Nvidia's DGX Spark mini AI PC can run Cyberpunk 2077, but performance is expectedly poor

[DragonSlayer101]

In context: Nvidia's DGX Spark mini workstation began shipping last month after a long, unexpected delay. Although designed to run AI models rather than play video games, one gamer wondered if it could still handle demanding titles at playable frame rates. The verdict: No. It can't.

Redditor Retrotom says he was able to get the game running on his DGX Spark using Box64, an x86-to-ARM translation layer that lets users run x86_64 Linux programs on non-x86 Linux systems. To get started, he compiled Box64 v0.3.8 with the BOX32 and BOX32_BINFMT options, installed Steam using the included script, restarted the systemd-binfmt service, launched Steam in a terminal, installed the game, and proceeded to play it.

The game ran without any glitches, but the Spark turned out to be a big disappointment in terms of performance. According to Retrotom's post, the game clocked only around 50fps at 1080p with medium settings. There was no DLSS support.

The Redditor gave a thumbs up to the setup process, adding that it was "cool" to play a PC game optimized for x86 hardware on an Arm device running Linux. He also noted that the stability was decent despite a few crashes spoiling the experience somewhat.

While Retrotom generally enjoyed the process, he delivered a stark warning for anybody considering dropping $4,000 on the DGX Spark for gaming - "Don't do it." What he did not explicitly say is that gamers could easily get better frame rates and smoother gameplay with much less investment if they stick to specialized gaming hardware.

YouTube channel ETA Prime confirmed the findings using the RPCS3 emulator to run Skate 3 – a 2010 PS3 game – on the Spark-based MSI EdgeXpert (above). The device delivered around 60 FPS at 1080p, which is acceptable for casual gaming, but it further highlights the Spark's limitations as a gaming device.

The early benchmarks suggest that gamers with $4,000 to burn on a gaming rig have much better options in the market from specialized gaming PC brands like Alienware and Origin. Of course, custom DIY builds with the RTX 5090 and Ryzen 7 9800X3D still offer the best value by a wide margin.

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Nvidia's DGX Spark mini AI PC can run Cyberpunk 2077, but performance is expectedly poor

 

[Megalomaniac]

$4000 ???

I ordered an Alienware Area 51 with the 285K/5090/4TB/64GB RAM and it was just $4950.

A Mini PC for $4000???

That's hilarious.

You can get a Laptop with a mobile 5090 for less than that. ($3199 in fact for an AA18250)

 

[Theinsanegamer]

The 5090 is an odd comparison, I know you're looking at price, but GPU wise this thing is an APU with a 5070 in it.

The performance is still disappointing VS a windows desktop with a desktop 5070, but we also dont know the clock speed of the GB210 GPU, and none of this is officially supported. Linux ARM gaming is very much a wild west in terms of support. Also, this is an nVidia GPU, and linux support for nVidia pales compared to Windows. For a first attempt its impressive its running at all.

Compare these results to the same game running its native Apple silicon port:
https://www.tomsguide.com/gaming/we...res-how-well-it-runs-on-m1-m4-macs-vs-windows

It will be interesting to see where this goes. Like, CP2077 doesnt use 30 cores. How powerful are those ARM cores vs the zen 5 x3d core? How will performance look after a few years of optimization of the Arm to x86 libraries in Linux, and of course those nVidia drivers need some work too.

I'd love to see someone load WoA on one of these and do some tests.

$4000 ???

I ordered an Alienware Area 51 with the 285K/5090/4TB/64GB RAM and it was just $4950.

A Mini PC for $4000???

That's hilarious.

You can get a Laptop with a mobile 5090 for less than that. ($3199 in fact for an AA18250)

None of those laptops are going to last long getting hammered 24/7 with heavy workloads, AND they dont have a 128GB memory bus. Different PC for different tasks.

After all, I could dunk on you for wasting so much money on a laptop when a desktop for $2k is going to blow those things out of the water on both performance and longevity.

 

[opckieran]

Wow! Shocker. Not! AI benchmarks please!

 

[Peter Farkas]

$4000 ???

I ordered an Alienware Area 51 with the 285K/5090/4TB/64GB RAM and it was just $4950.

A Mini PC for $4000???

That's hilarious.

You can get a Laptop with a mobile 5090 for less than that. ($3199 in fact for an AA18250)

out of curiosity, how happy are you with the Alienware? Is it quiet, temps good?

 

[brucek]

If you were going to run an article on this device, I'd have been interested in reading a real review on its actual capabilities for its intended purposes.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If you were going to run an article on this device, I'd have been interested in reading a real review on its actual capabilities for its intended purposes.

I'm sure if you would like to donate $4000 to Techspot so they could buy one to review, they'd be happy to do so.

That is a LOT of dosh to spent on a single article, and ad payments are not that high....

 

[SRB]

From what I've read, this thing has problems with AI (which is what it is ostensibly made for), much less games. It's a vanity project for Nvidia, nothing more.

 

[NotYourITguy]

I'm sure if you would like to donate $4000 to Techspot so they could buy one to review, they'd be happy to do so.

That is a LOT of dosh to spent on a single article, and ad payments are not that high....

I'll save you the time. It's not worth buying unless you know why you would need one. For everyone else not sure what they really need but wants good inference performance, RTX 6000 Pro (Blackwell). If someone had the money for an H-series, they would never be looking at a DGX spark to begin with.

The spark is a dev box. It's not a useful thing for the vast majority of consumers and any review is likely not going to be able to well quantify the value obtained or missed out on from a DGX Spark in the same way that you can measure frame rates from consumer cards or measure tokens per second for running small LLMs. It's not a performance machine nor is it general audience product, but it is cheaper than buying full scale servers for testing.

 

[yRaz]

I'll save you the time. It's not worth buying unless you know why you would need one. For everyone else not sure what they really need but wants good inference performance, RTX 6000 Pro (Blackwell). If someone had the money for an H-series, they would never be looking at a DGX spark to begin with.

The spark is a dev box. It's not a useful thing for the vast majority of consumers and any review is likely not going to be able to well quantify the value obtained or missed out on from a DGX Spark in the same way that you can measure frame rates from consumer cards or measure tokens per second for running small LLMs. It's not a performance machine nor is it general audience product, but it is cheaper than buying full scale servers for testing.

I'd really rather get the 395 max for $2000. I'm also saying that from a hobbyist perspective where time isn't money and CUDA isn't worth the extra 2k in my hobbyist workload

 

[Megalomaniac]

out of curiosity, how happy are you with the Alienware? Is it quiet, temps good?

I had the previous Alienware Area 51 Triad with a 3090 in it as my main computer. 5960x Core i7. 32GB RAM.4TB SSD. 2TB HDD.

I still use it. It runs quietly enough.

The smart thing Alienware did was making their own AIO for the CPU. Their computers come with an app to let you see thermals, monitor thermals and overclock. I don't touch any of that stuff as it wears down the CPU reliability. If the pump ever failed, you can get another one and just plug& play.

The new Alienware AREA 51 is even better and more powerful with a larger case that's easier to modify.

My only complaint is the 5090 itself they give you doesn't have its own AIO. An AIO on the CPU and the GPU drops temperatures down a solid 20 degrees. Their solution instead was by maximizing airflow efficiency.

I will upgrade to the liquid cooled 6090 when the time comes.

 

[Megalomaniac]

The 5090 is an odd comparison, I know you're looking at price, but GPU wise this thing is an APU with a 5070 in it.

The performance is still disappointing VS a windows desktop with a desktop 5070, but we also dont know the clock speed of the GB210 GPU, and none of this is officially supported. Linux ARM gaming is very much a wild west in terms of support. Also, this is an nVidia GPU, and linux support for nVidia pales compared to Windows. For a first attempt its impressive its running at all.

Compare these results to the same game running its native Apple silicon port:
https://www.tomsguide.com/gaming/we...res-how-well-it-runs-on-m1-m4-macs-vs-windows

It will be interesting to see where this goes. Like, CP2077 doesnt use 30 cores. How powerful are those ARM cores vs the zen 5 x3d core? How will performance look after a few years of optimization of the Arm to x86 libraries in Linux, and of course those nVidia drivers need some work too.

I'd love to see someone load WoA on one of these and do some tests.

None of those laptops are going to last long getting hammered 24/7 with heavy workloads, AND they dont have a 128GB memory bus. Different PC for different tasks.

After all, I could dunk on you for wasting so much money on a laptop when a desktop for $2k is going to blow those things out of the water on both performance and longevity.

Nobody can dunk on me for anything. Afterall: I have the checkbook.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Nobody can dunk on me for anything. Afterall: I have the checkbook.

Dunking on the richest people is the easiest of all. Having a checkbook doesn't mean you make sensible financial decisions.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Dunking on the richest people is the easiest of all. Having a checkbook doesn't mean you make sensible financial decisions.

Once again: I have the checkbook.