# Nvidia RTX Spark Event in San Francisco Attracts Long Lines, But Few Buyers

> Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops draw long lines at San Francisco Best Buy but few purchases due to high prices.
- Title: Nvidia RTX Spark Event in San Francisco Attracts Long Lines…
- Summary: Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops draw long lines at San Francisco Best Buy but few purchases due to high prices. Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops, priced from $2,599…
- Keywords: nvidia, rtx spark, best buy, san francisco, laptops, windows, arm processors, technology, RTX, Spark, Event, San
- Source: PCMAG — https://pcmag.com/news/nvidias-rtx-spark-event-in-san-francisco-attracts-long-lines-but-few-buyers
- Author: Michael Kan
- Published: 2026-10-16T21:22:10+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: nvidia, rtx spark, best buy, san francisco, laptops, ai, windows, arm processors, technology
## San Francisco Best Buy Line
Dozens of people lined up at San Francisco Best Buy for Nvidia's RTX Spark launch event on Friday morning.
## Long Line of 100+
A line of over 100 consumers wrapped around the store and extended down the building's side minutes before the event started at 10 a.m.
## RTX Spark Not Graphics Card
The RTX Spark is Nvidia's first Windows laptops built with Arm-based CPUs, not a graphics card, making them new and untested.
## High Price Point
RTX Spark laptops start at $2,599, far more than a typical laptop, with many customers saying they are too expensive.
## George Gonzalez
George Gonzalez, a college student from San Jose, said he loves Nvidia but can't afford an RTX Spark now, hoping for a more affordable version that runs Linux.

> I got no money
## Kevin Barreto
Kevin Barreto, who lives near the store, said he likes the RTX Spark but won't buy one today due to money, but it's on his radar.
## AI Memory Shortage
The AI-driven memory shortage expected to persist over the next two years or longer will keep RTX Spark pricing high in the short term.
## First Purchase
Sigil Wen, an AI developer who partnered with Nvidia to create local AI, bought his first RTX Spark laptop at the event.
## Sigil Wen's View
Sigil Wen said he would cancel all subscriptions and prefer on-device AI over cloud subscriptions for privacy.

> Why should I pay for my [AI] cloud subscription when I could literally just buy an RTX Spark
## RTX Spark Benefits
RTX Spark laptops have high-capacity memory to run large AI models locally and privately, giving customers an alternative to OpenAI or Anthropic.
## George T's View
George T, who owns an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU, said the high price is fair for the product compared to alternatives.
## DLSS 5 Demo
Attendees saw RTX Spark laptops run games with photorealistic graphics from DLSS 5, but many said the price is too high.
## Raffle Winners
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared briefly at the event but five raffle winners were announced before many attendees left.
## Key takeaway

Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops, priced from $2,599, attract long lines at San Francisco Best Buy but few buyers due to high costs.