Dell’s first RTX Spark XPS is here, but Nvidia power comes at a premium


I got to see the latest Nvidia RTX Spark-powered laptops at Computex 2026, and now some of these models have started rolling out. The latest brand to release its own is Dell. The XPS 16 Creator Edition is now available to preorder for $3,799.99, making it Dell’s first XPS laptop powered by Nvidia’s new RTX Spark platform.

For the hefty price tag, you get an 18-core Nvidia N1X processor and 5,120-core Blackwell GPU with 32GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD. Shipping is expected to begin on October 16.

RTX Spark is pretty expensive

The XPS 16 arrives during a sudden flood of RTX Spark laptops. Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra starts at $2,599, while Asus’ 16-inch ProArt P16 starts at $2,799.99. MSI’s convertible Prestige N16 Flip AI+ begins at $3,299.99. Dell’s $3,799.99 entry point is also at a premium, especially considering its XPS heritage.

Dell might seem more expensive right off the bat, but you also get a higher 32GB of unified memory compared to the base Surface and ProArt models that offer just 24Gb of RAM. Even then, Dell is asking a hefty premium while giving that $3,800 model just 512GB of storage.

But the rest of the hardware is equally flagship-level. The XPS gets a 16-inch 3200 x 2000 Tandem OLED touchscreen with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, Delta E below 2, and DisplayHDR True Black 600 certification. Dell claims that the panel can reach 1,000 nits of peak brightness.

Agentic AI is coming to the PC. 🖥️

From XPS 16 Creator Edition with @NVIDIARTXSpark to Dell Creator Edition Desktop and Dell Pro Precision with GB300, new @Windows PCs bring local AI to creators and developers to build and run AI where the work happens.

— Dell Technologies (@Dell) October 7, 2026

A higher-end XPS is also coming

The base model isn’t anywhere near the ceiling. Dell plans to release the XPS 16 with a 20-core Grace CPU, 6,144-core Blackwell GPU, and 128GB of unified memory, giving creators and AI developers enough shared memory to run much larger local models and heavier creative workloads.

Despite all of this, the XPS 16 Creator Edition remains impressively thin at just 17.8mm, with three USB4 ports, HDMI 2.1b, a full-size SD card reader, and a headphone jack. Dell is also using its largest and thinnest XPS fans yet, alongside a wider 8mm heat pipe to keep the RTX Spark hardware under control. Still, this laptop better blow me away with a price tag of nearly four grand.

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