Tech enthusiast finds RTX Spark-powered Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, delivers first 'review'

In a forum post titled 'I've Spent A Month With NVIDIA's RTX Spark in Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra,' a TechPowerUp forum user by the name of Fouquin details how they've been in possession of an RTX Spark-powered Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra laptop for about a month. With that, they're ready to share their "review" of the device, albeit with benchmarks and analysis based on the recent RTX Spark 616.00 preview driver NVIDIA released for developers, which added CUDA 13.4, OpenGL, and Vulkan support.

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Formally announced at Computex 2026, RTX Spark refers to NVIDIA's N1X Arm-based CPU and RTX Blackwell GPU all-in-one chip that's set to power a new wave of powerful AI-ready premium Windows on Arm laptops and mini PCs on track for release later this year. With an optimized version of Windows, up to 128GB of unified memory, and powerful graphics reportedly on par with a desktop GeForce RTX 4070, there's a lot of hype surrounding the arrival of these RTX Spark devices.

This makes this early "review" notable; however, Fouquin notes in their post that they're not an AI person. Even so, they attempted to run the Phoronix AI test suite, albeit with some issues due to the pre-release nature of the software and drivers - with the Phoronix CUDA tests failing. That said, for the tests that did work, performance was in the range of the desktop GeForce RTX 4070.

Elsewhere, running the Cinebench 2024 multi-threaded CPU test delivered a score of 1386 points, which puts the processor behind the MacBook M4 Pro. For the GPU, they ran a few 3DMark synthetic benchmarks like the ray-tracing focused Port Royal, which delivered 31 FPS, and the 4K-based Steel Nomad, which ran at around 22 FPS - results that are closer to the desktop GeForce RTX 3060 Ti than the RTX 4070. That said, these numbers could improve before the official release as there are some quirks with this pre-release sample.

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Question #1

What GPU and CPU architecture does the RTX Spark-powered Surface Laptop Ultra use, and how does the article compare its GPU performance to desktop GeForce models?

The laptop uses NVIDIA RTX Spark which combines an N1X Arm-based CPU with an RTX Blackwell GPU. The article says RTX Spark graphics were touted as being on par with a desktop GeForce RTX 4070 and Fouquin’s Phoronix results that worked fell in the RTX 4070 range, but 3DMark synthetic tests (Port Royal and Steel Nomad) produced scores closer to a desktop GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. The article notes these are pre-release results and could change before the official launch.

Answered

Question #2

What driver and software preview was used for these early benchmarks, and which APIs were added in that preview driver?

The tests used NVIDIA's RTX Spark 616.00 preview driver released for developers. That preview added CUDA 13.4, OpenGL, and Vulkan support.

Answered

Question #3

Which benchmarks did Fouquin successfully run, and how did the Cinebench 2024 multi‑thread CPU score compare to the MacBook M4 Pro?

Fouquin ran Cinebench 2024 multi-thread (scoring 1386 points), and a few 3DMark synthetic tests including Port Royal (31 FPS) and the 4K Steel Nomad test (around 22 FPS); they also attempted the Phoronix AI test suite but the Phoronix CUDA tests failed. The Cinebench 2024 multi-thread score of 1386 points puts the RTX Spark processor behind the MacBook M4 Pro.

Answered

Question #4

What issues did Fouquin encounter with gaming performance on the RTX Spark sample (stuttering, clock behavior, power profiles)?

Fouquin reported inconsistent and overall sluggish gaming performance on the RTX Spark sample, including stutters and the GPU clock speed "bouncing all over the place." They also noted that the laptop's various power profiles (Performance, Balanced, and Power Efficiency) were not working as expected.

Answered

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According to Fouquin, the G-SYNC features of the 3270x2180 (3:2) panel don't work, there are issues surrounding local dimming, and the various power profiles (Performance, Balanced, and Power Efficiency) are not working as expected. As for using the RTX Spark laptop to play games, Fouquin reports inconsistent and overall sluggish performance with stutters and the GPU clock speed "bouncing all over the place." As for the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra, the feedback is mostly positive, with impressive build quality and keyboard feel. With the first batch of RTX Spark laptops expected to launch in Fall 2026, we won't have to wait long to get our first proper review and look at the hardware.