NVIDIA DGX Spark vs. RTX 5090. Why You Should Upgrade in 2025 | by John Dilan – MisterTechEntrepreneur.com | Mar, 2025
Why You Should Upgrade in 2025
Hey tech enthusiasts! I’m writing this as NVIDIA just announced the release of the DGX Spark and wanted to compare it to the RTX 5090 for my own understanding.
In this post I will be diving deep into NVIDIA’s latest powerhouses that are reshaping the computing landscape so that you may also benefit from the comparison. Whether you’re an AI researcher or a hardcore gamer, these beasts deserve your attention — and maybe your credit card too!
Let’s break down why these might be your next big tech investment.
NVIDIA DGX Spark:
MSRP: $3,999
Current market price: $4,200-$4,500 (limited availability)
Release date: Q1 2025
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090:
MSRP: $1,999
Expected market price: $2,100-$2,400 (based on demand patterns, they cost closer to $5,000 today on Amazon!)
Release date: Q2 2025
Okay, let’s cut to the chase. The DGX Spark is basically a supercomputer that fits on your desk. With 128GB of LPDDR5x memory and the new Grace Blackwell architecture, this thing is an absolute unit for AI development.
Here’s the kicker — you can now run massive language models like Deepseek R1 or any of the latest ollama.com/models locally. No more relying on cloud services or worrying about data privacy. I’ve been using local LLMs (now on Ollama) for a good year and let me tell you, it’s a game-changer. Imagine fine-tuning your own AI assistant that’s as powerful as ChatGPT but doesn’t phone home to OpenAI. The possibilities are mind-blowing.
Gamers, hold onto your controllers. The RTX 5090 is here to melt your eyeballs (in a good way). We’re talking 4K gaming at 120fps with ray tracing cranked to the max. I fired up the Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition, and I swear I could smell the neon and feel the rain on my face. It’s that good.
That said, the 5090 isn’t just for gamers. Content creators, listen up. This GPU is rendering 8K video faster than you can say “like and subscribe.” I’ve seen VFX artists create entire digital worlds in real-time using Unreal Engine 5. It’s like watching magic happen.
If you’re anything like me you’ll want the specs for each GPU. In a way it’s a bit of a false comparison since DGX Spark is a workstation which comes equipped with both CPU/GPU when the RTX 5090 is just the Graphics Card component.
In any case, here’s the info I was able to gather:
+===================+==================================+==================================================+
| Feature | NVIDIA DGX Spark | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 |
+===================+==================================+==================================================+
| Architecture | Grace Blackwell (GB10 Superchip) | Blackwell Architecture |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| GPU | Blackwell GPU with FP4 support | Blackwell GPU |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Tensor Cores | 5th Gen | 5th Gen |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Ray Tracing Cores | 4th Gen | 4th Gen |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| CUDA Cores | Not specified | 21,760 |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| VRAM | 128GB LPDDR5x | 32GB GDDR7 |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Memory Bandwidth | 273 GB/s | 1,792 GB/s |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| AI Performance | Up to 1,000 TOPS (FP4 precision) | Generative AI with FP4 precision; DLSS 4 support |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Interface | NVLink-C2C | PCIe 5.0 x16 |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Power Consumption | 170W | 575W |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Form Factor | Compact (150 x 150 x 50.5 mm) | Dual-slot GPU (304 x 137 x 48 mm) |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Price Range | $3,000–$4,000 | $1,999 MSRP |
+-------------------+----------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+If you are into GenAI you will understand how crazy good of a leap the DGX Spark is, especially when you campare this with an A100 GPU, which is probably the closest NVIDIA offering for LLM Inference and GenAI workflows, but these are professional-grade and probably will not run from your closet without heat, noise, and a rack. That’s very expensive and impractical, yeah?
As for the RTX 5090, the demand is so high right now they’re selling for twice the MSRP, and perhaps not twice the value. Do I recommend the upgrade? YES!!!! I’m a sucker for FPS and Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t run itself! All jokes aside, Video Generation with ComfyUI and Wan2.1 have made the choice of a 5090 a no-brainer for me.
Please don’t be a stranger and like, comment, subscribe. It honestly keeps me writing! Let me know what you are/would/will use these beasts for 🙂
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