Microsoft has unveiled the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a compact desktop computer tailored for AI development. The device is designed to run large language models with over 120 billion parameters locally, facilitating tasks such as model testing, AI agent prototyping, and AI-assisted coding.
The hardware is built on the Nvidia RTX Spark platform, featuring a 20-core Arm CPU and a Blackwell GPU with 6144 CUDA cores. The system includes 128 GB of unified memory and a 2 TB SSD. According to reports, the unit operates with a 100 W TDP and is housed in a 3D-printed anodized aluminum chassis that functions as a heat sink.
Part of the Microsoft Project Zenith initiative, the Dev Box comes with a specialized version of Windows 11 Pro. It includes pre-installed development tools such as Visual Studio Code, Git, GitHub CLI, GitHub Copilot, WSL, Python, and Node. The device is currently available for pre-order directly from the manufacturer.
Shipments of the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box are scheduled to commence in November. The device is priced at $5999. This price point exceeds that of the Nvidia DGX Spark mini-PC released last year, a trend attributed to the ongoing market shortages of memory and other essential hardware components.
