❯ Nvidia launches a 64GB DGX Spark at $4,999 as the 128GB model climbs to $6,950

Half the memory, a higher priceNvidia has announced a DGX Spark with 64GB of unified memory starting at $4,999, on sale from October 23 through Acer, ASUS, Dell, Gigabyte, HP and MSI. According to PCMag, that is $1,000 more than the 128GB version cost when it launched last year at $3,999.

A small AI computer for the deskDGX Spark is a small desktop machine built on Nvidia’s GB10 chip that lets developers run and debug AI models locally without connecting to the cloud. The 64GB version uses the same chip, and Nvidia says it can run models of up to about 100 billion parameters. The 128GB version reaches about 200 billion.

Memory prices reach the end productAccording to Hardware Busters, the 128GB model has gone from $3,999 at launch to $4,699 early this year and now $6,950, a rise of about 74%, because of tight global memory supply. Data centers are buying up high-end memory and crowding out capacity for ordinary products, and Micron has said it expects the squeeze to last through 2028.

The cost of running models locallyDevelopers and small teams who want to run models on their own desks must now either pay the same money for half the memory or spend nearly $2,000 more. Memory directly sets how large a model the machine can run, so some will go back to paying for cloud usage.

▪ SIGNALThe memory that AI data centers are absorbing is making it more expensive to bring AI onto your own desk, because local and cloud computing are competing for the same chips.