Now that the embargo on NVIDIA’s RTX Spark chipset has finally lifted for us, it’s more or less safe for me to talk about the processor and, in this case, the laptop it’s attached to: the aptly named Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark. Seeing how this is a an all-new device, I’ll be reviewing this laptop differently from our usual template, breaking down as best I can the hardware, functions, and features you’ll be paying thousands upon thousands of Ringgit for.
Basically, in this first part of my multi-part review of this ProArt P16 RTX Spark laptop, I’ll be taking a look at the aspect that would certainly be more interesting to the majority: gaming. But before we get to that, let’s go over the basics of what this laptop is, and what powers it.
The Laptop
As per the title, the model I have in my possession is the ProArt P16 RTX Spark, but as we’ve covered in previous reports, Asus also has a smaller 14-inch model under the same line, all with identical specs.
Like its siblings from other lineup, the ProArt P16 RTX Spark is milled out of that magnesium alloy Asus is so very fond of and I’ve understood why for the longest time.\
In this instance, the design is nearly identical to the ROG Zephyrus line, just that it’s slapped with the ProArt branding. Oh, and the software suites inside the laptop are obviously more creator focused, rather than gaming. But hey, an NVIDIA laptop is still an NVIDIA laptop, and for me, that’s enough of a reason for me to consider it as my travel buddy.
Getting back on track, the ProArt P16 RTX Spark also shares the same display as its non-RTX Spark counterpart, in that it uses the same 3K ROG Nebula OLED display, along with the same 16:10 aspect ratio and 120Hz maximum refresh rate. On a sidebar: I don’t know if it’s a setting issue but the display on my unit has this habit of suddenly dimming and going dark at times.
Putting that aside for now, the ProArt P16 RTX Spark offers a healthy number of ports. Namely, three USB4 40Gbps ports, one USB-A 3.2 Gen2 port, a full-size HDMI 2.1 FRL port, an SDCard Express 7.0 reader, and the obligatory 3.5mm headphone jack combo. Internally, this laptop comes with 1TB of PCIe 4.0 storage, but it should be noted that this laptop comes with two full-sized PCIe 5.0 slots, with one already populated by said PCIe 4.0 SSD.
For battery, there’s a 99.9Wh 4-cell Li-Ion battery that NVIDIA says, combined with its RTX Spark, offers whole day usage on average. That’s another aspect we’re going to explore in a future review, so stay tuned.
The Chipset (aka. The Star Of The Show)
So, we can’t talk about the ProArt P16 RTX Spark without explicitly addressing and giving credit to the beating heart of it all: the NVIDIA RTX Spark chipset. And boy, is it impressive.
Before I get into that, allow me to once again go through the specifics of the RTX Spark, in broad strokes, of course: since its official unveiling back in June, NVIDIA has specified that there are two CPU variants of its MediaTek co-designed processor: one with 18-cores, and one with 20-cores.
The 18-core model is the lesser variant, for want of a better description, and comes offers up to 5,120 Blackwell CUDA cores. Also, NVIDIA has said that this CPU configuration will technically be offered with two Unified Memory configuratioins: 24GB and 32GB.
It’s the 20-core model that offers the full-fat 6,144 Blackwell CUDA cores, plus the full Unified Memory range, from 24GB all the way up to 128GB. My review unit, by the way, isn’t the full 128GB model, but rather, the 64GB LPDDR5X variant.\
The AI Stuff
As stated, the RTX Spark is brand new territory for almost all of us, given the AI is at the forefront of this: new benchmarking and testing parametres mean that I can’t just benchmark this laptop the usual way and to that end, this will having to wait until the next review, where I throw a bunch of AI Agents to benchmark the ProArt P16 RTX Spark, courtesy of NVIDIA.
Right. With that out of the way, let’s get into the next part…
The Gaming Side Of RTX Spark
Here’s the bottom line: gaming on ARM isn’t an impossible task these days, with Qualcomm having proved it with its own Snapdragon platform, and Valve having recently proven that too with its self-named Steam Frame through translation layers.
For NVIDIA? They basically took multiple pages out of Qualcomm’s book of trial and errors, added their gaming DNA, made damn sure that the majority of compatibility issues between the x86 and ARM architectures were resolved, and what you have is something I’d never thought I’d see: playing AAA titles on an SoC, along with all the accoutrements that comes with an NVIDIA chipset.
By accoutrements and trimmings, I am, of course, talking about DLSS and Frame Generation, to which all of the control titles I tested supported. On Control Resonant, I am able to run the game at a comfortable 120 fps average at the ProArt P16 RTX Spark’s native resolution of 2,880 x 1,800, and that is with ray tracing set to medium and multiframe generation set to 6x, and with graphics presets set to High. Drop that resolution down to FHD+ (1,920 x 1,200), and that average frame count jumps well into the 200 fps mark.
In Cyberpunk 2077, 007 First Light, and Doom The Dark Ages (TDA), the laptop provided the same consistency, with all three game running well above the 100 fps mark, thanks to the aid of the Multiframe Generation set at 6X. These three games, by the way, were able to run at a their second highest graphics presets, which is equally as remarkable.
And that’s the gaming side of the RTX Spark that I’ve uncovered so far. As I said, I’ll be releasing more reviews of the processor, touching on other performance aspects over the coming days. So, stay tuned.
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