-related diarrhoea.
Proglamer@reddit
Oh boy, more of that delicious vendor lock-in!
bhop_monsterjam@reddit
Why are posta being censored in this thread?
Whattaguy79@reddit
So is this the same glus we already know being rebadged as AI chip so the general public can somehow relate and then buy?
ResponsibleJudge3172@reddit
In core count maybe. But direct access to the CPU at much higher speed than PCIe and access to DRAM directly makes the whole behaviour of the system entirely diffrent. Look at Strix halo as reference
SomniumOv@reddit
It's an SoC.
Jofzar_@reddit
Why is this pinned mods? We aren't the NVIDIA subreddit, we are better then this allowing for NVIDIA community manager to dictate what is posted.
This should be the same as any other release where anything is allowed to be posted.
Whirblewind@reddit
This shouldn't be a sticky.
Whirblewind@reddit
this shouldn't be a sticky.
igenicoOCE@reddit
Why the fuck are we getting moderator sanctioned ad reads being stickied?
Fuck right off please.
Psychostickusername@reddit
"meh" but in like, obnoxiously large letters above my head
akluin@reddit
A new device listening to everything you say, no thanks Alexa and others things like that are enough
obas@reddit
Of course they will write "iTs fOr aI" first in their stupid slides
Pretty_Trip_2215@reddit
128 GB of unified memory during a memory crisis? Not sure that's a good idea Nvidia...
Prestigious_Sir_748@reddit
*up to
still gonna cost a fuck load. assuming anyone wants one.
SiOD@reddit
What do you think caused the crisis?
Pretty_Trip_2215@reddit
Jajajajajaja if yes, then they would be throwing AMD and Intel under the bus and also every every manufacturer that doesn't use Windows as the primary OS.
Aggrokid@reddit
Yeah Nvidia and OpenAI were the two who openly boasted about locking up supplies before it all went to sht.
bhop_monsterjam@reddit
Why are we having official accounts pinned here?
Keep the sub organic with actual contributors
chefchef97@reddit
I clicked on this with an open mind, but the first sentence was enough to make my eyes roll out of my head
T-Dot1992@reddit
Never trust what these corpos say about their own tech. I don’t believe a damn thing about this press release