Surface Laptop Ultra Prototype Reveals RTX Spark Performance

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra prototype testing offers an early glimpse at NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X performance, temperatures, and power consumption. As NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X laptops are expected to be premium devices, there is significant user interest in how they perform.

TechPowerUp forum member Fouquin reportedly used the unreleased EV1.5 laptop for around one month. NVIDIA plans to launch RTX Spark laptops and compact desktops this fall, but these results come from prototype hardware and unfinished software.

Surface Laptop Ultra prototype specifications

The laptop uses the highest-end RTX Spark N1X configuration, featuring:

• 20-core Arm processor
• Blackwell GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores
• 24GB of unified memory
• 512GB SSD

Testing began with the GeForce 591.33 driver before moving to the 616.00 developer preview with CUDA 13.4 support.

CPU benchmark results

The processor scored 1,386 points in Cinebench 2024 multicore and 123 points in single-core testing.

In Cinebench 2026, it reached 5,771 multicore points and 540 single-core points. The prototype used an 80W PL1 and 95W PL2 power limit.

Balanced mode consumed around 35W to 37W at approximately 2.6GHz, with temperatures reaching 98°C to 100°C. Best Performance mode increased consumption to between 44W and 50W while running at around 2.8GHz and reaching 100°C.

GPU performance and stability issues

The Blackwell GPU usually operated between 2.0GHz and 2.2GHz at temperatures ranging from 80°C to 88°C. Temperatures briefly reached 90°C.

NVIDIA Max-Q reportedly limited the GPU to a default 50W TGP, resulting in sustained clock speeds between 1.55GHz and 1.95GHz.

Games suffered from periodic stuttering, while GPU clocks fluctuated between 1.5GHz and 2.3GHz. CUDA tests in the Phoronix Test Suite also failed to complete.

Switching between battery and external power did not change GPU performance. Driver 616.00 increased desktop idle consumption to 12W in Balanced mode and 23W in Best Performance mode.

These early findings do not represent final retail RTX Spark devices. Updated hardware, firmware, cooling, and drivers could improve performance and stability before launch.

In other news, MSI and Colorful RTX 50 GPU prices are rising in China, and many expect other markets to follow.

Via VideoCardz