Microsoft Unveils Surface Laptop Ultra Featuring Nvidia’s RTX Spark Chip at Computex 2026
Microsoft — the flagship laptop announced at Computex 2026 will feature Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip with up to 128GB of unified memory.
At Computex 2026, Nvidia announced its new RTX Spark processor, an ARM-based chip with some impressive performance specs across a cadre of new devices: up to 1 petaflop of AI performance, a 20-core CPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory to power creative tasks with the rough equivalent power of a GeForce RTX 5070. At the head of the pack is Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Ultra — the flagship RTX Spark laptop and a powerhouse that doubles down on its premium branding and an edgy, aggressive branding that speaks to developers, pro creators, and AI powerusers. Also: I saw the first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops – these 4 models will lead the new ultrabook boom I went hands-on with the new Surface Ultra in Taipei, and have to say: it's a beast, with smooth gaming capabilities and impressive video editing performance. Of course, I tested it in the controlled space of a demo showfloor, and no benchmarking or real-world testing has been performed yet. Here's what stood out. Microsoft went all-in with the Ultra's specs and a premium build. In fact, at Computex, none of the other new RTX Spark laptops were even allowed to be powered on. Only the Surface Ultra was running, powering all the demos across every category. The physical build is absolutely solid, even if it resembles previous Surface laptops (on the outside). The 15-inch display is a mini-LED PixelSense Ultra touchscreen with 262ppi, a 3:2 aspect ratio, and up to 2000 nits of peak HDR brightness. It's exceptionally bright for a laptop, resulting in some truly eye-popping visuals. Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETPhysically, it also takes inspiration from the MacBook (but what doesn't, these days?) with recessed black chiclet keys, stalwart aluminum body, and edge-to-edge glass panel. The haptic touchpad felt very responsive and precise during the hands-on, and is appropriately-sized. It also comes with a full suite of creator-friendly ports: two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI, SD card reader, and a headphone jack. The RTX Spark is the star of the show — a "new class of GPU for AI", Microsoft says, with up to 128GB of unified memory, designed explicitly to run large models and access datasets locally. Also: The 7 coolest gadgets I saw at Computex 2026 (and when you can buy each one) All that compute is intended to be harnessed by creators across the array of AI-powered tasks like video upscaling and intelligent masking, as well as billions of parameters of AI models locally — propelling the Surface Laptop Ultra to a whole new level of computing power than the previous generation. Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETAs expected, Microsoft redesigned the cooling infrastructure to deal with all the heat this kind of hardware will inevitably produce. To start, the laptop is slightly raised off the desk to allow for airflow underneath. Inside, you've got a dual-fan, dual heat pipe setup that funnels cool air in through the sides and out the back, moving as much air as possible through the device.
