ASUS has announced ProArt laptops powered by NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform, aimed at running AI models and creative workflows locally. The P16 and P14 are listed for US pre-orders from $2,599.99, with the first units due on 16 October; the announcement also outlines a compact desktop system for later this year.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
ASUS says the ProArt P16, P14 and GR1X mini PC combine an NVIDIA Blackwell GPU with a Grace CPU and up to 128GB of unified memory. ASUS lists AI performance of up to one petaflop, and says the systems are intended for local language and vision-language models, image and video generation, model customisation and agent workflows. Actual workloads will depend on the model, settings and available memory.
The P16 and P14 are available to pre-order in the US from 7 October, with initial units due on 16 October. ASUS lists laptop prices starting at $2,599.99. The GR1X, a compact desktop with up to 128GB of memory, is due later this year; ASUS has not given a price in the supplied announcement.
The pitch is not simply more AI hardware. ASUS highlights software and workflow integrations including Hermes Agent, ComfyUI and its own MuseTree image-generation app, alongside the option to use cloud services when local hardware is not enough.
Why it matters
A laptop with up to 128GB of unified memory could run some larger AI models and creative workflows on the machine itself, rather than sending every task to a cloud service. ASUS argues that local execution can offer more control over files and prompts, and avoid per-use charges for supported workflows. Those are potential advantages, not a promise that every model will run offline or that local compute will always be cheaper.
The starting price puts this firmly in premium creator-machine territory. The more useful test is whether the local software, memory capacity and performance justify that price for real work, rather than making an impressive specification sheet do all the heavy lifting.
Our read
This is a meaningful attempt to make local AI a proper PC buying proposition, not just a feature badge. The combination of hardware and named creative tools is worth watching; the price means buyers should look for workload-specific performance evidence before trading cloud bills for a costly new machine.
What to watch
- Which memory configurations reach US retailers, and at what prices.
- Independent tests of model performance, thermals and battery life on the P16 and P14.
- Whether the GR1X arrives later this year with a price and a firm availability date.
- How well Hermes, ComfyUI and ASUS’s own apps work together in everyday creative workflows.
Discussion spark: Would you pay a premium for AI workflows that can run on your own PC, or would cloud access remain better value for your work?
Sources and evidence
- ASUS ProArt RTX Spark AI PCs: Local Agentic AI | ASUS – ASUS Pressroom (7 October 2026, 19:02 UTC)
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