Benchmarked: Nvidia's RTX Spark notebook delivers serious local AI compute, at a price
Nvidia's RTX Spark partner systems are here, and spec-for-spec they've got all the ingredients for a hit: a potent CPU, blisteringly fast integrated graphics, and up to 128 GB of unified memory in a lightweight, ultra-premium package that's ready to run demanding models locally.
But with prices for these systems starting around $2,600 and going well north of $6,000 for the top spec trims, the one thing RTX Spark isn't is a good deal.
However, for the right person, by which we mostly mean AI enthusiasts, researchers, and/or creative professionals who need tons of video memory and don't want to get lost in Apple's walled garden or would prefer Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem over AMD's ROCm, the RTX Spark still has a lot to offer.
As such, we'll be largely focusing on the local agentic AI use cases Nvidia and Microsoft are pushing for these "builder-class" systems.
The Register had the opportunity this week to put the OmniBook Ultra, HP's unique spin on the RTX Spark platform, through a series of AI benchmarks to see just how well it performs.
And spoiler alert: you'll be hard pressed to find a faster Windows notebook for local AI.
But before diving into performance, let's take a closer look at the hardware itself.
No-compromise quality Lifting the lid on the OmniBook Ultra 16, the first thing you'll notice is the gorgeous 2880x1800 pixel OLED touchscreen with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Touch screens on professional notebooks can be a contentious topic.
You either love them or hate them, but at the end of the day, if the idea of fingerprints obscuring your work gives you pause, no one is forcing you to use it, and we're happy to see it here.
The OmniBook Ultra's display is mounted to a surprisingly stiff hinge mechanism mounted to the top of the chassis.
This has the benefit of keeping the hinge out of the way of the notebook's ample exhaust, which is kind of important because the 20-core N1X system-on-chip powering our review unit runs hot.
The system's ample venting keeps most of that heat concentrated around the base of the display and for the most part, away from the keyboard.
Speaking of keyboards, the OmniBook Ultra's digit fidgets are a bit of a throwback.
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