Nvidia RTX Spark Laptops Go on Sale From $2,599.99, and Reviews Say AI Beats Gaming
The Surface Laptop Ultra and Asus ProArt P14 lead the first wave in the US. Early reviews praise multi-core and AI performance, but battery life and gaming are mixed.
The first laptops built on Nvidia's RTX Spark chip went on sale in the US on October 16, with Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra and the Asus ProArt P14 starting at $2,599.99. Early reviews rate them as capable machines for local AI and creative work, while gaming and battery life draw more mixed verdicts (Tom's Hardware, PCWorld).
The chip
RTX Spark pairs Arm-based Grace CPU cores with a Blackwell-generation RTX GPU and runs Windows 11. Nvidia lists a top configuration with a 20-core CPU, a 6,144-core GPU, up to 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory and up to 1 petaflop of FP4 AI performance. A lower variant has an 18-core CPU and a 5,120-core GPU. Memory sets the tier: listings with 24GB or 32GB use the lower chip, while 48GB and above use the full version, so buyers comparing an entry model with a flagship should check which chip they are getting.
US prices at launch
| Laptop | Starting price (US) | Shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra | $2,599.99 (up to $5,899.99 with 128GB) | Now |
| Asus ProArt P14 | $2,599.99 | Now |
| Asus ProArt P16 | $2,799.99 at Best Buy | Now |
| HP OmniBook X 14 | $2,999.99 | November 4 |
| Lenovo Pro 9n | $2,999.99 | - |
| Lenovo Yoga 9n | $3,099.99 | Now |
| HP OmniBook Ultra 16 | $3,199.99 | November 4 |
| MSI Prestige N16 Flip | $3,299.99 | - |
| Dell XPS 16 | $3,799.99 | Now |
Prices come from retailer and maker listings reported by Tom's Hardware; configurations differ by retailer, so they are not like-for-like. Best Buy tops out at 64GB of memory, with higher-memory models mostly sold through makers' own stores. Asus prices a 128GB, 2TB ProArt at $6,999.99. Nvidia names Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and MSI as partners; small desktops come later.
What reviewers say
Reviews used units supplied by Nvidia or the makers, and the Surface Laptop Ultra's scores spread widely: Windows Central 4/5, The Shortcut 4.5/5, Tom's Hardware 3.5/5, Wired 7/10 and The Verge 6/10. The Verge said local AI still feels like a work in progress; Wired singled out battery life.
| Tom's Hardware test (Surface Laptop Ultra, 32GB, $3,699.99) | Surface | MacBook Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 10h 43m | 17h 58m |
| 25GB file transfer | About 1,999 MBps | 3,835 MBps |
| HandBrake 4K to 1080p | Fastest, by one second | - |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider, 1080p | 89 fps | - |
| Cyberpunk 2077, very high | 32 fps | - |
Tom's Hardware called it the most beautiful laptop Microsoft has made but said Windows does not yet put the chip to use for ordinary buyers. PCWorld praised multi-core performance but found single-core speed weak. The Asus ProArt P16 fared better on gaming and battery in Windows Central's round-up, with Trusted Reviews giving it 4.5/5 and nearly 14 hours of battery, though gaming still trails a laptop with a discrete RTX 5070. TechRadar summed it up as "a beast, but not at everything."
Where this leaves buyers
These are early reviews of supplied samples, with no long-term testing. For buyers who do not need local AI, an Intel or AMD laptop with a dedicated Nvidia GPU often costs less and games better. None of these models has an announced India price or launch date, and Indian buyers should not expect converted dollar prices, since local configurations and import duties usually change the final number.
What to watch next
HP's November 4 shipments, independent battery and gaming tests, and Windows updates that make better use of the chip.
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