The initial lineup of laptops featuring Nvidia’s new RTX Spark processor is being positioned as a direct challenger to top-tier MacBook Pros, accompanied by matching premium price tags. Leading the group is Microsoft’s 15-inch Surface Laptop Ultra, which carries a starting price of $2,599.
Entry-level configurations for RTX Spark devices from major manufacturers including Dell, Lenovo, MSI, HP, and Asus offer an 18-core CPU, 24GB of unified memory, and 512GB of storage. These specs and the starting price point are comparable to a similarly equipped 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 Pro chip, although Apple includes double the storage capacity at 1TB.
As seen with current Apple offerings, costs for both RTX Spark and MacBook Pro systems climb significantly beyond their base models. Fully loaded configurations, such as the Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark, can reach prices as high as $7,000.
Starting at $2,599 is still pricey. I guess ‘premium’ now just means bleeding your wallet dry compared to last year.
Interesting how Apple doubles the base storage but charges similar. Does the RTX Spark offer tangible workflow benefits for creatives?
Seven grand for a laptop? That’s basically buying a used car. I’ll stick with my desktop rig.