--- title: "ASUS opens $2,599 NVIDIA RTX Spark preorders as PC shipments fall 20.1% and only ASUS gains share" description: "ASUS opened preorders for its first NVIDIA RTX Spark machines, pitching token-free local AI that pays for itself in months. The launch lands in the worst PC market in years, and ASUS is the only big vendor gaining share." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Hardware" published: 2026-10-09T18:28:27.926Z modified: 2026-10-09T18:28:27.926Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/asus-opens-2-599-nvidia-rtx-spark-preorders-as-pc-shipments-fall-20-1-and-only-asus-gains-share language: en keywords: "ASUS, Nvidia, Laptops, PC Shipments, AI Hardware" --- # ASUS opens $2,599 NVIDIA RTX Spark preorders as PC shipments fall 20.1% and only ASUS gains share > ASUS opened preorders for its first NVIDIA RTX Spark machines, pitching token-free local AI that pays for itself in months. The launch lands in the worst PC market in years, and ASUS is the only big vendor gaining share. *[ASUS](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/asus) opened preorders October 7 for its first [NVIDIA RTX Spark machines](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/nvidia), pitching token-free local AI that pays for itself in months. The pitch lands in the worst PC market in years, and [ASUS](https://www.asus.com/us/news/proart-rtx-spark/) is the only big vendor gaining share.* ## Own the tokens, not rent them ASUS [opened global preorders on October 7](https://www.asus.com/us/news/proart-rtx-spark/) for the ProArt P14 and P16, its first laptops on NVIDIA's RTX Spark platform, at $2,599.99 and $2,799.99, with a top configuration carrying 128GB of unified LPDDR5X memory, a 20-core Grace CPU and a 6,144-core Blackwell RTX GPU [1]. The 128GB machine is the headline; the $2,599 entry buys 24GB and the smaller chip variant, an 18-core Grace CPU with a 5,120-core Blackwell GPU [2]. First units ship October 16 through Best Buy [2], and a compact GR1X mini PC follows later this year in 64GB and 128GB builds [1][2]. ## Payback in five to ten months, ASUS says ASUS's sales math is the pitch: the company claims heavy cloud users recoup the hardware cost within five to ten months of avoided token bills [1]. That figure is ASUS's own illustrative TCO, not an audit. The shared-memory design underneath is real, though: one memory pool serving CPU and GPU lets the P16 run local models ASUS says reach 120 billion parameters with context windows up to one million tokens [3]. ## The bundle is the bet The differentiator is software shipped around the silicon: Nous Research's Hermes Agent, ComfyUI's visual workflows, and ASUS's own MuseTree, StoryCube and Zenni Claw assistant, a pipeline meant to let an agent drive local image and video generation without cloud uploads or per-token charges [1][2]. "We built Hermes to provide intelligence you can truly own, rather than simply rent," said Nous Research CEO Dillon Rolnick [1]. ## A collapsing market, a rare share gain *Chart: **ASUS bled least: Q3 2026 PC shipments fell for every big vendor** Horizontal bars of Q3 2026 year-over-year PC shipment declines: HP down 30.9%, Dell down 25%, Lenovo down 22.6%, market down 20.1%, Apple down 11.3%, ASUS down 8.6%.* *Year-over-year change in Q3 2026 PC shipments by vendor, percent, IDC preliminary data via TechPowerUp, October 8, 2026. [4]* The timing is brutal for everyone else. [IDC's preliminary Q3 2026 data](https://www.techpowerup.com/353538/pc-shipments-drop-20-1-in-q3-2026-hp-and-dell-hit-hardest) shows worldwide PC shipments down 20.1% year over year to 62.7 million units, with [HP](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/hp) off 30.9% and Dell down 25%. ASUS fell 8.6% and still lifted its share to 8.7% [4]. Premium, high-ASP AI hardware is the one lane ASUS is running against the market. ## Priced at the bottom of a premium ladder *Chart: **ASUS prices its RTX Spark entry at the bottom of a premium ladder** Bars of advertised starting prices for first-wave RTX Spark machines: Surface Laptop Ultra $2,599.99, ProArt P14 $2,599.99, ProArt P16 $2,799.99, MSI Prestige N16 Flip $3,299.99, Dell XPS 16 $3,799.99.* *Advertised starting prices for the first RTX Spark machines, US dollars, entry configurations differ in memory and display; ASUS, TechRepublic, Digital Trends, October 7 to 9, 2026. [1][5][6]* [Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra, announced October 7 on the same chip](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-microsoft-surface-laptop-ultra-nvidia-rtx-spark/), starts at $2,599.99 and reaches $5,899.99 [5]. [Dell's first RTX Spark machine, the XPS 16 Creator Edition](https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/dells-first-rtx-spark-xps-is-here-but-nvidia-power-comes-at-a-premium/), asks $3,799.99 [6]. ASUS enters cheapest, and every one of these machines starts shipping October 16 [7]. ## Claimed payback, a 24GB entry, ARM revalidation Three things temper the pitch. The five-to-ten-month payback is ASUS's own claim [1]. The entry price buys 24GB, far from the 128GB headline [2]. And Grace is an ARM-based CPU, so x86 workflows, codecs and plug-ins need revalidation before creators move [3]. None of it kills the story; all of it moves the payback clock. ## Payback on paper, proof in billings The payback math stays a belief until someone bills against it. Watch whether the premium configurations hold stock through November, and whether ASUS's Q4 shipments keep defying the 20.1% decline its rivals just posted [4]. NVIDIA gains a flagship Windows OEM either way. The token revenue at cloud AI providers is what bleeds. ## Takeaway ASUS's $2,599 ProArt RTX Spark laptops undercut Microsoft and Dell at the entry tier and ship October 16, but the five-to-ten-month payback is ASUS's own claim, the entry tier carries 24GB, and ARM-based Grace means x86 workflows need revalidation. ## Sources 1. [ASUS, ASUS ProArt RTX Spark PCs Open for Pre-Order, Powering AI Agents and Creative Workflows, October 8, 2026](https://www.asus.com/us/news/proart-rtx-spark/) 2. [The Gadgeteer, ASUS ProArt RTX Spark preorders start at $2,599.99, with a big memory choice, October 7, 2026](https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/10/07/asus-proart-rtx-spark-preorders-start-at-2599-99-with-a-big-memory-choice/) 3. [GsmDome, ASUS ProArt P16 Pivots to NVIDIA RTX Spark for Local AI Workloads, October 2026](https://www.gsmdome.com/asus-proart-p16-pivots-to-nvidia-rtx-spark-for-local-ai-workloads) 4. [TechPowerUp, PC Shipments Drop 20.1% in Q3 2026, HP and Dell Hit Hardest (IDC preliminary data), October 8, 2026](https://www.techpowerup.com/353538/pc-shipments-drop-20-1-in-q3-2026-hp-and-dell-hit-hardest) 5. [TechRepublic, Microsoft's $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra Packs Nvidia RTX Spark, October 7, 2026](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-microsoft-surface-laptop-ultra-nvidia-rtx-spark/) 6. [Digital Trends, Dell's first RTX Spark XPS is here, but Nvidia power comes at a premium, October 9, 2026](https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/dells-first-rtx-spark-xps-is-here-but-nvidia-power-comes-at-a-premium/) 7. [TechSpot, Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,600, running Nvidia's RTX Spark chip, October 7, 2026](https://www.techspot.com/news/114130-microsoft-surface-laptop-ultra-starts-2600-running-nvidia.html) --- ASUS opens $2,599 NVIDIA RTX Spark preorders as PC shipments fall 20.1% and only ASUS gains share — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/asus-opens-2-599-nvidia-rtx-spark-preorders-as-pc-shipments-fall-20-1-and-only-asus-gains-share