RTX Spark multi-core CPU benchmarks outperform AMD's 'Strix Halo' Ryzen AI Max+ 395

NVIDIA's RTX Spark chips are set to power a new wave of premium Windows on Arm laptops, and with the release on track for Fall 2026, we're now starting to see benchmarks and performance data pop up. This week we've got two new Geekbench listings covering two RTX Spark variants, one with a 20-core CPU and one with an 18-core CPU.

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For the full 20-core RTX Spark chip, the Geekbench 'OEMQAJ 766_MIS Product Name DV' listing shows impressive results with a 2,570 single-core score and a 23,126 multi-core score. Although it falls a bit short of the new Snapdragon X2 Elite processor, it does pull ahead of AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, aka Strix Halo. It's also faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, showcasing that RTX Spark is indeed faster than its X86 contemporaries.

When it comes to single-core and multi-core performance, there's not a lot separating the 20-core and 18-core RTX Spark variants, with the latter's CPU performance being within 6% of the flagship configuration. Interestingly, although these Geekbench listings aren't related to GPU performance, they do confirm a difference with the RTX Blackwell GPUs found on each model.

The 20-core RTX Spark processor includes a 6,144 CUDA Core RTX Blackwell GPU, while the 18-core RTX Spark processor includes a 5,120 CUDA Core RTX Blackwell GPU. Naturally, this difference will translate to PC gaming performance and other GPU-intensive workloads, so it will be interesting to see how it compares once more benchmarks begin to leak.

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Question #1

What Geekbench scores were reported for the 20-core and 18-core RTX Spark chips in the leaked listings?

The 20-core RTX Spark listing reported a 2,570 single-core score and a 23,126 multi-core score. The 18-core variant’s Geekbench results were said to be within 6% of the flagship 20-core scores, with no exact numbers provided in the article.

Answered

Question #2

How does the 20-core RTX Spark's multi-core performance compare to AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo)?

The 20-core RTX Spark posts a Geekbench multi-core score of 23,126, and the primary article states this result pulls ahead of AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo). In other words, the RTX Spark’s multi-core performance is higher than the Strix Halo according to the leaked Geekbench listing.

Answered

Question #3

What is the single-core performance of the 20-core RTX Spark relative to Snapdragon X2 Elite and Apple M4 Pro/M3 Max?

The 20-core RTX Spark posts a 2,570 Geekbench single-core score, which is slightly below the Snapdragon X2 Elite and lower than Apple’s M4 Pro, while matching the performance of Apple’s M3 Max.

Answered

Question #4

How many CUDA cores are in the RTX Blackwell GPUs paired with the 20-core and 18-core RTX Spark CPUs?

The 20-core RTX Spark processor is paired with a 6,144 CUDA core RTX Blackwell GPU, while the 18-core RTX Spark processor is paired with a 5,120 CUDA core RTX Blackwell GPU. These differences were confirmed by the Geekbench listings described in the article.

Answered

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In addition to its multi-core performance falling short of the Snapdragon X2 Elite, the 20-core RTX Spark also falls short of Apple's M4 Pro performance, matching the M3 Max. Naturally, as the RTX Spark is still unreleased, drivers and other optimizations could see this performance improve before release.