Forget AI: Nvidia RTX Spark could possibly be game-changing for gaming handhelds

Nvidia made a giant splash at Computex this week by asserting RTX Spark, a brand new slice of silicon delivery in laptops this fall. RTX Spark unites an Nvidia CPU and GPU in a single System-on-Chip with as much as 128GB of reminiscence.

Nvidia’s pitch facilities RTX Spark round agentic AI, however I’d argue an equally thrilling alternative locations the silicon in gaming handhelds.

As one would possibly count on, firm chief Jensen Huang pitched these new RTX Spark chips as harbingers of the private AI agent period, a wonderful imagined future during which you merely ask your Spark-powered Windows ultraportable to do issues for you, and the private AI brokers onboard will hop to it. It’s an acceptable imaginative and prescient on condition that Nvidia’s rise to world’s most respected firm has been pushed by the corporate’s massive pivot into AI {hardware} and software program.

Still, after testing a slew of “AI laptops” and AI brokers over the previous few years, I’m awfully doubtful about trusting these evolving applied sciences with something extra difficult than producing pictures for amusing.

For me, what makes this probably the most thrilling announcement of Computex 2026 is the potential for brand spanking new RTX Spark chips to present PC gaming handhelds (and thin-and-light laptops) a giant efficiency increase. The RTX Spark chips pair a 20-core Nvidia Grace CPU with an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU sporting 6,144 CUDA cores, which is strictly what number of cores you’ll discover in an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 desktop GPU.

Beyond that, the 2 powerhouses are linked by way of Nvidia’s proprietary NVLINK expertise, which is able to delivering extra information quicker than extra conventional PCI Express connections.  

That doesn’t imply it is best to count on the identical efficiency from a 14-inch, Spark-powered ultraportable as you may out of your desktop gaming PC packing an RTX 5070. However, it does imply that RTX Spark laptops and mini PCs might ship considerably higher gaming efficiency than opponents packing SoCs from the likes of AMD, Apple and Qualcomm.

Notably, RTX Spark is the primary laptop computer SoC that can help Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 upscaling tech, which implies new Spark-driven methods ought to have the ability to take full benefit of framerate-boosting options like Multi-Frame Generation.

All the DLSS efficiency upgrades with not one of the AI slop

Not everyone seems to be in love with Nvidia’s AI-driven DLSS upscaling tech, particularly for the reason that firm lately turned lots of people off by introducing DLSS 5 with a brand new function that makes use of generative AI to dynamically enhance picture high quality. While CEO Jensen Huang stated DLSS 5 will signify a “GPT moment for graphics” by “blending hand-crafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism” when it debuts this fall, early tech demos sparked backlash as a result of the generative AI additions made real-time gameplay seem like, properly, AI slop. 

But RTX Spark solely helps DLSS 4.5, which implies it is best to have the ability to take pleasure in the entire performance-enhancing options (together with Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation, Super Resolution, and Ray Reconstruction) with out the yassifying impact of DLSS 5. And whereas that’s nice information for anybody who goals of taking part in Cyberpunk 2077 at a good framerate on their thin-and-light laptop computer throughout an extended flight, I believe it’s much more thrilling for the way forward for PC gaming handhelds.

This is a giant deal as a result of proper now no gaming handheld natively helps DLSS besides the Nintendo Switch 2, which is powered by a custom-built Nvidia Tegra SoC. And whereas the Switch 2’s recognition is simple, it’s not likely in the identical league as trendy handheld gaming PCs, almost all of which — from the Asus ROG Ally X to the Lenovo Legion Go to the Steam Deck — are powered by an AMD Ryzen SoC. While these chips help AMD’s FSR upscaling tech, in my anecdotal expertise I’ve sometimes discovered FSR to ship much less spectacular efficiency upgrades than Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 applied sciences. 

A fast journey throughout the online suggests I’m not the one one with this opinion. If Reddit threads and discussion board posts aren’t sufficient, the German PC fan website ComputerBase lately surveyed hundreds of readers to find out whether or not they most well-liked the look of six video games operating natively vs. upscaled by way of Nvidia DLSS 4.5 or by way of AMD’s FSR 4 tech. DLSS 4.5 was the winner throughout all six video games, with many viewers preferring the look of the DLSS 4.5 model over native gameplay.

I’ve been overlaying Nvidia’s upscaling tech since DLSS debuted on the RTX 20-series playing cards again in 2018, and I can confidently say it’s gotten an terrible lot higher in the previous few years.

I’ve been overlaying Nvidia’s upscaling tech since DLSS debuted on the RTX 20-series playing cards again in 2018, and I can confidently say it’s gotten an terrible lot higher in the previous few years. In the early days, turning on DLSS usually brought on odd graphical artifacting and peculiar framerate points in video games (in the event that they supported DLSS in any respect), however within the final yr or two it’s gotten ok that I’ve no compunction about flipping on DLSS if a recreation is operating slower than I’d like.

And whereas I used to be initially skeptical of DLSS 4.5’s Multi-Frame Generation (which faucets AI algorithms to dynamically generate as much as 6x further frames which can be then inserted between “real” frames of gameplay to spice up framerate), after testing the most recent model in video games like Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk 2077, I’m a believer. I don’t essentially love all of the methods AI is being injected into the software program and {hardware} I exploit, however I do love with the ability to flip a change in video games to just about double my framerate with none noticeable lower in picture high quality.

If Nvidia can ship that sort of efficiency enchancment in video games operating on RTX Spark methods, I believe PC gaming on the go is about to get an actual shot within the arm. And whereas Nvidia has solely confirmed that RTX Spark chips will likely be delivery in laptops and mini PCs by the tip of 2026, I’ve to imagine that we’ll additionally see these performance-focused SoCs exhibiting up in handheld gaming PCs down the road.

If that proves true, we could also be taking a look at a 2027 during which taking part in 007 First Light or Cyberpunk 2077 on a handheld at 60+ frames per second with high-end graphics shouldn’t be solely attainable however commonplace—and that’s a future I’d wish to see.

But RTX Spark questions stay

There are some caveats to contemplate as Nvidia tries to muscle in on the SoC market that Apple, AMD and Qualcomm at present dominate. Notably, we’ve no clue how a lot these RTX Spark chips will price, or what sort of energy they’ll draw, particularly underneath the heavy load that’s high-end PC gaming. 

While Nvidia doesn’t really want cash proper now, I’ve a tough time imagining the corporate would promote these chips at a loss, and with reminiscence and storage at present costing a king’s ransom, I doubt a high-end RTX Spark system kitted out with 64-128GB of RAM goes to be low cost.

For context, Nvidia sells its lately introduced DGX Spark mini PC (which sports activities 128GB of RAM and is powered by a GB10 Grace Blackwell chip that’s structurally similar to the RTX Spark SoC) for a cool $4,699. So, when you’re pondering of shopping for a brand new RTX Spark mini PC after they debut later this yr, I’d count on to spend not less than about as a lot as you’ll on a brand new Mac Studio—and I might simply see high-end Spark laptops costing as a lot as a very good MacE-book Pro.

Even if Nvidia can handle to promote smaller, weaker RTX Spark-powered handheld PCs at a aggressive value (which might nonetheless be eye-watering on condition that even the price of an entry-level Steam Deck simply went up $300), the query stays how sizzling they’ll get and the way lengthy they’ll final when you’re utilizing them to play high-end PC video games. While Nvidia guarantees RTX Spark laptops will have the ability to play “AAA games at 1440p resolution and over 100 frames per second” with ray tracing and all the opposite bells and whistles we count on from Nvidia RTX GPUs, the corporate has stated nothing about how a lot wattage these chips draw or what kinds of battery life we would count on after they’re operating at full energy. 

So, whereas I believe probably the most thrilling facet of those new RTX Spark chips is their gaming potential fairly than their help for a doubtful way forward for agentic AI in Windows, we’ve to attend and see how these methods carry out in real-world testing earlier than we get too excited. But if Nvidia and its {hardware} companions can handle to ship thin-and-light laptops, power-sipping mini PCs, and light-weight gaming handhelds powered by RTX Spark and with sturdy battery life and (pretty) inexpensive costs, this could possibly be a game-changer for PC gaming—and a shot throughout the bow of Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm.